“Buffington is the most Iowa name to ever exist.”
6 stories in the last 30 days, from 8 outlets.
Iowa football LB Cam Buffington named Butkus Award semifinalist
Hawk Fanatic +1 Oct 30
Cam Buffington
Ranges from hash to hash and finishes the tackle. Two seasons in the Iowa linebacker corps to date. A game that shows it: 15 tackles against Iowa State — Week 2, 2026.
70 tackles · 3 sacks
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
70 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 8 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 8 outlets
Iowa football LB Cam Buffington named Butkus Award semifinalist
Hawk Fanatic +1 Oct 30 · 2 outlets
Iowa Hawkeyes AthleticsCam Buffington Tabbed Butkus Award SemifinalistOct 28from 16 outlets
Iowa football LB Cam Buffington named Butkus Award semifinalist
Hawk Fanatic +1 Oct 30 · 2 outlets
Roundtable33 Days Until Iowa Football: Cam BuffingtonAug 3
Locked OnRising Stars? Iowa Hawkeyes’ Cam Buffington & Tony Diaz Set to shine Among Big Ten’s best in 2026Aug 7
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)Iowa football’s Cam Buffington fueled by quiet, hard-working mindsetAug 20
Hawk CentralThe Cam Buffington breakout has arrived for Iowa footballSep 16
KCCIFrom 8-man to the Big Ten, Cam Buffington shining for IowaSep 16Iowa Hawkeyes AthleticsCam Buffington Tabbed Butkus Award SemifinalistOct 28Hawk CentralPhil Parker talks Cam Buffington, surprises on Iowa's defenseAug 14Hawk CentralVideo: Cam Buffington reflects on 15-tackle performance vs. Iowa StateSep 15
The Daily IowanOne-on-one with Iowa third-year linebacker Cam BuffingtonSep 17
Sports Illustrated +1Iowa LB Cam Buffington Ahead of Schedule, Thriving for the HawkeyesSep 17Hawk CentralCam Buffington had 15 tackles in Iowa's hard-fought win vs. Iowa StateSep 13The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)Cam Buffington takes command of Hawkeye defenseSep 13Iowa Hawkeyes AthleticsHawk Central +1
CBS SportsHawk CentralThe Gazette (Cedar Rapids)RoundtableEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Cam Buffington vs Northern Illinois.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 8 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-0vs Northern Illinois | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-13vs Iowa State | 15 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 15 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 55-0vs Northern Iowa | 6 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 20-19@ No. 18 Michigan | 11 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-31vs No. 5 Ohio State | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-24@ Washington | 8 | 6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 8 | L 10-13@ Minnesota | 10 | 8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 30-0vs No. 25 Wisconsin | 8 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 39 | 8.0 | 3.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · W 30-0 vs Wisconsin, play by play
8 tackles, including 1 sack. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 5-yard loss. First quarter, up 3-0.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 6 tackles for loss, 3 of them sacks, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Iowa’s defense played that day
Wisconsin’s 10 drives: 10 stopped (3 takeaways) · 0 scored. His sack came with Iowa up 3.
0 tackles.
Not drawn: there is no box score for this game yet.
8 tackles, including 2 sacks, tied for the most sacks in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss. First quarter, up 6-0.
6 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
11 tackles.
6 tackles, including 2 more for loss. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
A big game: 15 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 16 for him; the box score credits 15.
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
70tackles this seasonTFL rate
11%8 TFLSack rate
4%3 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups70 tackles · 8 for loss · 3 sacks.
2 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 15-6 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 8.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 9.7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 8.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 9.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Pass share
48.0%
240 pass / 260 run
Plays / game
62.5
8 games
Team sack rate
2.7%
258 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
70 tackles in 8 games, more tackles a game than nearly every FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #47 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Kirk Ferentz.
