In one of the most anticipated games of the season for the No. 20 Iowa football team, the Hawkeyes fell to No. 9 Oregon, 18-16, in a highly-anticipated, rain-filled matchup at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski completed 10-of-18 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown, along with 12 carries for 25 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Jacob Gill and tight end D.J. Vonnahme logged two catches for 43 yards apiece, only Vonnahme had a touchdown as well. Moulten led all rushers with 23 carries for 87 yards.
“These kinds of games I think are emblematic of November football, especially in our conference, two teams getting after it pretty good,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said postgame. “Details do matter. I think that’s really what it came down to in a lot of ways tonight.”
First Half
Oregon held a 12-7 deficit heading into halftime after dominating Iowa through its run game – 137 of its 202 total yards were rushing on 7.2 yards per carry and one rushing touchdown. Iowa had a more even split with 65 rushing yards and 61 passing yards and one passing touchdown.
On the Hawkeyes’ second possession of the game at its own 39, long slapper Bryce Worrell snapped the ball over punter Rhys Dakin’s head and went into the end zone. Dakin kicked it out of bounds, rewarding Oregon two points for the safety rather than six points for a touchdown.
The Ducks nearly scored another touchdown on 3rd-and-15 from the Iowa 23, but cornerback Deshaun Lee picked off the pass in the end zone.
Big Time. 😏@deshaun3lee x #Hawkeyes
pic.twitter.com/2yWq2jrOyH— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) November 8, 2025
But after another Iowa’s third three-and-out of the contest, Oregon took its next drive into the second quarter and compiled an eight-play, 82-yard drive capped off by a 19-yard rushing score by Dierre Hill Jr.
“We had a lot of missed tackles,” said Iowa safety Xavier Nwampka. “[It was] key to their offensive success, just basic things that we got work on. We got to clean up moving forward. But I think we did a lot of good things out there as well.”
In dire need of a score after falling into a 9-0 deficit, the Hawkeyes’ next drive went 10 plays for 75 yards highlighted by a Mark Gronowski-Jacob Gill 38-yard connection down to the Oregon three-yard line followed by tight end D.J. Vonnahme’s touchdown reception.
The two teams traded possessions before Oregon kicker Atticus Sappington nailed the 46-yard field goal as time expired — the Ducks’ longest made field goalthis season.
Second Half
On Iowa’s first drive of the second half at the Oregon 13, wide receiver Kaden Wetjen had the ball hit out of his left arm, and it was recovered by the Ducks — a critical stop in the red zone. Two plays later, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore broke off on a 49-yard rush into Iowa territory that ended up being a 40-yard Sappington field goal for a 15-7 lead.
Iowa takes its next drive seven plays for 35 yards to the Oregon 40, where kicker Drew Stevens is called upon for a 58-yard attempt and does so – setting a new career-high and tying the Kinnick Stadium record in the process.
A BOOT! The kick is good for @HawkeyeFootball from 58 YARDS! pic.twitter.com/FI9GOfC1yS
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 8, 2025
The Hawkeyes stop Oregon’s drive just short of field goal range, forcing a punt down to the eight-yard line. With the game on the line, Gronowski stepped up big with a multitude of passes: a 40-yard bomb to Vonnahme to move around the midfield logo, back-to-back passes to wide receivers Jacob Gill and Reese Vander Zee to keep the drive alive, and a screen pass to tight end Hayden Large to get to the three-yard line.
And on fourth-and-three, Gronowski keeps it for the rushing score and the 16-15 lead with 1:51 left to play. The two-point conversion is secured by a Kamari Moulton reception in the back-right corner of the end zone, though his foot as out of bounds.
Moore went on to lead a 10-play, 54-yard drive mainly through the air that resulted in a 39-yard Sappington field goal with three seconds left to take the two-point lead. Iowa’s attempted kick return was botched and the Ducks sealed the victory.
“I’m proud of those way those guys competed to end that game,” Gronowski said. “We put our team in a good position there, but obviously just didn’t turn out that we wanted to.”
Up Next
The Hawkeyes will travel to Los Angeles, California, to take on USC next Saturday, Nov. 15. Currently ranked No. 19, the Trojans knocked off Northwestern, 38-17, on Friday and are subject to move up the rankings after doing so.
Game time is set for 2:30 p.m. CT, 12:30 p.m. PST.