MADISON, Wis. — Suddenly, Iowa’s football season has a lot more hope.
For two weeks, images of a tough home loss to Indiana and starting quarterback Mark Gronowski crumpling to the turf with a knee injury lingered for the Hawkeyes.
But with an impressive 37-0 rout of rival Wisconsin on Oct. 11 at Camp Randall Stadium, the season of possibilities has re-opened juuuuust a little bit.
Gronowski surprised many by returning to the starting lineup, and Iowa’s offensive line and defense looked like they’re ready for the second half of the season with a thoroughly dominant performance before a sold-out crowd of 76,064.
“I thought the guys really handled the bye week extremely well,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said after locking up his Big Ten-record 208th career win at Iowa. “And then when we got back to work getting ready for this ball game, I thought the week of preparation went really well, too. … Most importantly, the guys showed up at kickoff, ready to play.”
A bye week can sometimes go one way or another. Back in 2021, Iowa entered a bye week with a disappointing home loss to Purdue after a 6-0 start and then had two weeks to think about it and … laid an egg at Wisconsin, in a 27-7 loss here.
The first of Iowa’s two byes, as Ferentz referenced, offered a lot of encouragement behind the scenes.
“Man, I just thought everything was there,” senior cornerback TJ Hall said. “Our focus, our intensity, our effort, holding each other accountable. I’m getting excited each and every week for this team. I feel like we’re growing every day.”
Let’s talk about that excitement going forward.
The Hawkeyes reached the halfway point with a 4-2 record, the two losses coming by a combined eight points. The second half of the season was thought to be the far more daunting stage of a brutal schedule, but suddenly that looks a lot more manageable.
Up next: A Penn State team that has lost three straight, including to UCLA and Northwestern, and now has lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season. The Nittany Lions were 10½-point favorites over Iowa before the season; now Iowa is a slight favorite (by 1½ points) in a home night game at Kinnick Stadium. Minnesota (the Oct. 25 opponent) and reeling Michigan State (Nov. 22) also look pretty beatable. Even Oregon, which comes to Kinnick on Nov. 8, was beaten at home by the team that Iowa should’ve defeated on Sept. 27 (Indiana) if not for a botched screen pass.
All this is just talk. The results to come are all that matter. And that’s where Ferentz has been so good at Iowa over the years.
Always keeps his team engaged, always keeps players focused on improving, always aims at peaking in November.
The Hawkeyes showed in Camp Randall Stadium they are on an upward track.
The rushing offense was terrific, topping 200 yards against a run-stuffing opponent.
The defense didn’t allow Wisconsin to cross Iowa’s 35-yard line, and that occurred on the game’s final play. Even the second-team defenders helped secure the shutout.
The special teams were flawless, with Drew Stevens going 3-for-3 on field goals.
“This is what we wanted to have happen when we came in here,” defensive tackle Bryce Hawthorne said.
This was a feel-good night for the Hawkeyes, who extended their winning streak over Wisconsin to four games for the first time in two decades … and shut out the Badgers in Madison for the first time since 1929.
Ferentz said after losing to Indiana that he thought Iowa still had a good team. How does he feel now after this Madison validation?
“We’ll see. It’s week to week, like I just said,” Ferentz said. “The two best things, I think our attitude’s good. The guys have done a good job of handling highs and lows thus far. And then the rest of the story is that we’ve got things we can get better at. Our passing game is hardly sharp, but I think that’s a byproduct of Mark missing some time.”
Maybe Wisconsin needs to do more push-ups?
The talk of Wisconsin’s 42 push-ups after every spring practice suggested the Badgers wanted to set a more physical tone against Iowa this time around after a 42-10 loss at Kinnick Stadium a year ago.
As we relayed all week, Iowa players heard about the 42 push-ups, how Wisconsin couldn’t believe it gave up 42 points to Iowa of all teams.
The Hawkeyes got the message and set a physical tone, starting with Wisconsin’s first two plays from scrimmage, with Koen Entringer blasting Trech Kekahuna on a sideline pass that was ruled a bobble, then Kekahuna getting lit up and fumbling (which was overturned on review) by Zach Lutmer and Xavier Nwankpa. Kekahuna was out for the game after that hit.
