Right out of the gate, the Hawkeyes came out swinging. Senior Mark Gronowski, playing in his final game with Iowa, broke a sack and burst out of the pocket for a 42-yard scramble down the sideline, with a late-hit penalty tacked on at the end. Two plays later, running back Kamari Moulton found the end zone for the game’s first points.

An offensive start like that was encouraging, but Hawkeye fans had learned their lesson in the USC game.

It was nothing to get too excited about just yet.

The momentum continued on the following drive when redshirt freshman tight end D.J. Vonnahme caught a pass and rumbled for a 51-yard gain. It capped off a career day for Vonnahme, who finished with seven catches for 146 yards.

But the momentum came to a sudden halt.

On the very next play, a slant pass intended for running back Xavier Williams bounced from his grasp, ricocheted into the air, and landed in the arms of Commodore defender Martel Hight for an interception and touchback.

Fortunately, the defense cleaned up the mess the offense had left.

A familiar theme for Iowa.

Pavia was sacked four times in the first half, two of them by Karson Sharar. And as the defensive line consistently pressured the quarterback, the Hawks held Vanderbilt to just three points through two quarters.

Iowa wouldn’t be the only team to make a critical mistake. Late in the half on a fourth-and-long, Vanderbilt punter Nick Haberer appeared ready to run before hurriedly punting the ball away at the last second.

The problem?

He he had already crossed the line of scrimmage, resulting in a turnover on downs and giving Iowa the ball at the Vanderbilt 10-yard line. On the very next play, Gronowski lofted a jump ball to Reece Vander Zee. The sophomore, who hasn’t seen as many targets as he probably deserves, made a phenomenal contested catch for the touchdown, sending Iowa into halftime with a 14–3 lead.

The momentum carried into the second half.

Iowa forced a quick three-and-out, then marched down the field, capped off by a double reverse that resulted in a Gronowski touchdown pass to Vonnahme, extending the lead to 21–3.

Down three scores, Vanderbilt had no choice but to open things up. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Pavia launched a deep ball to Tre Richardson, who split two defensive backs and raced 75 yards for a touchdown. When they weren’t scoring on one-play strikes, the Commodores increased the tempo, and it began to disrupt the Iowa defense. Late in the third quarter, Pavia connected with Joseph McVay for a 16-yard touchdown, trimming Iowa’s lead to 24–17.

But all season long, Iowa had been comfortable putting the ball in Gronowski’s hands.

This moment was no different.

There was no safe or nervous play-calling, just trust. First-down completions to Vonnahme and Gill jump-started the drive, followed by a 32-yard burst from Moulton that pushed the ball inside the Vanderbilt five. Moulton finished the day with 95 rushing yards and a touchdown as Iowa’s leading rusher. The Hawkeyes leaned on Gronowski’s legs near the goal line, and he punched it in on the play dubbed the “Gronowski Plowski,” his 13th game with a rushing touchdown, pushing the lead to 31–17.

Vanderbilt responded once more with an 11-yard Pavia scramble for his third touchdown of the game, but Iowa’s offense stayed composed. The Hawkeyes converted three third downs on their next drive and moved well into field goal range. With Vanderbilt burning timeouts, Drew Stevens drilled his second field goal of the game from 44 yards out with 4:13 remaining, restoring a two-score lead.

Pavia moved the Commodores 60 yards downfield in just over a minute, quickly reaching the red zone. Still down two possessions with only one timeout remaining, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea elected to play it safe and kick a field goal early on second down, making it 34–27 with 2:58 left.

The most crucial play came on Iowa’s next possession.

Facing third-and-one with 2:01 remaining and Vanderbilt out of timeouts, the Hawkeyes lined up in their familiar heavy formation, the same look used so often for Gronowski sneaks. Instead, Gronowski took the snap and handed it off to Xavier Williams on an outside run, and Williams picked up 11 yards for the first down. An offsides penalty on Vanderbilt made the ending anti-climactic, but for Hawkeye Nation, it was a fitting finish. The penalty and the expectation of the sneak showed just how much defenses had to account for Gronowski.

Gronowski was named the game’s MVP after going 16-for-22 for 212 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while adding 54 rushing yards and a score on the ground. It was a proper sendoff for the senior quarterback and a fitting way to close the season.

