Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz
Overall: 207-125 (all at Iowa, 1999 to present)
Bowl Appearances at Iowa: 23
2024 Record: 8-5 (6-3)
Mascot: Herky the Hawk
Colors: Black and Gold
Outfitter: Nike
National Titles: 5 (1921, 1922, 1956, 1958, 1960)
Conference Titles: 13
Heisman Winners: Nile Kinnick in 1939
Last Week: 38-28 win at Rutgers
Betting Information
Indiana (-7) at Iowa – Total of 49.5 (as of September 23)
Statistical Leaders
Passing: Mark Gronowski – 49 of 81 for 492 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT
Rushing: Jaziun Patterson – 34 carries for 198 yards, 5.82 yards per carry
Receiving: Sam Phillips – 5 receptions for 115 yards
Tackles: Jaden Harrell – 28 tackles with 1 TFL
Stat of the Week
The Indiana Hoosiers have not won at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City since 2007 when the Hoosiers topped the Hawkeyes 38-20. Since that contest, IU has four straight meetings at Iowa by an average of 20.75 points per contest.
Hawkeyes Talking Points
- The New Iowa Offense
In 2023, the Iowa Hawkeyes only averaged 15.4 points per game. Last season, they took a step forward and jumped up to 27.7 points per game. The Hawkeyes turned to the transfer portal and grabbed quarterback Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State and through four games, they are averaging 33 points per game and they are fresh off of scoring 38 points against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Now, we don’t need to overhype this, the Iowa Hawkeyes are certainly not some offensive juggernaut but it’s fair to say they have improved on that side of the ball and are at least an average attack in the Big Ten.
Mark Gronowski struggled early in the season but he played well against Rutgers, throwing for 186 yards while rushing for 55 yards and adding three scores on the ground. Gronowski is a big quarterback that seems to seek out contact as a between the tackles runner and Iowa is using him as a battering ram in the red zone. The Hawkeyes are good at the point of attack but they are lacking at wide receiver.
2. Defense Lives Here
For nearly the entirety of the Kirk Ferentz era (which began in 1999), the Iowa Hawkeyes have been a very strong defensive team. Coordinator Norm Parker is a legend and the Hawkeyes have not surrendered more than 20 points per game in any season in the past decade. Thus far in 2025, the Hawkeyes are allowing only 14.5 points per game and they are limiting opponents to just 4.19 yards per play. That is actually a tick lower than IU’s defense (4.24 yards per play allowed) through four games.
Opponents are rushing for only 2.25 yards per carry and they shut down the rushing attacks of both Rutgers (2.3 yards per carry) and Iowa State (3.5) in the two games they played against power conference opponents. The Hawkeyes do appear a bit vulnerable in the secondary and Indiana has the quarterback and weapons at wide receiver to take advantage of that. Iowa will try to offset that by using the home field advantage at Kinnick Stadium and a pass rush that is 26th in the country with 2.7 sacks per game. Max Llewellyn and Ethan Hurkett form a really good one-two punch at defensive end.
3. On the Road Again
One of the unknowns remaining for the Indiana Hoosiers is how Curt Cignetti’s squad will respond on the road in a hostile environment. The Iowa Hawkeyes are 2-0 this season at home (Albany and UMass), they were 6-1 last season at Kinnick Stadium with the lone defeat being a one-point loss to Iowa State and 6-1 at home in 2023 with the lone defeat being by two points. Iowa does not lose often at home and they very rarely lose by double-digits in Kinnick Stadium: a 13-point defeat to Michigan in 2022 and a 17-point loss to Purdue in 2021 are the only 10+ point losses at home this decade.