Iowa football’s offense has grown every week after its best game of the season at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Maybe in years past, the Hawkeyes would’ve left SHI Stadium with a loss. Iowa was staring down a one-score deficit in the fourth quarter, and it needed an explosive play or two to secure a Big Ten victory.

This was the exact reason why Iowa football (3-1,1-0 Big Ten) wanted quarterback Mark Gronowski.

On top of the South Dakota State transfer becoming the all-time NCAA winningest quarterback with his 52nd career win, Gronowski helped lead the Hawkeyes’ offense to its first Big Ten win of the season — a 38-28 win at Rutgers (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten).

He’s the first Iowa quarterback to have four consecutive games with a rushing touchdown since 1968. He’s also the first Hawkeye signal caller to score three rushing touchdowns in one game since Matt Rodgers did so in 1990.

Gronowski’s uncanny ability to elevate Iowa’s offense has steadily improved over these four games. He’s gone from a tense passer to playing looser and finding way to make big plays when the Hawkeyes need a spark.

The best part of it? Head coach Kirk Ferentz is adamant there’s more improvement to uncover.

“There's more out there to be had,” Ferentz said. “That's probably our biggest challenge here. We talked as about a five-week block, and, you know, we're four points about away from doing what we want to be.”

The Hawkeyes have made strides every game, but they took a leap against the Scarlet Knights. Gronowski’s three rushing touchdowns led the way, but he connected with receiver Dayton Howard for a 41-yard pass through the midfield that set up the QB’s six points.

“I trust this offense just as much as anyone else does,” Howard said. “I know we're going to be going in a good direction, and just got to keep building off that, it's a great win for sure.”

Iowa had running back Kamari Moulton back, too. He took the majority of the carries, rushing for 68 yards in 14 carries and scoring his first touchdown of the season.

“I feel like this is a good step in the right direction,” Moulton said. “And it's only up from here.”

Iowa averaged 6.2 yards per offensive play against Rutgers, who had 5.7 yards per play. The Scarlet Knights outgained the Hawkeyes by over 50 yards.

It’s moments like those that continue driving Iowa toward a successful offense. It’s OK to be excited about it, too. Despite a rocky start one month ago, fans can see the vision Ferentz and offensive coordinator Tim Lester had when they brought Gronowski in.

It’s materializing at the start of Big Ten play, so why not have some extra optimism for a performance like that?

“There's one thing that we kind of keep talking about, is just being the reason,” Gronowski said. “Sometimes offense is gonna have to be the reason sometimes this year, and I felt like today, we made a great effort toward that.”

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