The win marked Kirk Ferentz’s 11th bowl victory, evening his bowl record at 11–11 and snapping his 12-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

While the season included its share of tough losses, this group proved to be a special one. Iowa had 27 graduating seniors, and not a single one opted out of the bowl game. In an era defined by NIL deals and constant transfers, loyalty like that is increasingly rare.

Ferentz has kept tradition alive in the program.

Looking ahead to 2026, there is uncertainty, much like there was a year ago entering 2025. But there is also genuine excitement about what this team can become. Whatever the circumstances, Ferentz has seen it all, and he’ll once again be at the helm to deliver another season of Hawkeye football.

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A streak of sunny and rather warm days in early November ended with a depressing gray and chilly downpour, making it an uncomfortable environment to play in. Later, that would clearly become a key factor. The Hawkeyes got off to an extremely slow start on all fronts, quarterback Mark Gronowski anchoring down the offense in some poor passes and decisions. Oregon soon drew first blood when a long snap on Iowa’s second punt of the evening went soaring over the head of Rhys Dakin. Dakin sprinted back and did some quick thinking, batting the ball in the endzone and then booting it out to surrender two points. Although the yellow laundry was thrown, they’d rather two points than dish out a free touchdown to the Ducks.

The defense for Iowa looked strong in the first quarter, with Oregon’s opening offensive drive seeing three balls hit the turf from the arm of star quarterback Dante Moore. Later on, Iowa defensive back Deshaun Lee hawked and intercepted a pass on a crucial defensive stop. Following the takeaway from the Hawkeyes, the Ducks ran the football for majority of the game, wanting to sway away from passing to a banged up wide receiver room. The rushing attack dominated for the Ducks, as they put up a whopping 261 yards on the ground. Four different players rushed for over 40 yards. Senior Noah Whittington led the way with 118 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. The Ducks lone touchdown came on an outside run from Dierre Hill Jr. who found his way into the endzone for a 19-yard score. 

Iowa found life in their responding drive, as Gronowski dropped a deep ball right into the hands of Jacob Gill for a 38-yard gain, taking them inside Oregon’s 5-yard line. On the next play, Gronowski hit a wide open D.J. Vonnahme, the Hawkeyes leading receiver, for a touchdown. This scoring drive would spark life into Mark Gronowski, as he would shake off his previous mistakes. We had a ball game in Kinnick. 

On their first offensive drive of the second half, Iowa marched into the red zone. A touchdown would be monumental with them trailing 12-7. But a fumble from Kaden Wetjen, recovered by Oregon, swept the breath out of the Hawkeye faithful. It was dead silent in the sold out crowd. The Ducks found three points on the ensuing drive, thanks to a Dante Moore 49-yard rush that set them up for a field goal. 15-7.

Early in the 4th, the Hawkeyes ran into a 4th & 5 from the Oregon 40. Expecting Rhys Dakin to trot onto the field, fans were surprised to see Drew Stevens come out, and a little uneasy remembering the last time Kirk Ferentz sent out his field goal unit for a long try. But Stevens put ease into Kinnick. He nailed a career long, and program best, 58-yard field goal, making it a 15-10 game. Iowa wasn’t going away easily.

Derailed by penalties, Oregon struggled to find life on their next drive. Forced to punt, they pinned Iowa on their own seven yard line. A 93-yard drive was needed out of Iowa, which for a Kirk Ferentz led offense, felt like a distant and unattainable dream. But dreams can come true. Served with great protection, Gronowski found his earlier touchdown scorer, Vonnahme, for a long 40-yard gain putting Iowa already into Ducks territory. The crowd, soaked from pouring rain, was going berserk. 

Iowa continued to chug. They converted a 4th & 3 on a pass over the middle pass to Reece Vander Zee. Heart attacks were inevitable in Kinnick. On the next play, Iowa’s leading rusher Kamari Moulton bowled down to the Oregon 10 yard line. Oregon stood tall, all the way until 4th & goal at the 3-yard line. For Iowa, it was now or never. For Gronowski specifically, it was now. Out of a five-wide package, on a designed draw, he quickly stepped away from pressure and cruised into the endzone untouched for the touchdown. Against all odds and an incredible 93-yard scoring drive, the Hawks had the lead. 

