[10] The first, against Western Michigan, saw the Wolverines dominate the Broncos by five touchdowns,[11] before defeating Washington in a game that drew considerably less hype after the Huskies' upset loss to Montana the week prior.

25 in the AP Poll entering their third game,[14] a matchup with Northern Illinois, which they won handily.

[15] Michigan then claimed a close decision against Rutgers on homecoming,[16] improving the Wolverines to 4–0 and placing them into the top 15.

[20] After a back-and-forth game, the Spartans prevailed with a four-point win, handing Michigan its first loss of the season.

[24] After this win the Wolverines were ranked fifth in the College Football Playoff poll entering their home finale against archrivals No.

[28] With 23rd-year head coach Kirk Ferentz at the helm, the Iowa Hawkeyes got their season off to a quick start with wins over two ranked opponents in their first two games.

[33][34] The Hawkeyes returned to conference play with a road tilt against Maryland, whom they defeated handily.

4 Penn State; the Hawkeyes trailed by double-digits in the first quarter but recovered to win the game 23–20,[37] which put them at No.

[43][44] Going into the final weekend of the regular season, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin remained in contention for a spot in the championship game.

[45] The Hawkeyes defeated Nebraska on November 26,[46] thereby eliminating Minnesota from contention for the championship game.

[47] On November 27, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin, giving Iowa the outright division championship and a place in the title game.