Mark Gronowski Struggles Again; Iowa Hawkeyes Lose To Iowa State Cyclones 16-13
Iowa Hawkeye Quarterback Mark Gronowski struggled for a second straight week as the Hawks fell to cross-state rivals Iowa State 16-13 on Saturday. Cyclone Kicker Kyle Konrardy booted a game-winning field goal in the final two minutes for the second straight year to keep the Cy-Hawk Trophy in Ames. Gronowski had a chance to drive Iowa down the field in the remaining 1:56, but ended up taking two sacks and turning the ball over on downs.
Gronowski’s FCS Success Slow To Translate To FBS
Gronowski was very successful at the FCS level, but he has struggled in his first two games for the Hawkeyes. He was 13 of 24 for just 83 yards and one interception on Saturday. The fifth-year senior South Dakota State transfer also rushed 16 times for 37 yards and one touchdown, and he was sacked three times. In his Iowa debut last week, Gronowski managed just 44 passing yards and 39 rushing yards, but he did have both a passing and a rushing TD. The Hawkeyes won that game over Albany 34-7.
Gronowski has been a big part of the Iowa run game, but he has not been able to get things going through the air. If the Hawkeyes are going to compete in the overcrowded Big Ten, Gronowski is going to have to be able to move the ball consistently in the passing game. Iowa is a run-first team, but if the team cannot manage more than 100 yards passing a game, the Hawks will struggle mightily against most conference foes. Gronowski was a Walter Payton Award winner at SDSU in 2023 as the best offensive player in the FCS.
Konrardy Does It Again
The CyHawk matchup is always a hard-fought, spirited rivalry, and this year was no different. The Cyclones jumped out to an early lead on field goals of 44 and 27 yards in the first quarter by Konrardy. After a 31-yard field goal by Iowa Kicker Drew Stevens to start the second quarter, ISU QB Rocco Becht tossed a two-yard TD pass to Benjamin Brahmer to make the lead 13-3. Gronowski ran the ball in from two yards out with 34 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 13-10.
Both defenses ratcheted things up in the second half. Iowa tied the game at 13 on a 36-yard field goal for the only score of the third quarter. The score would remain tied until Konrardy hit the 54-yard game-winner. Konrardy won last year’s CyHawk Classic with a 54-yarder with five seconds left in the game. He hit a school record 63-yarder in ISU’s 55-7 romp over South Dakota last weekend.
By the Numbers
The Hawkeyes managed only 214 yards of total offense, 131 of those on the ground. Jaziun Patterson led the Iowa ground game with 11 rushes for 60 yards. Jacob Gill led Iowa receivers with five catches for 52 yards. Koen Entringer had a key fumble recovery on a muffed punt by ISU return man Xavier Townsend that led to the Hawkeyes’ first score. Iowa’s defense held the Cyclones to 238 yards on the day.
Iowa State’s offense was led by Becht, who was 18 for 27 for 134 yards and one touchdown. Abu Samu III was ISU’s leading rusher with 47 yards on 12 carries, and Brett Eskildsen led Cyclone receivers with two catches for 39 yards. Brahmer had four catches on the day for 18 yards and ISU’s only TD. Jeremiah Cooper picked off Gronowski and returned the interception 24 yards to set up the touchdown.
What’s Next?
Iowa (1-1) will host the University of Massachusetts next Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. The Minutemen (0-1) are hosting the Bryant Bulldogs in a late afternoon game today. Iowa State (3-0) travels to Arkansas State next Saturday afternoon. The Red Wolves (1-0) are currently playing cross-state rival Arkansas on the road.
