As he further distances himself from an earlier quarterback competition, Iowa’s Hank Brown can sense greater development.
After a near-flawless performance for the Hawkeyes in a shutout of Wisconsin last week, Saturday night’s visit to Northwestern will offer Brown a chance to test his self-assessment.
“When you get to a point as a quarterback when you’re not thinking about what’s going on with the (other QBs), when you’re able to just focus on yourself and grow as a player and focus on your reps and how you’re doing and how you can grow, that’s ultimately when you get to that point when … you can really take strides,” Brown said.
No. 19 Iowa (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) will meet Northwestern (6-2, 3-2) in Evanston, Ill., with an eye on winning consecutive games for the first time since a 4-0 start.
The Hawkeyes posted a 30-0 win over then-No. 25 Wisconsin on the strength of Brown passing for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
Jacob Wallace recorded an interception and Cam Buffington made a sack among his team-best eight tackles for the Hawkeyes, who notched their third shutout of the season.
Hawkeyes center Cael Winter likely will miss the game with an undisclosed injury, coach Kirk Ferentz said, leaving sixth-year offensive lineman Michael Myslinski to start in his place.
Sidelined by various injuries early in his career, Myslinski earned the program’s comeback player of the year award in 2025 after appearing in eight games — two more than his combined total from 2021-24.
“Mike is more than ready to go,” Ferentz said. “He’s experienced. He’s confident. Everybody on the team believes in him. Just a credit to him to stick it out.”
Northwestern will aim to stop a four-game losing streak against Iowa as the schools meet for the first time since the host Hawkeyes rolled to a 40-14 victory on Oct. 26, 2024.
Last Saturday, although Wildcats quarterback Aidan Chiles accounted for 374 yards of offense and two total touchdowns, his team couldn’t hold off host Oregon. The Ducks outscored the Wildcats 21-6 after halftime in a 34-26 win.
Chiles, twice the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, has jelled nicely since transferring from Michigan State. The senior is completing 68.8% of his throws with a career-high-tying 13 touchdown passes against just one interception while rushing for 10 scores.
With running back Caleb Komolafe averaging 5.9 yards per carry and receiver Griffin Wilde (761 yards, five TDs) proving a top target, Northwestern has averaged 39.2 points during a 5-0 start at home.
Iowa will counter with the fourth-stingiest scoring defense in the country, permitting an average of just 12.5 points per game.
“This group has certainly proven it can respond and it’s built for these opportunities,” Wildcats coach David Braun said. “There’s also this acknowledgment our next opportunity is against, I would argue, one of the best teams in college football right now. All you have to do is turn on the Wisconsin tape. We have an incredible challenge in front of us.”
Braun said defensive back Jon Jon Stevens Jr. has returned to team meetings and is “doing well” after leaving the Oregon game on a cart after taking a hit to the head on a tackle.
“Sometimes we forget this game comes with risk; it just does,” Braun said, “and those moments can be really, really scary.”
