The history between these two teams needs no introduction. Well, actually… 

For two teams in the same conference, the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes don’t see much of each other.

In fact, they’ve only played twice since 2010 — and one of those Ohio State wins was vacated. (So let’s call it even. Like 1988.)

In truth, this is a lopsided matchup when the two actually get matched up, with an Iowa win in 2004 the only one since before the Hawkeyes were wearing wings. 

Speaking of style, a lot of the hype on the Iowa side is for the blackout uniforms. 

Admittedly, these uniforms with subtle localized details look in line with the college football standard, as opposed to earlier Iowa efforts that experimented with shades of gray and mismatched logos or simply supersized numbers and Tigerhawks. (Truth be told, the latter seems more fitting for a blackout, but my vision might be clouded by the 2015 undefeated goggles.) But will these one-off alternates be remembered for a stunning upset or rank with the worst game I’ve witnessed in person? Probably somewhere in between.

Let’s go to the experts.

Featured predictions
Hawkeye Headquarters
Adam Rossow: Ohio State 30, Iowa 14
Dan Vasko: Ohio State 42, Iowa 20

Hawkmania
Steve Batterson: Ohio State 27, Iowa 17
Iowa’s defense won’t make things easy on Ohio State but at the end of the day the Buckeyes simply have too much. Too much J.T. Barrett. Too much firepower in the running game. Too much balance in the passing game. Barring mistakes, expect the Hawkeyes to hang around at home in this one, but with a playoff berth at stake expect Ohio State to find its way to the win column late and avoid the trap that falls between Penn State and Michigan State on the OSU schedule.

National predictions
Sports Illustrated
Andy Staples: Ohio State 
Bruce Feldman: Ohio State 
Chris Johnson: Ohio State 
Joan Niesen: Ohio State 
Eric Single: Iowa 
Molly Geary: Ohio State
Scooby Axson: Ohio State 

SBNation
Bill Connelly: Ohio State 34, Iowa 18 

Athlon Sports
Mitch Light: Ohio State 28, Iowa 14

ESPN
Dan Murphy: Ohio State 41, Iowa 20 
Mitch Sherman: Ohio State 31, Iowa 10 
Tom VanHaaren: Ohio State 31, Iowa 13 

Hawkeye State predictions
Land of 10
Scott Dochterman:  Ohio State 31, Iowa 16
Bobby La Gesse: Ohio State 34, Iowa 13 

The Gazette
Marc Morehouse: Ohio State 40, Iowa 17

Hawk Central
Chad Leistikow: Ohio State 26, Iowa 24 

Go Iowa Awesome
Mark Hasty: Ohio State 27, Iowa 13 

AllHawkeyes
Pat Harty: Ohio State 28, Iowa 13
Tyler Devine: Ohio State 42, Iowa 14 
Dylan Burn: Ohio State 27 Iowa 17 

Hawkeye Nation
Jon Miller: Ohio State 
Sean Neugent: Ohio State 27, Iowa 20
David Schwartz: Ohio State

Hawkeye Report
Mike Zierath: Ohio State 35, Iowa 10  
Tom Kakert: Ohio State 31, Iowa 17  
Blair Sanderson: Ohio State 31, Iowa 21  
Torbee: Ohio State 31, Iowa 16
RDietz: Ohio State 31, Iowa 10  
Lyle Hammes: Ohio State 31, Iowa 17 
John Kerth:  Ohio State 38, Iowa 10
Matt Randazzo: Ohio State 31, Iowa 24 

BlackHeartGoldPants
Max Brekke: Ohio State 35, Iowa 10
BoilerHawk: Ohio State 31, Iowa 2 
JP Scott: Iowa 28, Ohio State 27 
JPinIC: Ohio State 35, Iowa 17 
Hello Jerry: Ohio State 24, Iowa 17 
Matt Cabel: Ohio State 56, Iowa 17 
Benjamin Ross: Iowa 
Jordan Hansen: Ohio State 
Rob Donaldson: Ohio State 41, Iowa 20

#IowaSim17 simulation
Cody Hills: TBD later tonight.

Irrelevant prediction
@Hawkologist
And finally, the totally irrelevant prediction based on playing EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2004 on a PS2, as is the tradition since 2015:

Ryan Jaster: Ohio State 21, Hawkeyes 7. Iowa suffers three turnovers inside the 10, one of which was returned for a 95-yard pick six. A drop in the endzone preceded one of the fumbles, and a near-sack that would have been a safety somehow ended up as a 43-yard run for the Buckeyes. That kind of afternoon. Ohio State is No. 1, not No. 6, in this version of the now-defunct EA Sports franchise, so perhaps those five slots are worth 14 points. But in this case, let’s hope if it’s in the game, it’s not in the game. 

Prognosis: Not many are giving the Hawkeyes a chance. Then again, not many picked Iowa over Michigan last year, either. The “Kinnick after dark” factor won’t be one with a 2:30 start and Daylight Saving Time ending roughly 12 hours later. (All the better to sleep this one off.) The arrow points at Mr. T for the second time this year, and that means the prediction is… pain.

For the uninitiated, I present you Clubber Lang in “Rocky III”:

For more Hawkeye football coverage, follow @AdamJRossow and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter — and now Facebook — and Hawkeye Headquarters on OurQuadCities.com all season.