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Fun Facts: Iowa-Rutgers, two states, two Sinatras, one state bird and a one-sided series
It’s a Blackout game in Piscataway, but it’s unlikely to rival the Northeast Blackout of 2003.
Sep. 18, 2025 9:41 am
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Nothin' else matters in this whole wide world
When you're in love with a Jersey girl — Tom Waits
And now, other Fun Facts about a Jersey game:
- Iowa is 4-0 against Rutgers and has outscored the Scarlet Knights, 93-17. Two of the wins were shutouts.
- The Hawkeyes rank second nationally in punt return average at 29.8 yards per return. Iowa State is first at 39.3.
- Rutgers is one of 11 unbeaten Big Ten teams.
- The Hawkeyes’ 234 passing yards against Massachusetts last week was their first 200-yard passing day since the first game of the 2024 season, against Illinois State.
- Kaden Wetjen’s 95-yard punt return for a touchdown last week is the longest in FBS since Kalil Pimpleton’s 97-yarder for Central Michigan in 2021. Pimpleton currently plays for the CFL’[s Ottawa Redblacks.
- Rutgers has allowed 5.6 yards per rush, the worst in the Big Ten. That’s after playing two MAC teams and Norfolk State. Iowa has allowed 2.2 yards per rush.
- Iowa doesn’t have any players from New Jersey and vice versa.
- The Hawkeyes have allowed just three second-half points.
- Iowa punter Rhys Dakin is from Melbourne, Australia. Rutgers punter Jakob Anderson is from East Melbourne, Australia.
- Last week, Seth Anderson became the first Iowa player with two touchdown catches in the first quarter since Maurice Brown in 2002.
- Against Norfolk State last week, Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis threw two touchdown passes and Dino Kaliakmanis caught one, though not from his brother. Athan has 42 career TD passes. Dino has one career TD catch.
- According to the Sagarin Ratings of all FBS and FCS teams, Rutgers played the 191st-toughest schedule through Week 3. Iowa played the 225th-toughest.
- Rutgers is in its 12th Big Ten season. It has never had a winning league record. Iowa has had a winning Big Ten record in each of the last seven seasons.
- The Scarlet Knights have won a conference football title eight years more recently than the Hawkeyes, having shared the 2012 Big East crown.
- Mark Helfrich is doing the color commentary for Fox’s telecast of this game. He coached Oregon to a 13-2 record and a berth in the 2014 College Football Playoff. Two years later, the Ducks were 4-8 and Helfrich hasn’t been a head coach since.
- The first college football game was Rutgers’ 6-4 win over Princeton in 1869 in New Brunswick, N.J. The most-recent game was Hawaii’s 23-3 win over Portland State last Saturday in Honolulu.
- Rutgers is named for Henry Rutgers, a captain of American forces during the Revolutionary War. He also was a slave owner.
- Musical Sinatra from New Jersey: Frank Sinatra. Musical Sinatra from Iowa: Rev. Nick Sinatra of St. John Lutheran Church in Sanborn, who plays the tuba and trombone.
- The state bird of both Iowa and New Jersey is the Eastern goldfinch.
- It’s a Blackout game at Rutgers. In 2003, New Jersey was among the affected states of the largest electrical power blackout in North American history.
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