Washington is riding momentum entering its first visit to Iowa since 1964
Washington (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) at Iowa (3-2, 1-1), Saturday, 12:10 p.m. ET (Fox)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Iowa by 2 1/2.
Series record: Tied 3-3.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Washington hopes to carry over its performance from last week’s win over nationally ranked Michigan in a rematch of the College Football Playoff championship game. The Huskies make their first appearance at Kinnick Stadium since 1964. Iowa, which lost 35-7 at Ohio State last week, hasn’t dropped back-to-back regular-season games since October 2022. The Hawkeyes will need to get their offense going after totaling just 226 yards against the Buckeyes.
KEY MATCHUP
Washington QB Will Rogers vs. Iowa pass defense. Rogers is completing 74% of his passes for 271 yards per game with 12 touchdowns against one interception, and he’s among the national leaders in big plays. The Hawkeyes let Ohio State QB Will Howard complete his first 10 passes and last eight passes in an efficient 21-for-25 performance. They can’t let that happen against Rogers, who’s No. 2 among active quarterbacks in career passing yards and touchdowns.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Washington: S Kamren Fabiculanan, one of the few holdovers from the team that played Michigan in the national championship game last season, intercepted a pass to set up a late field goal that sealed a 27-17 win over the Wolverines in Seattle last week.
Iowa: LB Jay Higgins is coming off one of the best games in his sensational career — 14 tackles, a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery at Ohio State. He leads the Hawkeyes and is second in the Big Ten with 48 tackles.
FACTS & FIGURES
The most recent meeting was 29 years ago at the Sun Bowl, where the Hawkeyes won 38-18. ... Washington leads the nation in pass efficiency defense and is third in passing yards allowed, eighth in total defense and red-zone defense and 10th in scoring defense. ... Huskies have just three turnovers through six games. Only one FBS team with six games has fewer. ... Iowa has played seven one-score games since the start of the 2023 season and is 5-2 in those games. ... Hawkeyes lead the nation in fewest penalties (12), fewest penalties per game (2.4), fewest penalty yards (100) and fewest penalty yards per game (20.0).
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season!
