Iowa QB Making Progress as Passer

Iowa's football program has never been well known for their ability to sling the rock. This year though, even given an ever-prominent attack on the ground, many fans were hopeful that the offense would evolve given the addition of their highly-touted pocket precense in Matt Gronowski.

Yet through the team's first two games with Gronowski at the helm, the Hawkeyes didn't manage to stack a 100-yard total in the air in either bout. Regardless of their dominant win in week 1, and nail-biting loss to a ranked team the following Saturday, many of those attentive to the program expressed worries about the team's offesive dynamism moving forward as the difficulty of conference play approached.

In the team's blowout victory this weekend over the UMass Minutemen, Gronowski and his unit worked wonders in eliminating those worries... at least, for now.

An FCS opponent playing on their home field isn't exactly the greatest metric to determine how a team will perform against tougher competition - especially in the B10 - but Gronowski's sudden leap as a stand-and-deliver passer is hard not to be encouraged by regardless.

The QB accounted for three Hawkeyes touchdowns by the end of the game, two of which came by way of his arm. He'd ultimately complete 16 passes on 24 attempts, doubling his combined yardage through the first two weeks with 179 in total. He also managed to avoid throwing an interception which, for a UMass team that didn't convert a single third or fourth down attempt all night, made it basically impossible to stay in the game.

To boot, Gronowski didn't even play for the entirety of the game, taking a seat on the bench once the score was officially out of hand to allow backup passer Hank Brown a chance to see the field. Brown, on only seven passes, also managed to leverage a touchdown via the same method. Perhaps something was in the air.

Or, perhaps, the Hawkeyes have finally found their groove in that facet of the offense. Either way, Gronowski's performance was an exciting bookend to a crucial win for a team that entered the game at 1-1.

Their next test will come in the form of Rutgers on the road, officially signaling the beginning of B10 play and forcing the Hawkeyes, one way or another, to shake things out.

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