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Eye-opening stat shows how dangerous Iowa is against Top 5 teams

Cole Thompson

By Cole Thompson

Published:

Teams that are looking to pull off the upset each Saturday usually need a bit of luck. Even then, that might not be enough for anyone run of the mill roster to take down a top 10 opponent.

That is unless you’re Iowa. Then upsets are second-nature – like riding a bike.

According to ESPN analyst Chris “The Bear” Fallica, an unranked team has only won its matchup against one of the game’s best 40 times. For the Hawkeyes, they’ve been credited with 10% of those wins, all of which came at Kinnick Stadium.

Why is this an important stat to know? Iowa plays host to No. 4 Michigan Saturday at noon. The last time Michigan was ranked this high and played in Iowa City was back in 2016. The Wolverines fell 14-13 as the No. 2 in the nation, thus eliminating their chances to make the College Football Playoff.

History has been on Iowa’s side since 2008. Its only top 10 loss in 14 seasons came back in 2017 against No. 4 Penn State. That marked one of the few times the Hawkeyes weren’t able to hold an opposing offense to under 300 yards.

The Nittany Lions totaled a whopping 579 yards led by running back Saquon Barkley. And while Iowa forced a pair of turnovers, it lost the battle in first downs and time of possession. Even with inefficient offensive production, the Hawkeyes forced Penn State to fight for 60 minutes before Trace McSorley connected with Juwan Johnson for a 7-yard TD pass as time expired.

The Wolverines proved their vulnerability late in games. Last week against Maryland, the Terps scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, leading to an onside kick that was recovered by Michigan. A bounce in the wrong direction and perhaps the Wolverines are playing for their season.

Since 2008, the Hawkeyes are 5-1 in games against top 10 opponents at home.

Cole Thompson

Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.