​PISCATAWAY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 19: Phil Parker Defensive Coordinator/Secondary coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on September 19. 2025 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images As per tradition, our annual 30 Day Countdown to the season here on UWDP features a few days where we look ahead and try to preview our schedule and the opponents we’ll face this season. Today, we’ll be looking at the schedule to circle which opponent might have the best defense that we’ll face. Unlike the offenses, quite a few of our opponents’ defenses look to be among the best in the conference.As a refresher for those who might not have committed our schedule to memory, here’s our 2026 opponents:2026 schedule is set 🔒 ☔ ➡️ Lock in your Season Tickets now🎟️: https://t.co/tRW3tsXjrBpic.twitter.com/S0iSTK43pl— Washington Football (@UW_Football) January 27, 2026To give a little more context, 3 of our 12 2026 regular season opponents finished in the top 10 last year in defensive SP+ (Indiana, Oregon, and Iowa), and another 4 finished in the top 44 (Penn State, Minnesota, USC, and Nebraska). Top to bottom, that’s a slew of strong defensive-minded teams with a few elite programs. Now, last year’s performances aren’t necessarily indicative of their potential this season. Indiana’s defense, much like their offense that we broke down yesterday, is dealing with high turnover at key positions. On the flip side, Penn State, who fielded a solid top 25 SP+ defense last year, may actually improve under the coaching staff despite James Franklin’s dismissal and the subsequent roster turnover.Let’s dive in.Iowa HawkeyesIowa is the model of consistency and stability in today’s age of constant change, and if there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that the Hawkeyes will field a suffocating and fundamentally sound defense as long as HC Kirk Ferentz and DC Phil Parker are at the helm (well, that and a pedestrian passing attack). In Parker’s 14 years coordinating Iowa’s defense, the Hawkeyes defense have only placed outside of the top 20 in national scoring defense once (in Parker’s first season), and have been in the top 10 in 5 of the last 7 seasons. Parker’s defenses have always emphasized fundamentals and a bend-but-don’t-break architecture that dampens the blow of any individual star’s departure. It just so happens that that style of defense resulted in a system that is also the kryptonite to many of today’s high-flying explosives-based offenses. Iowa plays a lot of opportunistic zone coverages with stout run fits that takes away both the vertical passing game and the run game. This forces opposing offenses into a slow dink-and-dunk passing strategy that is often unsustainable and lures impatient OCs into overly aggressive and ill-advised play calls. Big plays can still be had against the Hawkeyes