NOTES: ANF Black & Gold Spirit Game vs. Penn State

1ST & 10
• Saturday’s game is the annual ANF Black & Gold Spirit Game inside Kinnick Stadium.  
• Iowa posted its first shutout of the season in a 37-0 road victory at Wisconsin in a battle for the Heartland Trophy last weekend. The 37 points are the team’s most ever scored in Madison.
• The Hawkeyes will play their fifth and final night game of the season this week against Penn State. Iowa is 4-0 in night games in 2025.
• Iowa forced a season-high three Wisconsin turnovers in Week 7 in Madison, turning the miscues into 17 points. The defense held the Badger offense to 209 yards, the fewest since 1996.
• The Hawkeyes recorded their third 200+ rushing game of the season against the Badgers.  Iowa has rushed for 200+ yards 10 times under OC Tim Lester.
• Iowa’s defense has not surrendered a point in the third quarter this season. The unit is seventh nationally in total defense (246.7) and eighth in scoring defense (13.0).
• Hidden yards… Iowa’s punt return unit is second in the nation, averaging 27.67 yards per game, while the kickoff return unit is 10th (28.0). Kaden Wetjen is No. 1 in the nation in combined kick return yards (522).
• Iowa has scored 35+ points in two Big Ten road games – at Rutgers (38) and at Wisconsin (37).
• PK Drew Stevens is two field goals shy of passing Nate Kaeding for the Iowa school record (67). He is also third in school history in career scoring (301). 
• Wetjen has a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown (Week 3 vs. UMass) and a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (Week 4 at Rutgers) this season. He is the only player in the nation to accomplish the feat in 2025.
• Gronowski rushed for three touchdowns at Rutgers – the most by a Hawkeye since Matt Rodgers in 1990 – and he has found the end zone in all six games.
• Since returning from injury, sophomore RB Kamari Moulton has rushed for 196 yards on 47 carries with two touchdowns in three games. He now leads the team with 261 rushing yards in four contests.
• Over his last four games, Gronowski has completed 64-of-91 attempts (70.3 percent) for 616 yards and two touchdowns. He has eight rushing TDs this season – tied for the fifth-most in the NCAA. 

THE SERIES
• Saturday will be the 33rd meeting in the all-time series that began with a 19-0 Iowa victory in 1930.
• Penn State leads the all-time series, 18-14. Since joining the Big Ten in 1993, the Nittany Lions lead, 12-11.
• Iowa is 6-10 all-time against Penn State in Iowa City.
• Four of the last six games in the series have been decided by six points or less, including the last three meetings in Kinnick Stadium.
• Iowa won the last meeting in Iowa City, winning 23-20 over the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions in 2021. Nico Ragaini had a 44-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception from Spencer Petras with 6:26 to play.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
Saturday’s game is the 27th night game inside Kinnick Stadium. Iowa is 19-7 under the lights, which includes a six-game winning streak.
• Iowa won 27-0 over Nevada in 2022, 26-16 over Michigan State in 2023, 42-10 over Wisconsin and 13-10 over Nebraska in 2024, 34-7 over UAlbany and 47-7 over UMass in 2025.

GRONOWSKI IN 2025
Graduate Mark Gronowski has completed 85-of-130 attempts for 743 yards and three touchdowns in six games this season. The Illinois native also has 159 rushing yards (fourth-most on the team) and is leading the team with eight touchdowns and 58 rushing attempts.
• His eight rushing touchdowns are fifth nationally and third in the Big Ten.
• Gronowski’s 65.4 completion percentage is 45th in the country.
• In Week 3 against UMass, Gronowski completed 16-of-24 passes for a season-high 189 yards and two touchdowns. He completed a pass to 12 different receivers in the game.
• In his first career Big Ten game at Rutgers, Gronowski completed 12-of-18 attempts for 186 yards while rushing 13 times for 55 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
• Gronowski has had both a passing and rushing touchdown in Week 1 versus UAlbany and Week 3 versus UMass. He has 28 such games in his collegiate career.
• He has 11,051 career passing yards, 1,926 career rushing yards, 96 career passing touchdowns and 45 career rushing touchdowns. 

MOST WINS AS A STARTING QB
Graduate Mark Gronowski has won 53 career games as a starting quarterback -- the most amongst signal callers all-time (all levels). He passed Boise State’s Kellen Moore (50) for the most wins in FCS/FBS and Grand Valley State’s Cullen Finnerty (51) for most victories at all levels.

BADGER BEATDOWN 2.0
Iowa finished with 37 points and 319 yards of total offense in a 37-0 road victory at Wisconsin in Week 7. The 37 points are Iowa’s most points scored in Madison in program history.
• Iowa has scored 79 points in back-to-back wins in the series, the most in a two-game stretch all-time.
• The Hawkeyes’ rushing attack churned out 210 yards, the most allowed by Wisconsin’s defense in 2025. Iowa has rushed for 200+ yards in three consecutive meetings in the series.

GROUND & POUND
The Hawkeyes churned out 310 yards on 53 rushing attempts as a team in the season-opening victory over UAlbany. Along with Xavier Williams’ 122 yards, sophomore Terrell Washington, Jr., had 69 yards on 15 attempts and junior Jaziun Patterson had 47 yards on seven carries.
• The 310 yards are eighth most in a game under head coach Kirk Ferentz. The 53 rushing attempts are tied for the 10th most.
• Iowa has rushed for 200+ yards 10 times in OC Tim Lester’s Hawkeye tenure.
• Iowa has depth in the running back room as six different players have rushed for 95 or more yards through six weeks – Kamari Moulton (261), Xavier Williams (241), Jaziun Patterson (198), Mark Gronowski (159), Nathan McNeil (129) and Terrell Washington, Jr. (96).

