SPORTS

Iowa Hawkeye football season includes Friday games against Minnesota, Nebraska

Mark Emmert
Hawk Central

IOWA CITY, Ia, — Iowa's football season will begin at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Purdue, and it will include Friday games against rivals Minnesota and Nebraska, the Big Ten Conference announced Monday.

The Hawkeyes' opening game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network as the league embarks on a delayed eight-game season that will see the continuation of the Black Friday showdown between Iowa and Nebraska. This one will take place Nov. 27 at Kinnick Stadium. A kickoff time was not revealed, but it will be broadcast on either Fox or FS1. It will be the 10th consecutive time the teams play on Black Friday, a tradition that was originally going to end this season, with the Hawkeyes concluding their season against Wisconsin instead.

Iowa was originally scheduled to play a Friday evening game at Minnesota in September, and the revised slate maintains that oddity, only this time on Nov. 13 (6 p.m., FS1). Yes, the Floyd of Rosedale trophy will be awarded on Friday the 13th, perhaps fitting in what has already been the strangest season in Big Ten history.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will play two Friday football games during an eight-week Big Ten Conference regular season, the league announced Monday. The opener is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Purdue.

The Big Ten has twice altered its schedule over safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, once wiping it out altogether and planning to play in the winter or spring instead.

Iowa will play six of its eight games on Saturdays, as usual, with kickoff times and TV information released later.

In one more piece of news Monday, BTN announced that former Hawkeyes star Anthony Herron will return to the network as an analyst on its broadcasts. Herron previously worked for the network from 2009-11.

2020 IOWA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Oct. 24 — at Purdue, 2:30 p.m., BTN

Oct. 31 — vs. Northwestern, TBA

Nov. 7 — vs. Michigan State, TBA

Nov. 13 — at Minnesota, 6 p.m., FS1

Nov. 21 — at Penn State, TBA

Nov. 27 — vs. Nebraska, TBA

Dec. 5 — at Illinois, TBA

Dec. 12 — vs. Wisconsin, TBA

Dec. 19 — Champions Week

Mark Emmert covers the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Register. Reach him at memmert@registermedia.com or 319-339-7367. Follow him on Twitter at @MarkEmmert.

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