Again. They did it again. The Iowa Hawkeyes gave just enough hope to fans, only to pull the rug in the waning moments. They lost another tight matchup against a ranked foe, this time the No. 17 USC Trojans, in another rainy game at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
The afternoon started strong as quarterback Mark Gronowski was surprisingly slinging the ball down the field with a bomb to Jacob Gill, setting up a one-yard pass to Dayton Howard for a score. A sneak from Gronowski at the beginning of the second quarter made it a 14-0 ballgame.
Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) celebrates a touchdown against the Southern California Trojans on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California (Harry How / Getty Images).
Iowa looked like they were running away with it.
The Trojans managed to punch back as they marched down the field and scored their own rushing touchdown with tailback Bryan Jackson.
Despite this, the Hawkeyes kept their foot on the gas and perfectly executed a Philly Special with receiver Reece Vander Zee throwing a touchdown to Gronowski. So, in case you were keeping track, Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski had a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown all in the first half to give his team a 21-7 lead.
Man, 21 points in the first half on the road against a ranked team? There’s no way that Iowa can mess this up, right?
Right?
Despite a field goal for USC that cut the deficit to eleven at the halftime break, Hawkeye fans still had plenty of reasons to be happy.
But as the second half rolled around, USC slowly began to chip away at the lead with another field goal and a touchdown pass from quarterback Jayden Maiava to receiver Makai Lemon, making it 21-19 with just one quarter left to play.
When life gives you lemons, you get 153 yards and a burnt Hawkeye secondary.
The Hawkeye offense struggled to regain the traction it had in the first half, and a wild ricochet interception gave USC the football in Hawkeye territory with a chance to take the lead.
They took full advantage of this opportunity as Bryan Jackson notched his second touchdown to make it 26-21. Nineteen unanswered points for USC.
Southern California Trojans running back Bryan Jackson (21) runs against the Iowa Hawkeyes’ defense on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California (Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images).
But not to worry. Deep into the fourth, Iowa was down by just five with a chance to regain its precious lead. Some big plays from receiver Kaden Wetjen and Mark Gronowski got them all the way inside USC’s 30, but they faced a crucial 4th and 6.
Gronowski dropped back. He lofted a prayer to Kaden Wetjen who made the catch…but was called out of bounds. A singular toe looked to cross the white boundary line. Trojan ball.
It really is a game of inches.
The Hawkeyes wouldn’t see the football again. A first down and a phantom unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on an Iowa assistant coach was enough to ice the game.
Another loss in California for Iowa and another loss to a ranked opponent. In fact, Iowa has now lost thirteen straight games against ranked opponents, four of them in this season alone.
The interesting part is that the Hawkeyes are not far from being one of the great, upper-echelon teams. Their four losses this season are by a combined fifteen points; they just can’t seem to get over the hump.
For their final home game, the Hawks will face off against a struggling Michigan State team (3-7) this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. This should be a no-doubter.
Nothing changes if nothing changes. And for Iowa? Something has to change. If they want to become a national championship contender, stubbornness has to be eliminated. Whether that impending change is in the coaching staff or a different part of the program is unclear. For now, we’ll be waiting. And hoping all the same.
