INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 16 Iowa football team is representing the Big Ten West division for the second time in three years and faces a familiar opponent in the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines for the Big Ten Championship.

The game is set to kickoff a few minutes after 7:17 Central time and will be broadcast on Fox.

The Hawkeyes come into the game with a 10-2 record and look to capture their first Big Ten title in nearly 20 years. Head coach Kirk Ferentz is 2-3 in Big Ten Championship games, most recently losing to the Wolverines via a 42-3 blowout in 2021.

Iowa defensive lineman Deontae Craig is listed as questionable for Saturday. He carried the same designation last week against Nebraska but still played. Hawkeyes’ T.J. Hall, Luke Lachey, and Beau Stephens are all listed as out for the game.

Michigan defensive back Will Johnson is also listed as questionable for the game. Johnson has three interceptions on the season, the second most for the Wolverines. Starting center Drake Nugent is also tagged as questionable. Nugent was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by coaches and media in 2022.

Michigan went undefeated during the regular season and is in search of its third consecutive title for the first time since 1997 when the Wolverines won the national title.

Iowa’s rushing defense will be put to the test in this contest, as starting Michigan back Blake Corum leads the NCAA in rushing touchdowns with 22. The Hawkeyes have just 20 offensive scores this season.

COIN TOSS: Michigan wins the toss, and chooses to defer. Iowa will receive the opening kickoff. After a touchback, the Hawkeyes will start at their own 25-yard line.

13:36 1Q: Iowa goes three-and-out, gaining five yards on an end-around to Kaleb Brown. Michigan calls for a fair catch and starts at its own 32-yard line.

8:01 1Q, Michigan 3, Iowa 0: The Wolverines had a 13-play, seven-minute drive that resulted in three points after a 35-yard field goal by Michigan kicker James Turner

2:22 1Q, Michigan 3, Iowa 0: Quarterback Deacon Hill starts Iowa’s second offensive possession with a seven-yard pass to tight end Steven Stillanios. After picking up the first down a couple of plays later, Iowa comes short of picking up the first down again on a Kaleb Brown outside run….Punter Tory Taylor boots it 57-yards and Michigan specialist Semaj Morgan returns it 82-yards to set up the Wolverines at the Iowa five-yard line.

1:07 1Q, Michigan 10, Iowa 0: Two plays later, Wolverine’s running back Blake Corum gets the goalline touchdown to extend Michigan’s lead. 

13:24 2Q, Michigan 10, Iowa 0: Running back Kaleb Johnson bursts through the middle for five yards. Deacon Hill picks up the first down on a quarterback sneak two plays later. Hill strung together two plays of finding open receivers before nearly getting picked off on a third-and-3 attempt. Tory Taylor’s punt goes out of bounce for a touchback, setting up Michigan at their own 20-yard line.

8:59 2Q, Michigan 10, Iowa 0: Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy finds wide receiver Cornelius Johnson for a 14-yard pickup on their opening drive of the second quarter. The Hawkeyes get lucky on a holding call on second-and-7, and two plays later, defensive lineman Deontae Craig gets the sack on third-and-12… Iowa specialist Kaden Wetjen returned it 24 yards, but there was an illegal block in the back call on Iowa’s Koen Entringer, setting up Iowa at their own 20-yard line.

7:19 2Q Michigan 10, Iowa 0: After a quick three-and-out Iowa offensive possession, Michigan gets the ball at their own 28-yard line. A couple of plays later, on third-and-9, quarterback J.J. McCarthy gets sacked by Iowa defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett for a loss of 16 yards.

3:21 2Q Michigan 10, Iowa 0: Iowa running back Jazium Patterson fumbles the ball on a third-and-2 attempt while the Hawkeyes were at the Michigan 29-yard line—The Wolverines take over but fail to capitalize, and after a quick three-and-out, Michigan punter Tommy Doman boots it 54-yards to set up Iowa at their own nine-yard line.

1:38 2Q Michigan 10, Iowa 0: After another quick three-and Iowa offensive possession that resulted in five yards, Tory Taylor punts it 67-yards to set up the Wolverines at their own 19-yard line.

0:00 2Q, Michigan 10, Iowa 0: Iowa defensive lineman Logan Lee sacks J.J. McCarthy for a loss of nine as time expires in the second quarter…Michigan will receive the ball to begin the second half. 

10:03 3Q, Michigan 10, Iowa 0: On second-and-4,  J.J. McCarthy scrambled out of pressure to find wide receiver Cornelius Johnson open for the five-yard pickup and the first down. A couple of plays later, Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson drops what would have been a huge interception on second-and-10. After failing to convert on third down, Michigan punts it 41 yards out of bounce to set up Iowa at their own six-yard line.

9:09 3Q, Michigan 17, Iowa 0: Iowa opens its first offensive possession of the third quarter with a three-yard run by Kaleb Johnson. On the next play, Deacon Hill gets sacked by Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil and fumbles the ball, handing it to Michigan’s offense at the Iowa six-yard line. Afterward, running back Blake Corum bursts up the middle to score Michigan’s second touchdown of the night.

5:08 3Q, Michigan 17, Iowa 0: The Hawkeyes start the drive with a two-yard run by Leshon Williams. Two plays later, Deacon Hill finds wide receiver Kaleb Brown across the middle for a 10-yard pickup. On the following play, Iowa ran a tight end screen to Addison Ostrenga for another 10-yard pickup. Three plays later, Hill gets stopped on the quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1, bringing Michigan’s offense back on the field at their own 44-yard line.

0:30 3Q, Michigan 20, Iowa 0: The Wolverines had a nine-play, four-minute drive that resulted in three points after a 46-yard field goal by kicker James Turner.

14:55 4Q, Michigan 20, Iowa 0: After a quick three-and-out, Tory Taylor punts it 35-yards to set up Michigan at their own 35-yard line.

12:34 4Q, Michigan 20, Iowa 0: The Wolverines start their first possession of the fourth quarter with a five-yard pass to wide receiver Cornelius Johnson. A couple of plays later on third-and-2, running back Blake Corum gets stopped short of the fourth down, and Michigan elects to punt on the next play.

10:24 4Q, Michigan 20, Iowa 0: After taking the ball over at their own 15-yard line, quarterback Deacon Hill fumbles after a sack by defensive end Braiden McGregor, which the Wolverines recover.

9:09 4Q, Michigan 23, Iowa 0: After a sack by Iowa defensive lineman Yahya Black on Michigan’s first play, the Wolverines failed to pick up the first down, and kicker James Turner nailed the 36-yard field goal. The Hawkeyes will take over at their own 25-yard line.

8:15 4Q, Michigan 23, Iowa 0: After driving it to the Michigan 45-yard line, Iowa’s offense fails to convert on the fourth-and-5 pass attempt by Deacon Hill, and the Wolverines take over.

03:43 4Q, Michigan 26, Iowa 0: The Wolverines had a six-play, three-minute and 46-second drive that resulted in three points after a 50-yard field goal by kicker James Turner.

1:45 4Q, Michigan 26, Iowa 0: Iowa starts their drive with Deacon finding Kaleb Johnson out of the backfield for a gain of eight yards. A couple of plays later on fourth-and-12, Michigan defensive lineman Derrick Moore sacked Hill, and Iowa turned it over with less than two minutes remaining.

0:00 4Q, Michigan 26, Iowa 0: JJ. McCarthy kneels it as time expires here in Indy. The Wolverines will win their third-straight Big Ten championship.