The crowd, lively for a moment, dulled again after a miraculous two point conversion catch made by Kamari Moulton was called back. Leading by one, the pressure was on Phil Parker and his defense. While Dante Moore had handed the ball off the majority of the game, he wasn’t afraid to sling it. Moore would dart a ball to Malik Benson, covered tightly by TJ Hall up the right sideline. Benson would haul it in on a beautifully placed ball from his quarterback to put Oregon in field goal range. The remaining seconds ticked away as the Ducks chipped closer and closer. Ducks kicker Atticus Sappington trotted out for a 39-yard game-winning attempt. A dream scenario for any kicker. Sappington was perfect on the night, and needed just one more. On a miraculously clean snap and hold amidst pouring rain and a crazed Kinnick, his kick pierced through the goalposts. He remained perfect, and the Ducks came away with the victory, 18-16. 

Not all stories can have happy endings. Mark Gronowski has brought some unthinkable life into the team, especially the offense. There was genuine hope this team would find a playoff spot. But in a win or die situation, the Hawkeyes fell just short to Oregon, postseason play now completely out of the equation. Iowa, already bowl-eligible, looks to finish out the year strong. They’ll fly to California to take on a ranked USC team on Saturday.

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Heading into their 99th ever meeting, questions swirled around the health of Mark Gronowski, after he exited the game late vs. Indiana two weeks ago. With an assist from the bye week, Gronowski got the nod to start and played through the majority of the game, where he put up 107 yards on 17 completions out of 24 attempts, and had a rushing touchdown. 

Kamari Moulton took the workhorse role tonight, and it came at the right time considering Iowa was without Jaziun Patterson and Terrell Washington Jr. It also came in handy as it gave the offense a better opportunity to sway away from leaning on a banged up Mark Gronowski to lead the charge. It’s in Iowa’s best interest to keep Gronowski as healthy as possible as the team is now entering the second half of the football season. 

Moulton had a triumphant showing, leading the ground game for the Hawkeyes with 96 yards and a touchdown, while also racking up 3 catches for 29 yards. Redshirt freshman Xavier Williams made his presence known, running for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns alongside Moulton, as Wisconsin struggled to find answers for the Iowa rushing attack. True freshman Nathan McNeil complemented the ground game with an admirable 9 carries for 40 yards. 

But the defensive side of the ball is where Iowa really shined this game. Wisconsin quarterback Hunter Simmons went 8/21 and was held to 82 yards. He threw two interceptions to, believe it or not, two defensive linemen for Iowa. One nearly resulted in six for the defense, when Aaron Graves jumped in front of a screen pass and picked it off where he ran it back before being caught at the 1-yard line. The Badgers are having clear offensive problems, only scoring 34 points in the last four weeks, dead last in the conference.

This game felt, in a good way, strange for Hawkeye fans. A community that has been so used to heavily lacking offensive play in this decade, the fans finally got to be on the other side of the stick for once. And what made this different was that it came against a typically competitive Big Ten opponent. No matter how uninspiring Wisconsin may have looked, lifting a trophy at the end of the night to get a dub against your rival is always a big win that is felt all season long. 

The Hawkeyes move to 4-2 on the season with a 2-1 conference record. Next week they play Penn State at home, who are in the midst of a total collapse. The hawks will have a chance to seize an opportunity and get another conference victory. 

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Offensively, the Hawkeyes had trouble getting going early, only picking up one first down in the entire first quarter. The opening drives consisted of dropped passes, blown up runs, and even a dropped snap by Mark Gronowski. The Cyclones would benefit off the lackluster attack by jumping to a 6-0 lead. 

Iowa’s first points would arrive early in the 2nd, thanks to a muffed punt by Iowa State, setting up the Hawkeyes for a Drew Stevens 31-yard field goal. But the offense continued to struggle constructing drives of their own. Their weakest point came midway in the 2nd quarter where Mark Gronowski threw an interception to Cyclones defensive back Jeremiah Cooper. Iowa State would capitalize off this takeaway by scoring the game’s first touchdown to go up 13-3. 

