The Big Ten Conference announced a change in Iowa’s 2016 football schedule on Wednesday.

The Hawkeyes were originally scheduled to play Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 29 in 2016. That game has now been moved to Saturday, Sept. 24.

The Big Ten also announced that Nebraska’s game at Northwestern in 2016 has been moved from Oct. 8 to Sept. 24. The changes were made to provide additional game selections on Sept. 24 for Big Ten media partners.

That Iowa-Rutgers game will serve as the 2016 Big Ten opener for both teams. It will also be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

The Big Ten Conference will start a nine-game conference schedule in 2016. Iowa is scheduled to play five league road games and another four at Kinnick Stadium that year.

In 2016, Iowa will host Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska, and will travel to Rutgers, Minnesota, Purdue, Penn State and Illinois.

The change in Iowa’s schedule also means the Hawkeyes will open conference play on the road in each of the next three seasons.

— by Cody Goodwin