*****Official 2026 Season Prediction Thread*****

[2D]

Two weeks remain until the season begins and I know we're all excited. So I think it's time to punch in our predictions to help pass the time.

Despite the excitement on offense and some really promising players on every side of the ball, I think we'll be disappointed with how this year turns out. If we want to sniff the playoffs, a 10-2 schedule is required, meaning taking a win from the first three B1G games, and running the table after the bye week.

Prediction: 8-4

Looking forward to everyone's predictions. And as always, Go Hawks!

Date	Opponent	Prediction
Sep 05, 2026	vs	W - Should be an easy win, but I just get the feeling this will be closer than we think. 27-13
Sep 12, 2026	vs	W- Due its place on the schedule and a brand new staff and team, this is one of the most important Cy-Hawk games in Kirk's career. 35-13
Sep 19, 2026	vs	W - We get the win, but I feel like it'll be an ugly game for some reason. 35-6
Sep 26, 2026	@	L - This will be a close game, but the Big House and Iowa's inexperience will be too much for them to overcome. 27-20
Oct 03, 2026	vs	L - Great environment, but that won't stop the Buckeyes. Hawks lose decisively. 40-17
Oct 09, 2026	@	L - Hawks will give them a better game than anyone will give them credit for, but a tough environment plus Kirk's West Coast curse will deliver a third loss in a row. 31-24
BYE WEEK
Oct 24, 2026	@	W - Kirk is good at preparing a team with their backs against the wall. Despite being at Minny and playing a motivated Gopher team, Iowa pulls out a tough victory. 24-20
Oct 31, 2026	vs	W - The media keeps giving Wisky the benefit of the doubt, but I don't see it. The Hawks will roll on Halloween night. 35-10
Nov 07, 2026	@	L - We need the classic Kirk blunder somewhere in the season, and this is it. A new stadium, crowd will be pumped, Aiden Chiles owns us, and Hawks commit enough mistakes to lose the game. 28-27
Nov 14, 2026	vs Purdue	W - Purdue is a dead team walking. Hawks should get this done comfortably. 40 - 10
Nov 21, 2026	@	W - The media keeps saying Iowa loses this one, but I don't see it. A classic Big Ten brawl, but Hawks come out on top. 30-16
Nov 27, 2026	vs Nebraska	W - Little red isn't the dark horse that the media acts like they are every year. They will be reeling from a tough schedule, Hawks deliver the final blow to another losing season for the bugeaters. 33-17

 

[HawkinK.C.1]

I'll go 8-4. I'm a bit worried about how inexperienced are, particularly on D.

 

[JerseyCityHawk]

Natty

 

[Hawkit]

OP, that sounds like a season I do not want to watch, buzzkill.

 

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

4 hard games, Michigan, OSU, Washington, and Illinois. We have been pretty good at not dropping dumb games in the 2020s for the most part, so I think we take those other 8 games. I think they will get 1 win out of the 4 hard games and go 9-3.

Fingers crossed for 10-2 and playoffs. But I think that’s more realistic in 2027, only 8 (I think, it’s definitely under 10) scholarship seniors on the roster. They should be pretty dangerous in 2027.

 

[shrinkhawk]

8-4, with 7-5 more likely than 9-3. That said, it will still be a fun ride. We have a reasonable chance to win every game except osu. With this schedule, 9-3 wld be considered a decent year imo.

 

[nu2u]

I think Michigan may be overrated. Iowa pulls off the upset at Ann Arbor to go 4-0 thereby setting up the conference home opener vs. undefeated Ohio State. Kinnick is electric. That’s as far into the future as my prophetic powers will reach at the moment.

 

[Hawkfan_08*]

I will say it right now. I don't think Michigan or Washington will be that good. But I'm terrified of the front 7. Might be really good in a year or so but I'm not feeling it. 7-5 or 8-4.

Losses: OSU, Michigan or Washington, ISU or Minnesota, Illinois or NW. One of the or's could be an and.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Pain?

