Iowa Hawkeye Football is a little under three months away. Multiple question marks surround the 2025-2026 season, including the health and status of projected starting quarterback Mark Gronowski, who will start at running back, and whether the Iowa secondary has improved.
Iowa finished with an 8-5 (6-3 Big Ten) record, including a crushing 20-19 loss to rival Iowa State and a 27-24 loss to Missouri in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
Iowa lost three games by seven points last season, but if they can make subtle improvements, those losses can turn into wins.
What is not in question is who will lead the Hawkeyes next season. Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is in his 27th season at the helm of the Hawkeyes and will look to rebuild and retool after a subpar 2024-2025 season.
Ferentz is loved by most Iowa Football fans, but here are a few coaches that Iowa fans love to hate.
Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Ok, this one is pretty obvious. The Pope himself could be the head coach of Iowa State and Iowa fans would find a way to hate him. Campbell took over the program in 2016 and has steadily improved the program every season.
Under Campbell, the Cyclones have only had two losing seasons (3-9 in 2016 and 4-8 in 2022) and have been invited to seven bowl games.
In nine seasons at the helm of the Cyclones, Campbell has a 64-51 and three bowl wins, including the Pop-Tarts Bowl last season.
Iowa has had Campbell and the Cyclones' number since he took over, beating them eight times, including six in a row from 2016 to 2021.
The more success Campbell has, especially against Iowa, the more fans will hate him.
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
In one of the oldest rivalries in college football, Iowa fans will hate whoever is in charge of Minnesota football. It does not help that, regardless of the sport, Minnesota fans can be heard chanting "we hate Iowa" and other anti-Iowa chants from the stands.
Whether it is the "row the boat" phrase or the anti-Iowa chants, Iowa fans despise Minnesota Head Coach P.J. Fleck. Since Fleck took over the Minnesota program in 2017, the Hawkeyes have crushed them every year but one (2023).
The games have all been close, but it feels nice to bring home the Floyd of Rosedale every season.
Fleck has had success at Minnesota with a 56-39 record, including an impressive 6-0 record in bowl games, but has not had success against the rival Hawkeyes.
Iowa fans hope that trend continues as long as Fleck is head coach.
James Franklin, Penn State
No one can deny James Franklin's success at Penn State; we wish it were not at the Hawkeyes' expense.
Since Franklin took over the program in 2014, Penn State has played seven games against the Hawkeyes, winning five. In the last matchup (2023), the Nittany Lions trounced the Hawkeyes 31-0 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Whether it is having his players fake injuries to stop the clock or his recent success against the Hawkeyes, Iowa fans love to hate James Franklin.
With division-less Big Ten Conference football, it remains to be seen if Penn State will be able to keep up with Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and USC. Still, as long as Penn State has success against the Hawkeyes, fans will continue to despise James Franklin.