Fresh off one of the most embarrassing losses in recent program memory, UMass has no choice but to shake off their past mistakes and do their best to try and earn a groundbreaking win over Iowa this weekend at Kinnick Stadium.
Sure, the conventional wisdom says the Minutemen stand no chance over the reliably consistent Iowa Hawkeyes, but Iowa has been the type of team to let an underdog hang around and stay in the game in the past due in the part to their style of play under long-time head coach Kirk
Ferentz.
The Minutemen have not defeated an Autonomous/Power conference team or an automatic qualifying team since beating Boston College in 1981. Could they end their dreaded streak Saturday?
- Time and date: Saturday, September 13th, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa
- TV network options: The game will be aired regionally on the Big Ten Network; a valid cable subscription is required for viewing. Coverage by Mark Followill (play-by-play) and Anthony Herron (color analyst).
- Radio options: Jay Burnham (play-by-play) and Matt Goldstein (color) will provide the UMass call on WHMP 101.5 FM & the Varsity Network App.
- Gambling considerations: Iowa favored by 34.5 points, with an over/under of 43.5, per FanDuel.
- All-Time Series: This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
About the Massachusetts Minutemen
Stop us if you heard this one before: an injury to a promising quarterback derails UMass’ season. The Minutemen hope to not have a sequel to 2023 after Brandon Rose left last week’s game against Bryant with an injury.
Grant Jordan showed solid multi-dimensional ability against Bryant last week, but the Yale transfer will face his biggest leap in competition yet against the renowned Iowa Hawkeyes defense. Jordan threw for 205 and ran for 47 yards against the Bulldogs. AJ Hairston, who went 40-of-73 for 480 yards and five touchdowns in 2024, could also see some playing time this week as UMass tries to navigate the Rose injury.
Starting receiver T.Y. Harding, who was out last week due to injury, is gone once again heading into this game. Top target Jacquon Gibson, who has caught 19 passes through two games, will be available for either signalcaller. Tyree Kelly, Donnie Gray, and Max Dowling all filled in admirably in the absence of Harding, with each catching at least two passes and combined for eight receptions for 122 yards.
The Minutemen need the run game to return to Week 1’s form. After an efficient game against Temple, Rocko Griffin ran for just 20 yards on ten carries vs. Bryant in Week 2. Brandon Hood was serviceable— but not efficient— with 11 carries for 39 yards. UMass’ best chance to shock Iowa is to establish an effective play action game early and force the Hawkeyes to throw the ball or at least sustain drives to play the field position game with Iowa’s plodding offense.
Believe it or not, a game against a Big Ten team could be a “get right” game for a defense that allowed 318 passing yards to a Coastal Athletic Association team. Iowa has just 131 passing yards in two games.
While forcing the Hawkeyes to pass would be ideal, the Minutemen defensive line struggled vs. Temple, allowing 191 yards and failing to notch a sack. UMass’ defensive line is more comparable to the Albany line that gave up 318 non-sack rushing yards and six yards per carry than Iowa State’s defensive line. The Minutemen did show some improvement against Bryant, allowing 93 non-sack rushing yards on 26 attempts.
The Minutemen should commit as many resources to the run as possible and force Iowa to beat them with the pass. Linebackers Derrion Craig, Timothy Hinspeter, and Tyler Martin diagnose plays well for the Minutemen, with each having at least 15 tackles so far. They will be crucial in forcing Iowa to passing situations early to keep UMass in the game. While the secondary has been bad, there is hope since Albany held Iowa to 48 passing yards on 16 attempts.
Minutemen punter Keegan Andrews will look to steal the show from Iowa punter Rhys Dakin. Andrews is an early Ray Guy Award frontrunner with a 50-yard average on nine kicks. Andrews has six kicks of over 50 yards and two of over 60. Andrews won Ray Guy Punter of the Week for Week One. Currently, UMass is more likely to have a Keegan Andrews kick of 50 yards (67 percent) than complete a pass (63 percent). UMass needs Andrews to continue his electric season to win the field position battle against Iowa’s lackluster offense.
About the Iowa Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes have not lost to a MAC school since 2013, when a Jordan Lynch-led NIU Huskies squad scored 10-unanswered points with five minutes remaining to take a 30-27 win at Kinnick Stadium. (This game actually marked a two-year losing streak to the MAC, as Iowa had lost to Central Michigan 32-31 the season prior.)
Iowa has a proven formula that consistently gets them to bowl games and sometimes has them competing for the Big Ten crown. Call it stodgy, but it also makes them very upset-proof— for the most part.
Iowa’s offense looked impressive for their standards against Albany. Running back Xavier Williams averaged eleven yards per carry on eleven rushes and the run game tallied 318 non-sack yards against the Great Danes. Against tougher competition in Iowa State, the Hawkeyes still had 148 non-sack yards on 36 carries. This came without much of a passing game, as South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski had just 83 passing yards.
Everyone knows Iowa is going to run the ball, and they have the talent on the line to dominate UMass. Preseason Big Ten honoree Gennings Dunker leads a solid offensive line. Wide receiver Jacob Gill is the only player resembling a game-breaker on the outside for the Hawkeyes. Gill had five catches for 52 yards against Iowa State last week. He could thrive against a secondary that allowed 318 yards to Bryant last week.
The defense will likely make life easy for Iowa’s offense. No one star stands out in the front seven, but the unit is incredibly talented. Defensive linemen Aaron Graves and Max Llewelyn notched sacks against Albany, while Ethan Hurkett caused problems on the edge with 1.5 tackles-for-loss against Iowa State. Linebacker Jaden Harrell was constantly involved against Iowa State, with nine tackles and a forced fumble. In the back end, TJ Hall proved he is a shutdown corner with three pass breakups against UMass.
Finally, Iowa always has elite special teams. Punter Rhys Dakin will look to go kick-for-kick with fellow Australian Keegan Andrews. Dakin is averaging 48 yards per punt on seven kicks, including a 65-yard punt last week.
Final Thoughts
As bad as things have been for UMass, one can talk themselves in the Minutemen being competitive in this one. After all, UMass scared both Missouri and Mississippi State at times last year and both had more dangerous offenses than Iowa.
However, one could just as well throw the white flag in the air given how horrendous the Minutemen have looked on the field through the first two contests of the season. In an ideal world, the Bryant game should serve as a wake-up call to first-year head coach Joe Harasymiak and be a chance to reset and try to create momentum heading into the remainder of the schedule.
Iowa’s experience and offensive line play help them pull away with this one although it will be close early. As long as UMass doesn’t embarass themselves and show decent effort in a hard-fought loss, they should be able to give fans some general reprieve entering another Power Four game next week.
Iowa 27, UMass 11
