The Hawkeyes, led by 17th year head coach Kirk Ferentz, were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Kinnick Stadium.

After losing a classic to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Hawkeyes were invited to the 2016 Rose Bowl where they were beaten by Stanford.

[2] It was an emotional week leading up to the game because former All-Big Ten Safety Tyler Sash and basketball legend Roy Marble died.

[5] The Hawkeyes never trailed in this physical matchup, and Marshall Koehn booted a 57-yard field goal as time expired to give Iowa the win.

[8] [9] Following a season opening loss to #3 Alabama, the Badgers entered this game ranked #19 after three straight convincing wins (outscoring those opponents 114–3).

The Badgers reached the Iowa 16 on their final possession, but a 4th down pass fell incomplete with 36 seconds remaining and the Hawkeyes ran out the clock, ending a classic defensive battle.

However, the game's result was still in doubt well into the fourth quarter until a pick six by eventual Jim Thorpe awardee and future NFL player Desmond King all but assured the victory for Iowa.

[22] [23] [24][25] Minnesota returned to Kinnick Stadium for the annual Floyd of Rosedale game with a lot of momentum from last year, when they routed Iowa 51–14 in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota, despite losing David Cobb to the NFL last year and going through a mid-season coaching transition, had a lot to prove as they entered the undefeated #5 Iowa's home stadium in an attempt to deliver the upset.

[26] The Hawkeyes jumped ahead 20–0 early in the second quarter and, after Purdue closed to within 20–13, scored 20 of the game's final 27 points for the 40–20 triumph.

[27][28] Senior Jordan Lomax led the Hawkeyes with 13 tackles, broke up a pass and forced a fumble in earning Lott IMPACT Player of the Week honors.

[36] [37] [38] [39] Iowa turned the ball over twice in the first half – a fumble leading to the Spartans first points and an interception in the end zone – but led 6–3.

Trailing entering the 4th quarter for the first time all season, the Hawkeyes responded in a big way with an 85-yard touchdown pass from C. J. Beathard to Tevaun Smith that gave Iowa a 13–9 lead with 14:49 remaining.

Iowa's run defense finished the season ranked 14th, allowing only 121 yards per game and having defeated historically rushing teams like Wisconsin, Indiana, and Nebraska.

[45] Contrarily, Christian McCaffrey led the FBS in the 2015 season with 3,864 all-purpose yards, which came from punt/kick returns, runs from scrimmage, and passes out of the backfield.

[49] Iowa remained a symbol of old-school Big Ten power football, with most of their completed passes thrown to tight ends and halfbacks.