No. 23 Iowa football’s season takes the program a step forward into 2026

TAMPA — It’s a kid’s game. That’s football. It’s all about relationships.

The sayings that surrounded the 2025 Iowa Hawkeyes encapsulates their mentality through 13 college football games. It’s about having fun, and enjoying what’s in front of the players every game.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz has coached the Hawkeyes for decades, but he admitted there was something special about this year’s team. It reminded him of the 2008 season — and the analogy carried over in nearly every game Iowa played 13 years later.

“Each game, those were all tough, hard-fought, play here, play there, and it's a different outcome,” Ferentz said. “The good thing about our guys, they never went backwards and kept focusing on what the opportunities were in front of them.“

Maybe the Hawkeyes didn’t achieve every goal they set out to reach, but they were always willing to share how much fun they had.

“This was one of the universities I always looked up to and was always watching growing up as a kid,” quarterback Mark Gronowski said. “There's so many different memories that I'm going to remember in just being here at Iowa.”

The 27-player senior class at Iowa all had something to fight for during the 13 games this season. Sometimes, it was a fixation for a handful of games, like with the depth chart or an injury.

Other times it was a case of creating the right blend of magic, like developing the receiving core to take the next step. Although the passing game didn’t reach the expectations that were initially set, the Hawkeyes took steps forward.

“(We’re) trying to build an even stronger culture,” Gronowski said. “Trying to build a stronger standard for the offense and knowing that we didn't obviously get to every goal that we had every single week, but we're continuing to strive for that.”

Particularly surrounding tight end DJ Vonnahme, who ended the season with 434 receiving yards and three touchdowns — recording 146 yards and one touchdown against Vanderbilt.

“It’s super gratifying,” Vonnahme said. “Because Iowa has this bad reputation for being bad on offense, but just with Tim coming in and just really kind of revamping everything ... it's really, really cool getting an opportunity.”

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Any other year, four losses would seem mundane. All four of the Hawkeyes’ losses were against ranked opponents — two currently competing in the College Football Playoff — by one score. It was gut-wrenching, all in their own right.

But the moments when it felt like Iowa was nearly there: taking a fourth quarter lead against Oregon and holding the three-point advantage over Indiana in the second half. Those are moments fans will remember, too.

The players, on the other hand, might still remember those flashy, heart-pounding, adrenaline-filled moments. They also said that being with each other, picking each other up in the locker room after those losses and celebrating small and big wins — those were things that stood out more.

Standing on the field of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, having won the ReliaQuest Bowl 34-27 over No. 14 Vanderbilt, that’s when the emotion really hit.

“It's awesome,” Logan Jones said. “This is the best group I've been a part of.”

In the quiet moments of Iowa’s bowl win, Gronowski started making his way off the field one final time as a college athlete. Some emotion twinkling in his eye, he took his hat off and waved toward the Hawkeye fans.

Then waved he waved towards the emptying football field — a nod to the Pop Warner days of his life — and trotted into the locker room, completing the latest installment of Iowa football.

“Not only is it a tip of the cap to the fans, but a tip of the cap to the game as well,” Gronowski said. “This game has given me so much, so many friendships, so many life lessons that I'll really cherish for a lifetime.”

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