For the second straight week, the Iowa passing attack was virtually non-existent. Iowa starting quarterback Mark Gronowski acknowledged the struggles after last week's victory over Albany, and he was confident they would turn it around this week.
In a few short words: they did not.
During the Week One victory against the Albany Great Danes, Gronowski completed eight passes on 15 attempts for 44 yards and a touchdown.
In the 16-13 loss to Iowa State, Gronowski completed more passes (13) but still had a low completion percentage (54 percent) and did not throw a touchdown pass. He also managed only 83 passing yards.
As Gronowski continues to struggle in the passing game, the offense has become one-dimensional, a familiar story for Hawkeye fans.
Gronowski stopped short of blaming anyone specifically, but stated that the offense needs to execute better as a whole.
During his postgame press conference, which was posted by "Hawk Central," Gronowski was pressed about his performance in the passing game, and he said, "We need to execute better."
Gronowski said they started to get things in rhythm near the end of the first half, but they need to start faster and "get the ball rolling faster" so they can get early momentum.
He was adamant that he was more confident entering this game than he was in his first game and made better decisions.
Gronowski believes he still needs to make more plays and trust that his receivers will make the plays they need to make.
After a second consecutive loss to Iowa State, there are more questions than answers surrounding the Iowa program. One thing there is no question about: the Iowa passing attack must improve.