“You definitely want to come out right away and set the tone, just like that,” Lutmer said. “(Jayden) Montgomery did a good job of setting (the play) back into me, and then X came downhill and really, really stuck the guy.”
Physical hits were matched by physical tackling, which was much improved from the 20-15 home loss to Indiana. That was a major point of emphasis during the bye week, Lutmer said.
And good tackling and a physical message turned into turnovers in a hurry.
First, Hawthorne collected an interception off a deflection from Brian Allen; two non-starters making a big play. Hawthorne, the South Dakota State transfer, dove for his first career pick. Iowa converted that into a three-play, 24-yard touchdown drive.
“It was a great moment for me out there,” Hawthorne said. “It didn’t feel real.”
Next, Aaron Graves — who had said Tuesday it was “interesting” that Wisconsin was doing 42 push-ups every day because of Iowa — undercut Hunter Simmons’ flat pass and returned his first career interception to the 1-yard line. Gronowski’s 1-yard plunge gave Iowa a 17-0 lead with 1:30 left in the first quarter.
“My assignment was to go outside the tackle and have contain,” Graves said. “The end was looping back behind me. I went out and the quarterback turned right to me. We were looking at each other, and he just tossed it to me. Kind of worked out.”
Lutmer collected a third Wisconsin turnover early in the second quarter when Simmons threw an errant, backward pass. Lutmer’s heady play near the sideline gave Iowa the ball at Wisconsin’s 28. Iowa turned that into three points and a 20-0 lead.
A defense that lacked turnovers early in the season (zero created in the first 15 quarters of the season) has started to heat up. Iowa began the day minus-1 in turnovers for the season. It leaves Madison at plus-1. That’s a nice bit of progress.
A few defensive changes after the bye week
In addition to Jayden Montgomery stepping in for the injured Jaden Harrell at middle linebacker, defensive coordinator Phil Parker made a tweak to get Lutmer on the field full-time … at least for this matchup.
Previously, Lutmer — Iowa’s cash defender in the 4-2-5 base defense — has been coming off the field when Iowa goes with a 4-3, in favor of Jaxon Rexroth.
But in this game, when Iowa went 4-3, Lutmer stayed on the field … as the team’s No. 2 cornerback. Thus, Deshaun Lee was the odd man out in those situations. That was a plan that Parker revealed to Lutmer after the bye weekend.
“I was open to the idea,” Lutmer said. “Obviously, I get to be on the field a little bit more.”
Iowa must’ve felt comfortable that Lutmer, a safety by trade, was not in danger of getting burned by Wisconsin’s low-powered passing game. This was the first time Lutmer has ever played cornerback in a game, at any level.
“I haven’t, no, but playing the slot (as cash) kind of helps me prepare a little bit with some fast dudes in the slot.”
By the way, Montgomery made an early impact with a hurry on Simmons on Wisconsin’s opening drive, followed by a nice tackle in the hole to force third-and-long.
It’s always nice to see how Parker tweaks his defense during bye weeks. The change to Lutmer may be more difficult against more dynamic wide receivers, but it worked well against the methodical Badgers, especially because Lutmer is so good in run support.
How did Mark Gronowski look?
It was a semi-miracle that Gronowski was able to play in this game. And, for the most part, he played well despite what looked like it could be a season-ending left-knee injury against Indiana on Sept. 27. So let’s start there. Gronowski doing the work necessary to grind back and lead the Hawkeyes on the Big Ten road deserves credit. He knew he wouldn’t be 100%, but he wanted to be out there for his team.
“Every single day, it’s continued to get better,” Gronowski said, “and today was the best I felt since the injury happened.”
A few of Gronowski’s early attempts were overthrown, including a third-down pass to DJ Vonnahme on Iowa’s first possession. He also threw an ill-advised interception on the last play of the first quarter, on an underthrown and late throw toward the left sideline.
But Gronowski, wearing a brace around his left knee, was surprisingly mobile in the pocket when he needed to be. He wasn’t sacked in the first half and eluded pressure once and scrambled for 5 yards. It was clear that Iowa didn’t want Gronowski using his legs very much, and his offensive line gave him nice pass protection throughout the first half.
“It wasn’t obviously my best game, but I feel like we did a really good job in the run game today,” Gronowski said. “We were executing really, really well up front. I was just doing what I could in the pass game.”
