Hawkeyes fans have been used to a pattern of sensational defenses, special teams, and horrid offenses for years. After the Hawkeyes came out of SHI Stadium with a 38-28 win over Rutgers, the offense may be turning a new leaf.
While the game was not near perfect, there were by far more bright spots than downfalls. With a solid conference opening victory, Iowa should have all the momentum to continue this run throughout the rest of the season. Let's look at some of the biggest takeaways from the game.
A confident Mark Gronowski can put Iowa at a new level
The Mark Gronowski that we have seen over the past two days is a completely different Mark Gronwoski from the one we saw in Weeks 1 and 2. He is finally playing with confidence and has been making the right decisions offensively.
The dual threat aspect of his game has come to fruition as of late, and teams are going to have a tough time defending if he can keep it up.
Gronowski had his best game of the season by far, going 12/18 with 183 yards, as well as 55 rushing yards and three TDs. While he did miss a couple of throws, it was still an overall great game. When going up against a talented Rutgers defense, no one really knew if he could keep up his solid level of play after that UMass game.
He went well above all of our expectations. He deserves all the flowers that get thrown his way after this game.
Kaden Wetjen is a human highlight reel
After a stellar performance against UMass with a 95-yard punt return that earned him Big 10 Special Teams Player of the Week, all eyes were set on Kaden Wetjen once again in the special teams. He not only put on a show, but he did it on the first play of the game.
KADEN WETJEN TO THE HOUSE FOR @HawkeyeFootball 🔥
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 20, 2025
What a start for the Hawkeyes! pic.twitter.com/it2YKxmLGj
Wetjen ended up finishing the game with 167 yards from both kick and punt returns. Every single return that he gets, fans hold their breath because you just know it is going to be special.
This season, Wetjen has been as good as advertised, if not better. He really showed what he is made of tonight, and he very well could be the X-Factor for the Hawkeyes' success from now on.
The RB room opened up the offense
There are several reasons why the public will attribute the state's significant role in this win. The one thing that people should be talking about is how getting Kamari Moulton back from injury helped this offense tremendously.
The rushing attack of Moulton and Patterson played their best game of the season.
Moulton finished with 14 carries for 68 yards, which averages out to nearly 5 yards per carry. Add in Jaziun Patterson coming in with 6 carries for 37 yards and 6 yards per carry, and this duo was as efficient as can be in the running game.
Their ability to get long runs opened up the passing game for Gronowski. Another couple of people who deserve their flowers for this game
We need more of the second half Hawkeyes defense
The most shocking and disappointing part of this game was the defense. Unfortunately, this was the worst game for the Hawkeyes defensively.
In the first half, the defense was on the field three times and gave up a touchdown on all three drives. They ended up giving up 330 passing yards in their first three games, allowing an average of only 120 passing yards per game.
They played a lot better in the second half, only allowing one touchdown and forcing a key interception when the Scarlet Knights were driving. However, this cannot be a repeated occurrence if the Hawkeyes want to have success in the Big 10.
Based on the schedule that Iowa has this season, they will see teams that are better offensively than Rutgers and must improve. There's one thing for certain: Phil Parker is going to do everything in his power to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
Overall, a win is a win, and both the team and its fans should be happy. Starting 1-0 in conference is a huge boost for the remainder of the season.
While there are parts of the game that need to be tweaked and improved before hosting Indiana next week, there are positives that should be built on. We can't say it enough: A Hawkeyes' win is the best win of all!