 

[Iron Doc]

Two weeks remain until the season begins and I know we're all excited. So I think it's time to punch in our predictions to help pass the time.

Despite the excitement on offense and some really promising players on every side of the ball, I think we'll be disappointed with how this year turns out. If we want to sniff the playoffs, a 10-2 schedule is required, meaning taking a win from the first three B1G games, and running the table after the bye week.

Prediction: 8-4

Looking forward to everyone's predictions. And as always, Go Hawks!

Date	Opponent	Prediction
Sep 05, 2026	vs	W - Should be an easy win, but I just get the feeling this will be closer than we think. 27-13
Sep 12, 2026	vs	W- Due its place on the schedule and a brand new staff and team, this is one of the most important Cy-Hawk games in Kirk's career. 35-13
Sep 19, 2026	vs	W - We get the win, but I feel like it'll be an ugly game for some reason. 35-6
Sep 26, 2026	@	L - This will be a close game, but the Big House and Iowa's inexperience will be too much for them to overcome. 27-20
Oct 03, 2026	vs	L - Great environment, but that won't stop the Buckeyes. Hawks lose decisively. 40-17
Oct 09, 2026	@	L - Hawks will give them a better game than anyone will give them credit for, but a tough environment plus Kirk's West Coast curse will deliver a third loss in a row. 31-24
BYE WEEK
Oct 24, 2026	@	W - Kirk is good at preparing a team with their backs against the wall. Despite being at Minny and playing a motivated Gopher team, Iowa pulls out a tough victory. 24-20
Oct 31, 2026	vs	W - The media keeps giving Wisky the benefit of the doubt, but I don't see it. The Hawks will roll on Halloween night. 35-10
Nov 07, 2026	@	L - We need the classic Kirk blunder somewhere in the season, and this is it. A new stadium, crowd will be pumped, Aiden Chiles owns us, and Hawks commit enough mistakes to lose the game. 28-27
Nov 14, 2026	vs Purdue	W - Purdue is a dead team walking. Hawks should get this done comfortably. 40 - 10
Nov 21, 2026	@	W - The media keeps saying Iowa loses this one, but I don't see it. A classic Big Ten brawl, but Hawks come out on top. 30-16
Nov 27, 2026	vs Nebraska	W - Little red isn't the dark horse that the media acts like they are every year. They will be reeling from a tough schedule, Hawks deliver the final blow to another losing season for the bugeaters. 33-17

Seems realistic.
Lester tries hard, I hope he has success.
Not as worried about the DL as some, due to Phil.

 

[Kceasthawk@77]

I will say it right now. I don't think Michigan or Washington will be that good. But I'm terrified of the front 7. Might be really good in a year or so but I'm not feeling it. 7-5 or 8-4.

Losses: OSU, Michigan or Washington, ISU or Minnesota, Illinois or NW. One of the or's could be an and.

SO, you don't think Michigan or Washington will be that good, but we'll lose both games? If that's the case we won't even win 7 games. I'll take 9-3 and we win at least one of those early road games.

 

[GeorgePeeples2]

7-5.
Unexpected loss to Minnesota or NW keeps Hawks from 8-4 season.

hope I am WAY wrong.

 

[ClarindaA’s]

Barring injury, 10-2

 

[Heathen Raider]

Northern Illinois +31 , 1 game at a time , 1 deposit to the bank account at a time Iowa 34- NIU 13 Game 1 .

 

[Max Rebo]

Good team, but can’t get over the hump.

7-5.

 

[JerseyCityHawk]

OP, that sounds like a season I do not want to watch, buzzkill.

Have to agree damn

 

[Heathen Raider]

Have to agree damn

Yea if Iowa drops all 3 of the gauntlet part of the schedule and do not go undefeated the first 3 games convincingly most Fans are going to start gravitating for the first time in 15 Years to the basketball Team and Season and lose all real passion for the football season .

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Good team, but can’t get over the hump.

7-5.

