IOWA CITY — Iowa managed its first real win of note in the 2025 season with a 38-28 win over Rutgers on Friday to start Big Ten play 1-0.
The Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) looked dynamic on offense as quarterback Mark Gronowski threw for 186 yards and rushed for 55 with three touchdowns on the ground. Kamari Moulton added 68 yards and a score in his first game back since week one, and four receivers caught a pass of 20 or more yards.
Defensively, the Scarlet Knights gashed Iowa with 330 yards through the air, but the Hawkeyes came up with a critical takeaway to set up the game-clinching touchdown and only allowed seven points in the second half.
Following the 10-point win, here are three burning questions for Iowa:
How much impact did Mark Gronowski’s injury have?
Gronowski’s commitment to the Hawkeyes in January. Then, a press release came out from the program announcing Gronowski’s commitment (plus Iowa’s other transfer additions) and revealed the Naperville, Illinois native would miss the entirety of spring practices with a shoulder injury.
Gronowski returned to action during the summer and won the starting quarterback job in fall camp. And, he said he was comfortable going into the season as the Hawkeyes’ starter.
“I feel great right now,” Gronowski said last month. “Especially on the mental side of things and having that pre-snap plan when I’m approaching the line of scrimmage. … It’s been really cool to see the development throughout this entire offseason.”
Then, the first two weeks happened. He threw for just 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
He started to settle in with 179 passing yards against UMass in a 47-7 win. Then, Gronowski led the offense to the aforementioned road win last Friday.
It’s clear Gronowski just needed a little time as the starting quarterback for Iowa, which begs the question: What if he’d had a full spring camp?
Answer: Contrary to what we were led to believe, the injury (and his subsequent absence from spring ball) definitely appears to have contributed to a slow start from the offense.
What can this Iowa team be?
The Iowa defense has looked good when it allowed just 30 total points through the first three weeks of the season (10 points per game), and it’s looked (surprisingly) pedestrian as it allowed Rutgers to march up and down the field and score 21 points in the first half on Friday.
The same goes for the offense in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency through four games.
The Hawkeyes’ mercurial nature makes them a tough read, but they’ve proven to be capable of hanging with a Top 25 team in a hostile road environment and beating Power 4 conference foes in a standalone, primetime game in a sold-out road stadium.
So, what can this Iowa team be? Who are they?
Answer: There’s a pretty good team sporting the black and gold this season. They just aren’t always clicking on all cylinders.
Can Iowa realistically knock off Indiana?
It didn’t get picked to host ESPN’s College Gameday or Fox’s Big Noon kickoff, but Illinois vs. Indiana possessed all the hallmarks of a big early conference clash in Bloomington, Indiana.
Then, the No. 11 Hoosiers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) steamrolled the Illini 63-10. This wasn’t a close game that got out of hand late, either. Indiana led 35-10 at halftime. It was a thorough beatdown.
The Hawkeyes return home from a significant 38-28 win over Rutgers, which felt like the real bounce-back win after week two’s loss to Iowa State. But the defense looked shaky en route to the win.
So, what hope does Iowa have of upsetting the Hoosiers, who are a 7.5-point favorite (per BetMGM)?
While that line feels like a surprisingly slim margin, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s resume may explain it. Though his Wikipedia page reads like that of new Iowa men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum’s — rife with postseason success at lower levels — the Hawkeyes caught a break. They get to face Cignetti away from his home.
Iowa only lost multiple games in Kinnick once in the last five seasons, when it went 4-3 at home in 2022. And, Cignetti’s winning percentage drops notably in road games (69.6%; 55-24) compared to at home (85.9%; 79-13) in his career.
Answer: If you’re going to pull the upset, Kinnick is the place to do it.
A hot start for both teams and an explosive finish for Iowa tells the story of Hawkeyes’ Big Ten opener
5 Takeaways from Iowa’s win over Rutgers: Offense puts on a show
Iowa opens Big Ten play with win over Rutgers on Friday
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
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Ethan Petrik
University of Iowa Athletics Beat Reporter
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