Gronowski was at his best on Iowa’s final drive of the first half, which resulted in a 49-yard Drew Stevens field goal. Gronowski went 6-for-6 on the drive, which started at Iowa’s 6, for 47 yards. That included a 13-yard strike for Reece Vander Zee’s first catch of the season. Vander Zee was playing for the first time in 2025 after recovering from a foot fracture he suffered Aug. 27.
Gronowski finished 17-of-24 passing for 107 yards. He also extended his streak of rushing touchdowns with Iowa to six, finishing with four rushes for nine yards. And he appeared to come out of this game healthy, ready to wear out the trainers again this week back in Iowa City to get ready for Penn State.
Iowa’s offensive line owns the trenches
The one thing Wisconsin hung its hat on coming into this game was its rushing defense. The Badgers were ranked No. 6 nationally against the run, having allowed just 75.0 yards a game. Moreover, Wisconsin had allowed only two rushes of 20-plus yards all season.
Iowa leaned into its team strength, which is its offensive line, anyway.
The Hawkeyes overpowered Wisconsin with their run game from the jump. Nathan McNeil uncorked a 24-yard run in the first quarter. Xavier Williams tacked on a 29-yard TD run in the third quarter and a 19-yarder in the fourth. And Kamari Moulton seemed to get at least 4 yards every time he touched the football, cranking out 96 yards on his 15 carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run.
Moulton knew on Iowa’s second play from scrimmage, a basic outside run to the left, that this could be a big night for the running backs. Iowa finished with 36 runs for 210 yards, a 5.8-per-carry average.
“Five yards, first carry,” Moulton said. “You just could feel it in the air that it could be a big night.”
Getting healthy on the offensive line helped. Iowa limped into the bye week with injuries to powerful left guard Beau Stephens and dominant right tackle Gennings Dunker. Stephens was a steamroller in the run game Saturday, and it was good to see Dunker back out there again.
“We pride ourselves on being tough, smart, physical, together,” Stephens said. “That was one of our keys for this game, was out-physical this other team and play for the full 60 minutes. And I think we did that today.”
Jeremy Hecklinski: Iowa’s new No. 2 quarterback
A major story that indirectly had an impact on Iowa’s quarterback situation occurred this past week, as the NCAA Division I Administrative Council approved a single transfer-portal window in college football for Jan. 2-16, 2026. That’s it. There is no longer a spring transfer-portal period for non-graduates.
That spring period has been essential the past few years in Iowa bringing in quarterbacks. Two Hawkeyes who started in 2024, Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton, arrived that summer. This past year, Wake Forest transfer Jeremy Hecklinski arrived and quickly launched himself into the Hawkeyes’ top three.
The portal change puts more urgency on the Hawkeyes trying to figure out whether their 2026 starting quarterback is already on the roster. That is certainly the hope for offensive coordinator Tim Lester, who was eager to see what he had in Auburn transfer Hank Brown and Hecklinski during this past bye week.
It turns out, Lester loved what he saw from Hecklinski. The 5-foot-11, 188-pound Georgian had a great week of practice and launched himself past Brown and into the No. 2 spot behind Gronowski. Hecklinski was taking No. 2 reps in pregame warmups.
The best scenario is that Hecklinski continues to impress and Brown keeps pace, giving Iowa two QBs it feels good about going into January. Another bye week is coming after the Oct. 25 game vs. Minnesota.
“Just the way he’s practiced,” Ferentz said about elevating Hecklinski. “(But) before we start any discussions on that, it’s really close. Hank’s done a really good job. And I think the bigger picture is like we feel like we have a healthy room now, pardon the pun.
“It’s going to be ongoing, the competition. And the good thing is, I think we like what we’ve seen. … We just like how those guys operate.”
Hecklinski got his first snaps as a Hawkeye late in the game, with Iowa leading, 37-0. He completed his only pass, a 2-yarder to Alex Eichmann with 2:19 left. If Gronowski gets hurt going forward, it looks like Hecklinski is the next man in.
And hearing Ferentz’s comments, it seems he and the offensive coaches are warming to the idea of Brown vs. Hecklinski in the spring without a pressing portal need.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 31 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Leistikow 6 thoughts from Iowa football’s thorough domination of Wisconsin
Reporting by Chad Leistikow, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
