The kickoff time for next week’s highly anticipated rivalry game between Minnesota and Iowa has been officially set for 2:30 p.m. CT, and it will be broadcast on FS1.
The Week 8 schedule is set 👀 pic.twitter.com/vNTkdZkOJ8
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 18, 2026
How to watch
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 24
- Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
- TV/streaming: FS1
The Big Ten announced TV assignments and kickoff times for Week 8 on Sunday. Michigan-Indiana landed the Big Noon Kickoff slot on FOX, USC-Wisconsin is the primetime NBC game, and there was a possibility that Minnesota-Iowa would get the CBS slot, but the conference opted for Michigan State-UCLA in that window.
The 2:30 p.m. CT CBS timeslot doesn’t have as much cache as it used to, but it’s still a bigger stage than an average game. Minnesota last played in that window in Week 2 against Mississippi State and last season, when the Gophers were obliterated 41-3 by Iowa on the road.
Does any of this matter? Not really, but TV ratings have always been a big part of college football, for some reason. UCLA is one of the best stories in college football this season under first-year head coach Bob Chesney, but Michigan State is one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, and there’s zero historical rivalry between the two programs. Someone in a meeting room decided Michigan State-UCLA would draw more national interest than Minnesota-Iowa.
Saturday afternoon will be the 120th all-time meeting between Minnesota and Iowa, and the Gophers will look to win Floyd of Rosedale at home for the first time since 2014.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.