After this mistake, Iowa’s offense looked better the remainder of the game. While Gronowski showed struggles in the first half, he looked more confident and composed in this game than his debut last week vs. UAlbany. Gronkowski completed 13 of his 24 passes, totaling 83 yards. He wasn’t barred by cramps this week, as he added up 37 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jaziun Patterson, filling in for the injured Kamari Moulton, complemented Gronowski in Iowa’s rushing attack. Patterson was the team’s leading rusher, his statline displaying 60 yards on 11 carries. Gronowski’s rushing score would come in response to the Cyclones first touchdown of the game thanks to critical Cyclones penalties, and the Hawkeyes would cut their lead to 13-10 by halftime. 

After what had to have been a fiery halftime talk, Iowa’s defense came out hot. They forced Iowa State into a quick three and out, and were ready to see Kaden Wetjen let it fly on his return. But Wetjen failed to receive the punt in the air, letting it bounce over his head and getting tackled at Iowa’s own five yard line. To everyone’s surprise, the Hawkeyes marched 77 long yards in almost 9 and a half minutes, finishing with a 36-yard field goal from the trusty leg of Drew Stevens, tying the contest 13-13.

The Iowa State offense continued to struggle against the gritty Hawkeye defense. Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht played a clean game, but was only able to throw for 134 yards on 27 attempts, averaging 5 yards per throw. But one of Becht’s best drives would come at a critical moment. Starting from his own 9-yard line, he would command the Cyclones down the field. In an insane tip drill, a likely interception for Iowa somehow ended up in the hands of ISU receiver Gabe Burkle for a first down that sparked new life into the drive. The Cyclones ended using up about six and a half minutes of the clock, putting them in field goal range. Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy would nail a 54-yard field goal to push Iowa State out in front 16-13. 

Final drive heroics would not be seen on the Hawkeyes end, with Mark Gronowski eating back to back sacks on 2nd and 3rd downs, resulting in a desperate 4th & 16 deep pass falling incomplete. The Cyclones would defeat the Hawkeyes for the second straight year in another narrow finish. It’s their first time winning at home vs. Iowa since 2011, snapping a 6 game winning streak in Jack Trice Stadium for Iowa. 

Iowa will look to bounce back next week at home vs. UMass. While this result stings and the Hawks fell short, Iowa looked very competitive against not just a rival, but a nationally ranked team. And with the offense still figuring out its identity, it’s hard to tell where the ceiling really is.

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Gronowski finished just 8-of-15 for 44 yards, with his longest completion going for 13. His most glaring miss came on Iowa’s opening drive, when he spiked a wide-open touchdown chance to Sam Phillips into the turf, forcing a field goal. The Hawkeyes leaned on his arm through the first quarter, but three straight incompletions late in the frame summed up the struggles.

Albany briefly took the lead with a 7-3 drive against Iowa’s defense, but that would be their only highlight. From there, the Hawkeyes abandoned the pass and turned to their ground game — and dominated.

Redshirt freshman Xavier Williams stole the show, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. Terrell Washington Jr. added 69 yards on 15 attempts, while Gronowski reminded defenses of his dual-threat ability with 39 rushing yards and a touchdown on designed runs. Iowa piled up more than 300 rushing yards overall, averaging 5.8 yards per carry despite losing Kamari Moulton to an early arm injury.

Defensively, Iowa was as sharp as expected. The Hawkeyes allowed just 177 total yards, forced seven punts, and held Albany to 2-of-11 on third downs. Quarterback Jack Shields was limited to 30 rushing yards, while the Great Danes were shut out in the second half.

Gronowski exited in the third quarter with leg cramps, making way for sophomore transfer Hank Brown to finish the night. Gronowski is expected to be ready next week.

The win marked Kirk Ferentz’s 205th at Iowa, tying him with Woody Hayes for the most in Big Ten history. Ferentz, who took over in 1999, now sits at 205-124 with the Hawkeyes.

With an opener in the books and history on the horizon, Iowa turns to its first major test: a trip to Ames for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series against ranked Iowa State. The rivalry showdown will serve as an early measuring stick for where the Hawkeyes truly stand.

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