MADISON, Wisconsin – For the first time since 1929, the University of Iowa football team shut out Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium, winning 37-0 to retain the Heartland Trophy on Saturday night.

Iowa’s defense kept the Badgers off the board, notching its first shutout of the season. The Hawkeyes forced three turnovers, as Bryce Hawthorne and Aaron Graves each recorded an interception, and Zach Lutmer recovered a fumble. Karson Sharar led the defense with six tackles, including four solo stops.

Quarterback Mark Gronowski completed 17 of 24 passes for 107 yards, while Jeremy Hecklinski went 1-for-1 for two yards.

Iowa’s rushing attack totaled 209 yards, helping the Hawkeyes outgain the Badgers 319-210 in total yardage. Kamari Moulton led the ground game with 96 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Williams added two rushing scores, and Gronowski found the end zone once on a quarterback sneak.

Moulton and Reece Vander Zee each had 29 receiving yards to lead all Hawkeye receivers.

QUOTING KIRK FERENTZ

"Obviously, really pleased with the effort from our team tonight. Really proud of how the guys played. Looking backwards I think the guys handled the bye week extremely well, and then when we got back to work getting ready for this ballgame I thought the week of preparation went really well. Happy about that and most importantly the guys showed up at kickoff.

We played really hard. It wasn’t perfect but the guys made some things happen. It was good to see the takeaways; we hadn’t had an abundance of those this year and we got a couple tonight. Most importantly, we made the takeaways turn into points.

I thought we played good opportunistic football and good team football on top of it. The second half is a good example, getting the stop three-and-out and taking the ball and driving about 60 yards to get another touchdown.

A lot of positives out there that we saw from our guys. Mostly, I am just proud of the effort and them being together. Certainly, there are things we are going to have to keep working on, but it is a lot easier to do it after a win. Overall, really pleased.”

PHOTOS

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Iowa opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal from Drew Stevens, capping an 11-play, 66-yard drive that lasted 5:29.
• Following an interception that gave Iowa favorable field position, the Hawkeyes needed just three plays and 24 yards to reach the end zone, scoring on a six-yard rush from Moulton.
• On Wisconsin’s next possession, Graves intercepted a pass and returned it to the Badgers’ 1-yard line. Gronowski scored on a quarterback sneak the following play.
• After another Wisconsin turnover early in the second quarter, Stevens connected on a 25-yard field goal to finish a nine-play, 22-yard drive with 8:44 left in the half.
• Stevens added a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, giving Iowa a 23-0 lead at the break.
• The Hawkeyes picked up where they left off, forcing a three-and-out to start the second half. They then ran the ball five times for 59 yards, capped by a 29-yard touchdown run from Williams.
• Williams scored again with 7:25 remaining in the game, this time from 19 yards out, finishing a 10-play, 46-yard drive.

POSTGAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes have won four straight over the Badgers for the first time since 2002-06.
• It is Iowa’s first shutout victory over Wisconsin since 1996 (31-0) and the first in Madison since 1929 (14-0). It is Iowa’s third shutout all-time in Madison and sixth shutout win over the Badgers all-time.
• It is the 18th shutout under head coach Kirk Ferentz.
• Iowa has outscored Wisconsin, 118-26, during the four-game winning streak. The 37 points are the most Iowa has scored in Madison in series history.
• The Hawkeyes have held the Badgers to 10 points or less in four straight and five of the last six meetings.
• The Hawkeyes are 30-11 in their last 40 rivalry trophy games.
• The victory is No. 208 for Ferentz, extending his Big Ten Conference record.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• RB Kamari Moulton led the team in rushing for a third straight game, finishing with 97 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown. He also had three receptions for 29 yards.
  • He had a 6-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for his second TD of the season and seventh of his career.
• RB Xavier Williams had a 29-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 19-yarder in the fourth. It was his first career two touchdown game, giving him three TDs this season.
  • He finished with 55 yards on seven attempts.
• QB Mark Gronowski completed 17-of-24 attempts for 107 yards to go along with four rushes for nine yards and one touchdown.
  • Gronowski had a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter – his sixth straight game with a rushing score.
  • It was his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, the fourth-most by a QB in a single season in program history.
  • It is the 53rd win of Gronowski’s career.
• DL Bryce Hawthorne had his first career interception off a Brian Allen pass breakup in the first quarter.
• DL Aaron Graves also had his first career pick in the first quarter, and he returned it 35 yards to the 1, setting up Iowa’s second touchdown.
• DB Zach Lutmer recovered a Wisconsin backwards pass in the second quarter. It was Lutmer’s first career fumble recovery.
• K Drew Stevens made field goals from 32, 25 and 49 yards – his 10th, 11th and 12th makes this season.
  • He now has 66 career field goals -- No. 2 in school history – one behind Nate Kaeding (67).
  • Stevens scored 13 points in the game, giving him 301 for his career – third-most all-time. He passed Rob Houghtlin (290) in Saturday’s game.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• The Hawkeyes are now 4-0 in night games this season.
• Iowa has scored 79 points in the last two wins over Wisconsin – the most in a two-game stretch in series history.
• Iowa’s rushing attack finished with 210 yards in the game – the most allowed by the Badger defense this season.
  • The Hawkeyes have rushed for 200+ yards in three straight games against Wisconsin.
  • The only other team to surpass 100 rushing yards against the Badgers this season was Michigan.
• The Hawkeye defense limited Wisconsin to 209 yards – the fewest allowed since 128 in 1996.
• Iowa’s defense forced three Wisconsin turnovers – two first quarter interceptions and a second quarter fumble recovery. It was the unit’s first time forcing three turnovers in a game since Nov. 8, 2024, at UCLA.
  • The Hawkeyes scored 17 points off the three Badger miscues.
  • It was Iowa’s first multi-interception game of the season.
  • The defense has had an interception in three consecutive games (at RU, vs. IU, at UW).
• Two players – LB Jayden Montgomery and TE DJ Vonnahme – made their first career starts.
• Iowa’s defense held Wisconsin scoreless in the third quarter. None of Iowa’s first six opponents have scored in the third quarter.
• Iowa won the toss and elected to receive. The Hawkeyes have played 334 games under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has opened the game on offense 244 times (157-87). The Hawkeyes have opened the game on defense 90 times (51-39).

UP NEXT

Iowa returns to action Oct. 18, hosting Penn State at 6 p.m. inside Kinnick Stadium in the Black & Gold Spirit game.