Putting Up Numbers· college football

Iowa’s points at home and away

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Against what the season’s ratings expected, Iowa was 2.7 points under at home and 2.1 points over away in 2026, 4 games against 3. The plain averages are 31.0 and 23.7, a difference of 7.3. All 3 nonconference games were at home.

3 games away is still too small a sample for the statistics to say much, but maybe you can find something if you squint.

points a game over expected

A −4.8 difference in points over expected at home vs away is about what you’d expect.

A +7.3 difference in points at home vs away is about what you’d expect.

The games

at homeaway
Iowa’s games, 2026, each marked at home or away
SideDateGameResultpointsExpected
Sep 5, 2026vsNorthern IllinoisW4039.7
Sep 12, 2026vsIowa StateW1630.5
Sep 19, 2026vsNNorthern IowaW55—
Sep 26, 2026@MichiganW2021.0
Oct 3, 2026vsOhio StateL1422.7
Oct 9, 2026@WashingtonW4117.7
Oct 24, 2026@MinnesotaL1025.9
Oct 31, 2026vsWisconsinW3017.8

Method

Read against .

  • Expected is an offense and a defense a team, fit over every 2026 game between two teams in the table with the game being read left out, plus 1.9 for the home team (the edge the fit finds once strength is in), nothing at a neutral site.
  • Each expected number is then fit to the season’s games: a game bears out about 66% of the difference the model predicts.
  • The shuffle keeps the season’s shape: the games are cut in two where one date leaves the least variance, each game is read against its stretch, and the sides are shuffled only inside each stretch.
  • Northern Iowa has no other game in the table, so that game has no expected number and sits out the second figure.