The 2025-2026 season for Iowa Football has not gone the way most people thought it would.
After back-to-back losses, the Hawkeyes now sit at 6-4 (4-3 Big Ten), and are on the outside looking in at the College Football playoff.
A few weeks ago, the Hawkeyes still had CFP aspirations after a three-game winning streak, and jumped into the first CFP Rankings at No. 20.
After dropping two straight games to Oregon and USC, the Hawkeyes are out of the CFP picture, but still have the opportunity to finish the season strong.
The Hawkeyes have lost by a combined 15 points in their four losses this season, and a key reason for their struggles is their inability to close out games.
Another big reason is the offense's inability to employ a consistent passing attack.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski and the Iowa offense have found ways to succeed without a flourishing passing attack, but the numbers speak for themselves.
The Hawkeyes' offense ranks No. 130 overall in passing yards per game (133.6) and No. 115 in passing efficiency (119.3).
Gronowski was asked this week about why the passing attack STILL has not produced consistent results.
During a portion of his media availability this week before the game against Michigan State (posted by "247Sports"), Gronowski spoke about how special this season was and spent a lot of time discussing the passing attack.
Gronowski took some of the blame, saying he needs to be more patient in the pocket, but he also attributed the passing-game struggles to execution.
He stated that the execution is not there, and they still have a lot of room to grow.
Gronowski also mentioned that everything has not fully clicked in the passing game because everyone is still trying to master the playbook.
As a fan, that is not something you want to hear, but the Iowa offense will continue to lean on the run game and have two or three games to "fully click."