MADISON, WI – It was an effortless performance for the Iowa football team as it dismantled Wisconsin, 37-0, at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday night.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski, coming off an injury sustained against Indiana on Sept. 27, collected 107 passing yards and rushed for nine yards and one touchdown. Running back Kamari Moulton led all skill players in yards with 15 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown along with three receptions for 29 yards.
Fellow running back Xavier Williams compiled seven rushes for 55 yards and two touchdowns. And in his season debut coming off a foot injury, wide receiver Reese Vander Zee led all Hawkeye pass catchers, matching Moulton’s receiving stat line.
“Obviously, [I’m] really, really pleased with the effort of our team tonight,” said head coach Kirk Ferentz. “Just an awful lot of positive things out there, and that’s from our guys putting in their effort and them [playing] together.”
First half
Everything went Iowa’s way in the first 30 minutes of play.
The first points of the game came on the Hawkeyes’ second drive of the game, after running back Nathan McNeil’s 24-yard run put Iowa deep into Wisconsin territory and eventually set up kicker Drew Stevens for the 32-yard field goal.
Then, the Iowa defense struck, Bryce Hawthorne and Aaron Graves, both defensive lineman, each secured their first career interception; defensive back Zach Lutmer secured a fumble recovery; and cornerback T.J. Hall broke up a pass in the end zone for what would’ve been a Wisconsin touchdown.
“I just went into autopilot,” Hawthorne explained his thoughts of his first career interception. “I mean, we practice this at least once a week, tip ball drills. So [as] soon I saw it go up in there, I’m like, ‘I just have to go get it.'”
Eight different receivers logged a catch in the first half, with wide receiver Reece Vander Zee topping the pile with two catches for 18 yards. Moulton led the backfield with 10 carries for 70 yards and a score, while Gronowski also reaching the end zone with his legs for the seventh time this season.
“I was very confident going into it, and we [wanted to] just stack another win,” Moulton said. “You just felt it in the air tonight, it could be a big night.”
Wisconsin was held to 117 total yards of offense and seven first downs compared to Iowa’s 192 total yards – 113 yards rushing, 79 yards passing.
Second half
There was no shortage of effort by Iowa despite its seismic lead. Running back Xavier Williams showed out with two second half rushing touchdowns, one in each quarter, to push the Iowa score to historic lengths.
And while Wisconsin committed no turnovers in the half, it was held to 92 total yards, 70 of which were rushing, and held them scoreless. The Hawkeyes compiled 97 second half rushing yards.
And with the shutout on defense, Wisconsin was held scoreless at Camp Randall Stadium for the first time in 46 years.
“Our defense played awesome today, and it was really fun to see,” Gronowski said. “I can’t say enough good things about how our defense play today.”
Up next
The Hawkeyes will stay in Iowa City next weekend as it hosts a Penn State team riding a three-game losing streak. The Nittany Lions were ranked as the No. 2 team in the AP preseason poll and have fallen out after consecutive losses to two unranked opponents in UCLA (42-37 on Oct. 4) and Northwestern (22-21 on Oct. 11).
Drew Allar, Penn State’s starting quarterback and projected first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, suffered what appeared to be a lower leg injury in the final minutes of the Northwestern matchup and was ruled out for the remainder of the season, head coach James Franklin said postgame. Redshirt sophomore Jaxon Smolik or redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer will get the start at Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 18.