The Hawkeyes’ season was derailed a week ago by an embarrassing home loss to in-state rival Iowa State. The Cyclones staged a massive comeback to hand the Kirk Ferentz-coached team, which led by more than 10 points in one game, its first loss at Kinnick Stadium.

With all playoff hopes finally dashed and the prospects clearly pointing to surpassing Vegas’ preseason predictions of 7.5 wins total, the Hawkeyes now advance to the final non-conference game of the season and their last game in friendly Kinnick Stadium until mid-October.

Today they host the Trojans of Troy (Alabama), who start the day 0-2. Troy went 11-3 last season en route to the Fun Belt Conference title. But this year’s group has a new head coach and new faces on offense and defense. They give up more than 200 yards per game on the ground and now have the difficult task of keeping Kaleb Johnson out of the end zone.

Can Iowa get back on track and take advantage of Troy’s weak run defense? Can Tim Lester find a rhythm for quarterback Cade McNamara to get the offense back on track? Or will last week be the harbinger of a disastrous season? We’ll have answers soon when the Hawkeyes face the Trojans.

Here is a quick reminder of the details of today’s encounter:

Date: Saturday, September 14
Time: 3:00 p.m. CT
Comparison: Troy Trojans (0-2, 0-0) at Iowa Hawkeyes (1:1, 0:0)
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
TV: FS1
Updated weather forecast: Cloudy with temperatures around 27 °C, wind speed 8-16 km/h
Updated DraftKings Line: Iowa -23, Over/Under 39

Odds/lines are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for further details.

The usual rules apply again today. Be polite in the comments. No personal attacks, no politics, keep the language somewhat under control and please report any spam bots that happen to show their digital face.

Let’s go, Hawks!