Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium delivered exactly what fans expect from the Cy-Hawk rivalry. Aside from the Cy-Hawk Cup, it was the potential bragging rights that gave the audience the jitters. The Hawkeyes lost, 13-16. And Mike Gronowski’s blunder grabbed the headlines. His performance was visibly underwhelming, completing just 13 of his 24 passes for a 54 percent completion rate. His lone interception and lack of scores on the ground emphasized the difficulties the Hawkeyes’ offense faced in moving the ball consistently throughout the game.

Post-game, Mark Gronowski addressed the RPO shortcomings. The main criticism? The offense looked sluggish. “Yeah, I mean, there’s always a couple things that we’re always looking at depending on if it’s a two-sided RPO or if it’s just a one-sided of the field against Iowa State,” he said to the press. With the first snap of the ball, the Hawkeyes were penalized for a personal foul on the return as Kaden Wetjen returned the kick 23 yards to the Cyclones’ 26-yard line.

He continued. “I mean, we were looking at kind of multiple people and seeing if they were coming down into the run game, and at one point, they were really coming hard, and we were able to throw over them, and then at one point, they started backing up, and we were able to get five yards of carry.” Gronowski is yet to find his footing. He also reflected on his 16 carries against the Cyclones, “I wasn’t really 100% expecting that, but sometimes that’s what the game turns into. There’s some plays that happen… where I’ll just take matters in my own hands and use my feet to go get that first down,” he said. Over the weekend, he chipped in 13 of 24 for 83 yards. In the second quarter, he threw a pass to Kaden Wetjen, but he lost his balance, and the throw was intercepted by Jeremiah Cooper. And that proved costly. That interception got converted into a touchdown.

It was 1:52 on the clock. The final minutes of the fourth quarter sealed the fate. Kyle Kondrady’s 54-yard field goal saw Ames erupt in cheers as the Cyclones registered their second straight win against the Hawkeyes. It was deja vu for Ames, for Kondrady had kicked a 54-yarder in the fleeting moments, stealing the win, 20-19, last year as well.

In addition to that, a lot of missed opportunities could have been reaped. Wide receiver Jacob Gill and tight end Zach Ortwerth missed crucial catches that could have been routine completions. Gill’s drop was a potential 10-yard gain against the Cyclones. Mark continued, “But again this week we’re going to continue to be running RPOs all season. So just continuing to be aggressive with those, and it’ll end up opening the run game, and at some point the run game will close again, and then we’ll end up opening the pass game. So they’re always great opportunities to uh kind of keep the defense guessing throughout the throughout the games.”

The South Dakota transfer entered the Hawkeyes with a robust resume. 10,000 passing yards, two FCS national championships, and a Walter Payton award in his back pocket. But in the 2025 Hawkeyes’ debut, he hasn’t lived up to his potential, and he knows it.

Kirk Ferentz is disappointed with the Mark Gronowski-led offense

Iowa got the generational bragging rights on its side. Having won the last six clashes at the Jack Trice Stadium. But following the recent clash, the Hawkeyes are itching to get a move. Mark Gronowski’s offense buckled, and Kirk Ferentz has got his qualms. “Dropped balls are going to help deter an offense’s progression, and that’s not a good thing,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Just little basic execution, and that’s usually what the game comes down to, especially in games like that where you have two competitive teams.”

He further stated that the roster didn’t do enough to beat a “good football team.” But, that being said, it added that it had nothing to do with their preparation or their effort. If we reel back over a couple of years, the in-state clash always has been a tight, close win, with the climax coming up in the last fleeting moments. Albeit, they missed a lot of opportunities to cash in.

But it’s not all dark for the Hawkeyes. Ferentz noticed signs of improvement, he said, “Thought we made some improvements on Saturday. We grew from Week 1 in the passing game. It was not good Week 1. We talked about that a week ago. So we’ll just keep pushing forward and continue to grow.” Coming up next, they will face off against the UMass Minutemen.