Game Report: Iowa Hawkeyes 34, Albany Great Danes 7

A closer look at the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 34-7 win over the Albany Great Danes Saturday at Kinnick Stadium:

Turning point

Originally, it seemed the turning point of this game would be the day it was scheduled last year when Iowa pushed back a scheduled 2025 clash with Florida Atlantic to 2030 and replaced the Owls with the Great Danes.

That wasn’t the case at all, however. Albany had a 68-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-3 lead with 11:33 left in the first half. That was after consecutive 3-and-outs by the Hawkeyes’ offense.

The natives were restless.

Iowa answered the Great Danes’ score with a 65-yard touchdown drive of its own or a 10-7 lead. Redshirt freshman Xavier Williams ran for 14 and 27 yards on the first two players of the possession and first two carries of his career, then capped it with a 3-yard scoring run.

The Hawkeyes had completed just 2 of 8 passes before the drive. They rushed on six of the seven next seven plays with great effectiveness.

That carried over to the next possession when Williams broke a run for 43 yards to the Albany 9, and Iowa punched it in four plays later for a 17-7 advantage.

The form chart had been relocated, albeit belatedly, and the Hawkeyes pulled away.

By the numbers

8 — The Hawkeyes completed just nine completed passes for 48 yards, but they went to eight different players. Seth Anderson is the team leader with two.

18 — Albany had a mere 18 second-half total yards.

38 — Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski scored his 38th career rushing touchdown, a 1-yarder in the third quarter.

50 — Gronowski won his 50th game as a college starter.

55 — Iowa’s Drew Stevens made a career-long 55-yard field goal, his ninth career field goal of 50-plus yards.

122 — Iowa’s Xavier Williams rushed for 122 yards in his first college game.

205 — Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz tied Woody Hayes’ Big Ten record for coaching wins with his 205th.

Notebook

Iowa’s passing game didn’t produce any numbers of note, but the team had some other good stats.

The Hawkeyes converted 10 of 16 third-down attempts. They had the ball for over 36 minutes. They scored on all five red-zone trips. They committed just two penalties.

* It’s often the case in the NFL that special teams standouts eventually get a shot to prove themselves as position players. It’s often been the case at Iowa, too.

It was again Saturday. Kaden Wetjen was the Big Ten’s Return Specialist of the Year in 2024, with one touchdown on a kickoff return and one on a punt return.

Saturday, Wetjen got his first TD reception as a Hawkeye, a 2-yarder late in the first half on Mark Gronowski’s first scoring pass for Iowa.

* Five minutes into the third quarter, Gronowski had 38 yards rushing and 21 passing. Whatever it takes, eh? Gronowski, by the way, entered the game with 10,330 career passing yards.

* Albany had no visiting media here, thus interim coach Jared Ambrose had no postgame press conference.

The Mediapolis News and Zach’s Sporting Chronicles, however, did have seats reserved in the Kinnick press box.

* Albany’s players wore white jerseys and white pants. That barely missed the Labor Day cutoff for not wearing white.

* Former Iowa Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby, who went on to be the AD at Stanford and the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, was at the game. He is among the new inductees of Iowa’s Athletics Hall of Fame, who were feted at halftime.

Injury report

Starting running back Kamari Moulton was hurt in the first quarter and didn’t play again after gaining 22 yards on three carries for the Hawkeyes. Moulton’s right arm was in a sling when he returned to the sideline.

Iowa was without wide receiver Reece Vander Zee, who injured a foot in practice and will be out several weeks. Vander Zee had five catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in the Hawkeyes’ season-opening win over Illinois State last year.

Receiver Jariett Buie also was held out of the game.

Next game

Iowa faces Iowa State (2-0) in Ames Saturday at 11 a.m. (Fox). It figures to be a game of interest in Iowa.

The Cyclones walloped FCS Top 5 team South Dakota 55-7 Saturday in Ames. Rocco Becht completed 19 of 20 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns.