Last season, Iowa and Northwestern had tremendous seasons. Then, they both got utterly demolished in bowl games-- Northwestern by a budding Tennessee power and Iowa by a Stanford team drawing on weeks of uninterrupted access to the source of its strength, Pacific Standard Time. Both of their 2016 seasons have been disappointing and involved gruesome home losses to FCS teams. Still, Iowa fans felt confident about their Homecoming showdown against the Northwestern after winning three in a row, the last two in hideous blowouts.
opponents in a parade float
Instead, Northwestern held on for a demoralizing 38-31 win over the Hawkeyes.