IOWA CITY — Iowa hopes to get 2026 started on the right foot on Saturday against Northern Illinois in Iowa City.
The No. 22 Hawkeyes enter the matchup with a 9-1 record all-time against the Huskies, including a 33-7 win in the last meeting in 2018.
Northern Illinois will receive $1.6 million for its participation in Saturday's contest in one of two buy games Iowa will play this season. Iowa will give Northern Iowa $700,000 to come to Kinnick later this month.
Broadcast coverage of Saturday's game, which kicks off at 3:15 p.m., is available on Big Ten Network and the Hawkeye Radio Network. For a list of local stations, visit hawkeyesports.com/hawkeye-radio-network or stream the broadcast on YouTube.
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Iowa's Hank Brown enters the field at Kinnick Stadium ahead of the Hawkeyes' Kids' Day open practice in Iowa City on Saturday, August 15.
Hank Brown to get first snaps at QB for Iowa
While no starter was named on the depth chart, former Auburn transfer Hank Brown will earn the start as the first quarterback to see action against the Huskies, according to reports.
Wake Forest transfer Jeremy Hecklinski will also see snaps for the Hawkeyes as the quarterback battle remained undecided entering the week.
Brown appeared in three games last season and went 11-of-21 for 107 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Hecklinski appeared in two games last season, going 2-for-2 for eight yards and scored one rushing touchdown.
Hank Brown finds Tony Diaz for season's first touchdown
Q1 9:52 | NIU 0, Iowa 6
Brown found Tony Diaz for the first touchdown of the season for Iowa, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
HANK BROWN TO TONY DIAZ FOR HIS 1ST HAWKEYE TD pic.twitter.com/jAIYgUsaIa
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) September 5, 2026
Brown went 4-of-5 for 39 yards on the drive, including a long of 16. Three of his passes went to Diaz.
Kamari Moulton got three carries for 34 yards, including a long of 23.
Moulton finds end zone on second play of second drive
Q1 6:46 | NIU 0, Iowa 13
Moulton knifed through NIU's defense before bouncing it outside and racing 50 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the drive.
KAMARI MOULTON 50YDS TO THE HOUSE pic.twitter.com/bJ4ejEcG0y
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) September 5, 2026
Brown hit DJ Vonnahme for a 16-yard gain on the first play of the drive.
Kamari Moulton scores second touchdown of first quarter
Q1 4:10 | NIU 0, Iowa 20
Moulton turned in another long touchdown run on the third drive of the game.
Q1 4:10 | NIU 0, Iowa 20
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) September 5, 2026
MEEP MEEP x2
Moulton scores a 37-yard touchdown to break this one wide open.
He’s up to 132 yards (career-high) and two touchdowns on 6 attempts. pic.twitter.com/27GZkkWLaO
The fourth-year running back took a handoff 37 yards for his second score of the day, raising his rushing total to 132 — a new career high — on just six attempts.
Jeremy Hecklinski throws first career touchdown pass
Q2 7:40 | NIU 0, Iowa 27
After coming up empty on his first two drives, Hecklinski found Kamari Xavier Williams on a screen pass for an eight-yard touchdown. It was Hecklinski's first career touchdown pass.
Q2 7:40 | NIU 0, Iowa 27
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) September 5, 2026
Jeremy Hecklinski has his first career touchdown pass!
He finds Kamari Moulton on a screen pass.
Looks like he could’ve hit Diaz too. pic.twitter.com/dpypBC9fle
Through three drives, Hecklinski went 5-of-9 for 60 yards and a touchdown. Brown went 7-of-8 for 77 yards and a touchdown on his three drives.
Bettendorf's Caden Buhr hits first career field goal to extend Iowa's lead
Q2 3:34 | NIU 0, Iowa 30
After a drive led by Brown stalled out at the NIU 27, Bettendorf native Caden Buhr got the chance to connect on his first career field goal.
The former Bulldog drilled a 45-yarded to extend the Hawkeyes' lead to 30-0.
Buhr boots through another, extends Iowa's lead before break
HALF | NIU 0, Iowa 33
Brown guided the Hawkeyes' offense into the red zone, but came up short of the end zone, missing Diaz and Vonnahme in the end zone.
Iowa settled for a 34-yard field goal, which Buhr converted to improve to 2-of-3 in his first start as a Hawkeye.
The Iowa finished the first half with 372 yards of total offense (189 passing, 183 rushing) while holding NIU to just 24 total yards and zero first downs.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
