Been quite a while since I looked up the stat, but I think the last time Iowa beat Ohio State and Michigan in the same season was 1962.
I was curious so I looked it up. 1962 isn't just the most recent time that the Hawkeyes beat the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the same season, it is the ONLY time the Hawkeyes beat Ohio State and Michigan in the same season.
Part of the problem is syncing up schedules when Iowa is good with years that Iowa plays both Ohio St and Michigan, and even in those years, there still is only about a 1 in 4 chance Iowa wins both games.
This is definitely a big part of it. Even ignoring the "when Iowa is good" qualifier, they really haven't played both in the same season as frequently as I would have assumed.
In the 85 seasons since
the Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor (1942-2026) the Hawkeyes only played both in the same season 34 times. Here are the results of regular season Iowa vs tOSU and M:
- 29 years 0-1, most recently 2024
- 17 years 0-2, most recently 2022
- 13 years 1-1, most recently 2013
- 11 years 0-0, most recently 2025
- 9 years 1-0, most recently 2017
- 2 years 0-1-1, most recently 1964
- 1 year 0-0-1, most recently 1947
- 1 year 0-0-2, 1988 which was Iowa's last tie against both
- 1 year 2-0, 1962
- 1 year TBD, 2026 will be either 2-0 or 1-1.
If you count the two times that Iowa lost to Connor Stallions' cheating machine in the B1GCG that converts two of the 0-0 seasons to 0-1.
From 1981-present the Hawkeyes have been reasonably competitive against the Wolverines but not so much against the Buckeyes:
- 12-18 against Michigan
- 5-20 against Ohio State
Interestingly, Iowa's best stretch against the Buckeyes and Wolverines was immediately followed by their worst.
Their best:
From 1958-1962 Iowa went:
- 3-2 against tOSU - won in 59, 60 and 62; lost in 58 and 61
- 2-1 against M - won in 58 and 62, lost in 61, didn't play in 59 and 60
After beating both in 1962 the Hawkeyes went 20 seasons without a win over the Buckeyes (0-16 from 1963-1982) and 18 seasons without a win over the Wolverines (0-9-1 from 1963-1980). Altogether, between the wins over both in 1962 and beating Michigan in 1981 the Hawkeyes went 0-25-1 against the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