BAU

And that unfortunately seems to be part for the course for Kirk, barring the years where the stars align in terms of the schedule, and the roster all being veteran and healthy at the right time rather than in reload mode like at an Ohio State where you can actually say next man in and they're still an unstoppable force because reasons..........

Otherwise, it's all the same spin cycle of grasping at straws to figure things out in the first half of the season, pulling off some nice games, losing some headscratchers, finishing the season strong (presuming injuries haven't impacted/derailed things) and being left with the same goddam 7-5, 8-4, 9-3 woulda, coulda, shoulda looking results each year. Sometimes the offense is better, more often than not the defense is always great, if not elite.....the win-loss results are still mostly the same outside of factors like a weaker schedule benefitting us for a few more wins.

Assuming we don't suffer 2012 levels of injuries and our opponents don't all f***ing turn into the "next Indiana" overnight, then there isn't any reason to think with this up-and-down mis-mashed roster won't produce the exact same results.........even with the fact that we finally got the f***ing ranked opponent monkey off our back in the bowl game against Vanderbilt.

 

[Hawkfan_08*]

SO, you don't think Michigan or Washington will be that good, but we'll lose both games? If that's the case we won't even win 7 games. I'll take 9-3 and we win at least one of those early road games.

I don't think they will be that good overall. I am just too afraid of our run defense. I'm not worried about Underwood at Michigan. I think Washington will be 7-5 or so but we can't win out west. Losing to UCLA two years ago proved it again.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

but we refuse to win out west.

Fify for accuracy.

 

[yrunvs]

Interesting, how so many people predict 8-4 +- and then when we go 8-4+- they absolutely melt down and rage to fire everybody.

 

[Max Rebo]

Interesting, how so many people predict 8-4 +- and then when we go 8-4+- they absolutely melt down and rage to fire everybody.

 

[squeezebox_1]

Not sure about the Michigan love, I suppose we will get a glimpse week 2 when they match up against Oklahoma. Their run offense is weak, their run defense is weak. This lines up nicely for the hawks.

 

[Grayhair1981]

8-4 would be a good result considering the schedule and number of new starters. 60/40 they win the bowl game

 

[QChawks]

7-5

beat UM or OSU
lose to N IL or Iowa St

 

[KuwaitHawk]

7-5

beat UM or OSU
lose to N IL or Iowa St

NOT losing to N. Ill or isu.

 

[QChawks]

NOT losing to N. Ill or isu.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we did

slow starts are the hallmark of KF

 

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we did

slow starts are the hallmark of KF

ISU is a glorified FCS program this year. 40 of their 48 transfers in are from FCS or G6 teams. They have a grand total of 4 players who were starters at the FBS level last year, and one of them is the kicker.

This is not the northern Illinois of 2013, who were coming off a 11-1 season and a NY6 bowl appearance. They are terrible now.

 

[ottumwan in tx]

OP, that sounds like a season I do not want to watch, buzzkill.

We all have watched that exact season for 30 straight years

 

[ottumwan in tx]

It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we did

slow starts are the hallmark of KF

People were freaking out at how good the offense was on kids day. I saw good running backs, tight ends, question mark at QB and WR, although #8 and vander looked good. Hope #14 is good. Like every year, the first three games determine a lot.

 

[HawksRule73]

In my mind, I think we're a year away. And that's usually when the Hawks and KF sneak up on folks. So I'm going to go 10-2 this year.

NIU - 48-6 - NIU is bad....like really bad. But I wouldn't be surprised if we start out slow....something like 10-0 at the half, but we come out and put 3 TDs on the board in the 3rd and a couple more in the 4th.

ISU - 31-10 - ISU has a few decent pieces, but they aren't deep and their talent in the trenches is not very good. At Kinnick, new coach, the last time this happened in Matt's 1st year, we beat them up pretty bad. I'm expecting the same this year.

UNI - 52-10 - Another warm up for the next 3 game gauntlet. The goal at this point should be to have the QB firmly entrenched, identify the pieces at DT needed to compete in the B1G, and that the skill talent on O has had a chance to gain good reps and confidence.

