IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An accommodating schedule and a perfectly placed bye week put Iowa in position for a good start. The Hawkeyes won’t get many more breaks this season. Iowa (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) will finish 2013 against opponents who are a combined 25-11, with nearly half of those losses coming from Purdue.

The Hawkeyes lost every game they played in the second half of 2012, and they might only be favored once in the final six games of this season. But Iowa is confident that the strides it has made so far will help it avoid another collapse.

The Hawkeyes kick off a grueling stretch on Saturday at fourth-ranked Ohio State (6-0, 2-0). You can hear the game on KJAN.