Iowa Receives Major Prediction for Northwestern Game

The Iowa Hawkeyes have received a major prediction for this week's game against Northwestern.

Oct 12, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during the fourth quarter against the Washington Huskies at Kinnick Stadium. The victory would the 200th of Ferentz’s Big Ten career. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes are gearing up for this weekend's matchup at home against the Northwestern Wildcats.

After losing to Michigan State in disappointing fashion last week, Iowa needs to find a way to get back on track. There are a lot of things that the Hawkeyes need to see improve this week.

First and foremost, all eyes will be on starting quarterback Cade McNamara. Ferentz decided to stick with him as the starter for this week's game, but there is no question that he has to improve. If he doesn't, the Hawkeyes could consider making a change.

Defensively, Iowa has to be better than they were a week ago. It has been a long time since the Hawkeyes looked so bad on the defensive side of the football against an opponent they should have been strong against.

With that in mind, a big prediction has been made for the Iowa vs. Northwestern game this week.

Gus Martin of the Des Moines Register has shared a final score prediction from USA Today for this week's game. USA Today believes that the Hawkeyes will end up winning by a final score of 27-17.

That is about what Iowa should be looking for this week. They are clearly the better team on paper. If they were to lose this game after last week's loss, there would be a lot of anger from the fan base.

Kaleb Johnson looks primed for another big-time game this week. He was kept relatively in check against Michigan State last week, but broke through for a massive 75-yard touchdown late in the game. He'll be looking for some revenge this week.

As for McNamara, the Hawkeyes don't even need him to be great. They simply need him to be able to move the football through the air decently.

Being able to throw the ball would open up the ground game for Johnson in a big way.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what the game actually looks like. Hopefully, Iowa is able to take care of business and get back in the win column.