It was a sloppy to start and caused some groans from fans early, but the Iowa Hawkeyes found their footing and eventually pulled away from the UAlbany Great Danes with a 34-17 win in a classic Iowa performance that included a strong ground game and defense that put their foot down when needed.
Mark Gronowski, Iowa’s new quarterback, had jitters, but still found the end zone twice with a passing and rushing touchdown before exiting the game due to cramps. The passing effort left something to be desired, but the ground game did whatever it wanted.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes allowed just seven points on one drive that hurt them. Aside from that, the unit was suffocating from front to back and didn’t give UAlbany much breathing room at all.
With the win, Iowa moves to 1-0 on the year. Check out the biggest takeaways from the season-opening win.
Mark Gronowski was up and down
Mark Gronowski was up and down in this game, to put it bluntly. Let’s start with the bad. He was just 8/15 passing the ball for 44 yards and one touchdown. That isn’t good enough. Iowa needs an improved passing game to threaten teams down the field.
Mark Gronowski has a passing TD & now finds the endzone on the ground displaying dual-threat ability! pic.twitter.com/m9927WdKNc
— Hawkeyes Wire (@HawkeyesWire) August 31, 2025
Gronowski did show off his legs, running the ball 11 times for 39 yards to go with a rushing touchdown. The threat of his legs is clear, but he needs his arm to become a weapon to increase his threat defenses must account for.
The ground game is strong
This may have been the most impressive part of the Iowa offense today. Whenever they needed a drive, they were able to turn to the ground game and run the ball at will. While the passing game caused some concern, this unit is as strong as it could be.
Kamari Moulton exited the game early, but Xavier Williams, Terrell Washington Jr., and Jaziun Patterson picked up the slack. Williams led the way with 11 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown, while Washington added 69 yards on 15 carries to go with Patterson’s 47 yards on seven carries.
Xavier Williams for 6! Welcome to Kinnick! pic.twitter.com/9JWwMvonNm
— Hawkeyes Wire (@HawkeyesWire) August 30, 2025
Moulton, before leaving the game, had 22 yards on three carries. Freshman Nathan McNeil saw three carries that went for 14 yards.
The passing game is a concern
Completing 8/15 passes for 44 yards is the Iowa of the old days. This is not what Mark Gronowski was brought in for. He is expected to change the face of Iowa’s passing game and give them a competent arm targeting downfield. Things must drastically change from tonight. The wide receivers had just five receptions for 28 yards.
The offensive line held up, so that leaves us with two questions. Was Mark Gronowski slow and jittery in making his reads? Or were the wide receivers unable to create separation? Each has its own issues, and there are things that Iowa needs to fix immediately.
The defense bent, but didn’t break
Aside from one drive in the first half, Iowa’s defense was simply suffocating against UAlbany. They gave up seven points and then shut down the Great Danes otherwise.
On the day, it was a dominant performance from Iowa. They held UAlbany to 177 yards on the day, which included just two yards per rush and a 50% completion percentage. They did not force a turnover, but aside from one drive that covered 65 yards, the unit gave up just 112 yards the rest of the day.
Phil Parker played vanilla, but it worked. The unit was strong. TJ Hall and Zach Lutmer led the way with five tackles, while Max Llewellyn and Aaron Graves got home for sacks.
Special teams looked elite
This unit, as usual, was elite for the Hawkeyes. All aspects of the punting, kicking, and returning game flexed their muscles and reinforced the Hawkeyes’ focus on this aspect of the game.
The highlight of the evening for this unit came when Iowa kicker Drew Stevens converted a monster 55-yard field goal that would have been good from at least 70 yards to show what sort of weapon he is for Iowa.
Drew Stevens!!! From 55!!! It would have been good from 75!!! pic.twitter.com/aPkJQWUhP8
— Hawkeyes Wire (@HawkeyesWire) August 31, 2025
Elsewhere, Rhys Dakin punted twice, averaging 50 yards per punt with a long of 53 yards. His consistency cannot be overlooked as a weapon for Iowa to utilize in flipping the field.
In the return game, Iowa had just two punt returns, each of which was strong. Sam Phillips used some high football IQ to pick up a bouncing ball and return it 46 yards, while the main return man, Kaden Wetjen, returned his lone punt return for 17 yards, flashing his agility.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways as Iowa football uses ground game in Week 1 win over UAlbany