Oct 25, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Jonah Pace (91) and defensive lineman Bryce Hawthorne (96) carry off the Floyd of Rosedale trophy after their victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Iowa's Latest Win Changes Everything

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI | By Lane Mills | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Through five games in the 2025 season, the Iowa Hawkeyes appeared to be trending towards their recently regular "middle of the road" finish in what is arguably the nation's premier football conference right now, the B1G.

A Season-Defining Turnaround

Now, three games later, the black and gold are 6-2 (4-1), on a hot streak and fresh off a 38-point home win over the in-conference competitor Minnesota Golden Gophers. What was, before their victory, a five-way tie for fourth place in the B1G is now between only the Hawkeyes and the Michigan Wolverines.

What's more? Iowa will face the third-place Oregon Ducks after the incoming bye week, also at home, for an opportunity to break onto the conference pedestal and come one step closer to ultimately working their way into full-blown conference championship competition.

In that case, Iowa would still have to find a way to eclipse the nationally first-and-second ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers, respectively; then again, the chance to do so at all is a privelege the Hawkeyes had last in 2023's B1G championship loss to Michigan.

What felt impossible for this Hawkeyes team just one month ago now looks just a step below probable, and it all starts with the roster finally coming together after multiple injuries and early-season hiccups had set them back.

Defense Wins Football Games

Among many burgeoning positives, Iowa's defense has consistently stood out as a defining trait for the team, and one that may separate them down the line a close, coin-flip matchup. In their aforementioned duel against the Golden Gophers alone, Iowa came away with three defensive scores.

Not only does that metric sap any prior momentum away from an opposing team's offense, but, in turn, it makes things much easier on a Hawkeyes' scoring unit that is traditionally much less effective given a longer field to work with.

When the defense is elite, the team is, at least good. But it helps that Iowa's offense has also begun to find their own footing in diehard consistency.

While now as explosive as the defense, the Hawkeyes' offense relies heavily on the ground game and schemes the unit around that priority. Not only does Iowa have multiple viable options in the backfield, but senior quarterback Mark Gronowski has mixed up the defenses he's faced with a varied attack that often ends up reliant on his ability to run the football.

Against the Golden Gophers (arguably Iowa's best overall performance of the season) both the team's rushing touchdowns came from the quarterback position - one from Gronowski, and one from backup signal caller Jeremy Hecklinski.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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