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Iowa football: The history of Iowa’s success versus Indiana

By Andrew Wade

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 06: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes passes the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the game of the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 06: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes passes the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the game of the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Iowa football program is getting ready to face the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday in a series Iowa has historically dominated. How much success has Iowa had?

The Iowa football team is coming off a good win over rival Minnesota and is getting ready for another road game against the Indiana Hoosiers. Iowa is entering the game with a 4-1 record while the Hoosiers are sitting at 4-2 with both of their losses coming against ranked teams. Later this week we will dive into the key matchups for this matchup, but today, we will be reviewing the history of this Big Ten matchup.

Iowa versus Indiana began in 1912 when the Iowa football team took down Indiana 13-6. That was the beginning of a long-tenured series that Iowa has historically dominated.

In 74 matchups, the Iowa football team has come out victorious 44 times compared to Indiana’s 28. Recent history hasn’t been any better for the Hoosiers. Since Kirk Ferentz took over the program, he is 9-5 against Indiana including 6 of the last 7. Fun fact, since Kirk has taken over, Indiana has had six different head coaches.

Indiana, known more as a basketball school, doesn’t even enter the realm of the Iowa football program’s history. In every major historical category, Iowa is better.

  • Iowa has won 13 conference championships compared to Indiana’s 2.
  • Iowa’s (.537) winning percentage is .117 better than Indiana’s (.420).
  • Iowa has been to 31 bowl games while Indiana has been to just 11.
  • Iowa has 85 more draft picks, and 8 more first round draft picks than Indiana.

I think the point is pretty clear, the Iowa football program is far and away superior when matched up against Indiana’s.

While Iowa has played Indiana 74 times, they haven’t faced each other since 2015 due to the expansion of the Big Ten. The last time these two teams squared off, CJ Beathard was quarterback and the Hawks finished ranked 9th in the nation. That season, they beat Indiana 35-27 in an away game in Bloomington.

Despite being 4-2, Indiana isn’t on par with Iowa this season, and this is a game Iowa desperately needs to win in order to compete for a Big Ten title. It looks like we are heading towards Iowa’s 45th win in this long-tenured series..

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