@Mich - 20-17 - I think this is the one game we get out of the 3. New coach, trying to establish a new culture, and I think we find a way to steal this one. Michigan is really good on the DL, so it'll be interesting to see if we can establish a semblence of a run game. I think we can and I think the D confuses the hell out of Underwood and we get him to turn it over a few times.

OSU - 17-30 - Because it's at Kinnick, I think we keep it close until the end. I can see us down 23-17, with the ball, and whoever the new QB is throws a pick trying to make a play and OSU turns around and closes it out with a long drive for a TD to end it.

Wash - 31-34 - Our D always seems to fall apart going west. Couple that with a pretty potent Wash offense and I think it's too much

All the rest - We essentially play the same team for 6 weeks in a row after coming back from the West coast and off a bye week. Minn, Illinois, Wisc, NW, Purdue, Neb. I just think we do it better than they do. They'll all be close, of course, because they always are. But I think we sweep the old B1G West and finish 10-2.

Is it enough for the playoff? Maybe, maybe not, but it should make for a fun season!

 

[squeezebox_1]

Is it enough for the playoff? Maybe, maybe not, but it should make for a fun season!

I would take that prediction in a heart beat, the issue with the CFP will likely come down to Iowa missing that hallmark win. Michigan could spiral out of control with 2 early losses, they have PSU, Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State.

 

[Manfredi]

7-5

beat UM or OSU
lose to N IL or Iowa St

 

[83Hawk]

Hard to say. I’ll go with 8-4 due to the tough schedule. Will know more after 4 games.

 

[Burghawk87]

In my mind, I think we're a year away. And that's usually when the Hawks and KF sneak up on folks. So I'm going to go 10-2 this year.

NIU - 48-6 - NIU is bad....like really bad. But I wouldn't be surprised if we start out slow....something like 10-0 at the half, but we come out and put 3 TDs on the board in the 3rd and a couple more in the 4th.

ISU - 31-10 - ISU has a few decent pieces, but they aren't deep and their talent in the trenches is not very good. At Kinnick, new coach, the last time this happened in Matt's 1st year, we beat them up pretty bad. I'm expecting the same this year.

UNI - 52-10 - Another warm up for the next 3 game gauntlet. The goal at this point should be to have the QB firmly entrenched, identify the pieces at DT needed to compete in the B1G, and that the skill talent on O has had a chance to gain good reps and confidence.

@Mich - 20-17 - I think this is the one game we get out of the 3. New coach, trying to establish a new culture, and I think we find a way to steal this one. Michigan is really good on the DL, so it'll be interesting to see if we can establish a semblence of a run game. I think we can and I think the D confuses the hell out of Underwood and we get him to turn it over a few times.

OSU - 17-30 - Because it's at Kinnick, I think we keep it close until the end. I can see us down 23-17, with the ball, and whoever the new QB is throws a pick trying to make a play and OSU turns around and closes it out with a long drive for a TD to end it.

Wash - 31-34 - Our D always seems to fall apart going west. Couple that with a pretty potent Wash offense and I think it's too much

All the rest - We essentially play the same team for 6 weeks in a row after coming back from the West coast and off a bye week. Minn, Illinois, Wisc, NW, Purdue, Neb. I just think we do it better than they do. They'll all be close, of course, because they always are. But I think we sweep the old B1G West and finish 10-2.

Is it enough for the playoff? Maybe, maybe not, but it should make for a fun season!

This seems the most optimistic/realistic in my mind. 10-2 yet somehow miss the playoff for an 8-4 SEC team because reasons. (Joking, kind of)

 

[Driftless_Hawk]

My official predictions:

NIU: W
Iowa State: W
UNI: W
@ Michigan: L
OSU: L
@ Washington: L
@ Minnesota: W
Wisconsin: W
@ Northwestern: L
Purdue: W
@ Illinois: W
Nebraska: W

8-4

Music City Bowl against South Carolina