RVZ RETURNS
After missing the first five games with a foot injury, sophomore WR Reece Vander Zee made his season debut in Week 7 at Wisconsin. He finished with three catches for 29 yards in the victory.

GOOSE EGG
The Hawkeyes notched their first shutout of the season, blanking Wisconsin, 37-0, in Week 7.  It was Iowa’s first shutout against the Badgers since 1996, the first in Madison since 1929 (and third all-time) and sixth overall in the all-time series.
• It was also the first time Wisconsin has been shutout at home since 1980 against Michigan.
• The shutout was the 18th all-time under head coach Kirk Ferentz.
• The Hawkeyes limited Wisconsin to 209 yards of total offense in the game, the fewest for the Badgers in the series since 1996 (128 yards) and forced a season-high three turnovers.

CONSISTENT D
• Iowa’s defense ranks seventh in the nation in total defense (246.7) and eighth in scoring defense (13.0) through the first seven weeks of the 2025 season. The unit is also leading the nation in fourth-down defense (.111), is fifth in rushing defense (79.0), seventh in first down defense (81) and 22nd in passing defense (167.7).
• The Hawkeyes allowed just one touchdown over the first three games against UAlbany, Iowa State and UMass. Iowa held two of its first three opponents under 200 yards.
• Iowa limited UAlbany to 177 yards in the season opener, including just 33 yards in the second half. The Great Danes had 43 rushing yards and nine overall first downs.
• In Week 2, the Hawkeyes limited Iowa State to 238 yards and 16 points. The Cyclones entered the game averaging 39.5 points and 421 yards of total offense.
• In Week 3, Iowa held UMass to 34 yards in the first half, 119 yards in the game and eight first downs. It was the fewest yards allowed in a game since 2018 against Maryland (115) and the fifth fewest allowed in a game under Ferentz. The eight first downs are tied for the ninth fewest allowed in a game under Ferentz.
• The Hawkeye defense limited No. 11 Indiana to a season-low 20 points and 337 total yards. The Hoosiers entered the game averaging 54.8 points and 588.5 yards.
• Iowa’s defense has allowed just 20 points in the second half this season and one touchdown. The unit hasn’t allowed a point in the third quarter.

NEW LBs STEPPING UP
Graduate linebackers Jaden Harrell and Karson Sharar are No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in tackles through the first five starts of their collegiate careers. Harrell has a team-high 32 tackles, including one sack and two TFL, while Sharar has 29 tackles with 2.5 TFL and one sack.  
• Sharar recorded a career-high 10 tackles for his first double-digit tackle game in Week 4 at Rutgers, while Harrell finished with nine tackles, tying a career-high. He also had nine tackles (and forced a fumble) in Week 2 at Iowa State. 
• Harrell has led the team in tackles twice.

HONORARY DOUGHBOYZ
Graduate LB Jaxon Rexroth recorded Iowa’s first interception of the season and the first interception of his career in Week 4 at Rutgers. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native came down with a deflection off the hand of DE Max Llewellyn to set up the team’s game-clinching touchdown.
• Two defensive linemen – Bryce Hawthorne and Aaron Graves – recorded the first picks of their careers in Week 7 at Wisconsin. Hawthorne made a diving interception off a Brian Allen deflection and Graves picked off a pass in the flat and returned it 35 yards, narrowly missing a “big man TD” as he was tackled at the 1-yard line.

HALL: CB1
Senior T.J. Hall has established himself as Iowa’s top defensive back through the first month-plus of the 2025 season. The California native has a team-high eight pass breakups to go along with 22 tackles. He had a career-high three pass breakups in Week 2 vs. Iowa State and Week 4 at Rutgers.
• Hall’s eight pass breakups (1.33 per game) are sixth-most nationally and tops in the Big Ten.

KADEN "THE JET" WETJEN
Graduate Kaden Wetjen was named the recipient of The 2024 Jet Award, which honors the most outstanding return specialist in college football. He was the first Hawkeye to receive the distinction.
• The Williamsburg, Iowa, native is leading the nation in combined return yards (by 59 yards) for a second straight season. He has 522 combined return yards (236 kickoff, 286 punt) through six games. Wetjen is No. 1 in the NCAA in punt returns (26.0), second in kickoff return touchdowns (1) and third in punt return touchdowns (1).
• He is the only player in the nation to have both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown this season and he was the only player to accomplish the same feat in 2024.
• Wetjen led the country by a wide margin in 2024, finishing with 1,055 combined kick return yards. He ranked first in the FBS in kickoff return yards (727) and second in punt return yards (328). Wetjen had two return for scores in 2024 -- a 100-yard kickoff return against No. 19 Missouri in the Music City Bowl and an 85-yard punt return in the win over Northwestern.

STEVENS APPROACHES RECORD
Senior Drew Stevens moved into second place in program history in career field goals with his three-field goal performance in Iowa’s Week 7 win at Wisconsin. The South Carolina native is 12-for-15 in field goal attempts this season, giving him 66 field goals in his career. He is fifth in the NCAA (second in the Big Ten) in field goals per game (2.00).
• He made 15 consecutive field goals from Week 10 of the 2024 season to Week 3 of the 2025 season. He has made six straight field goals from 50+ dating back to the 2024 season.

1. Nate Kaeding (2000-03)    67
2. Drew Stevens (2022-pres.)    66

• Stevens connected from 28 and a career-long 55 yards in the victory over the Great Danes. The 55-yarder is tied for the fourth longest kick in school history. He also made a 54-yarder against UMass and Indiana -- his school-record 10th and 11th career make from 50+.
• Stevens enjoyed a breakout 2024 season, making 20-of-23 field goals, which were a career high and the sixth-most in program history. He was 5-for-5 from 40-49 yards and had four makes from 50+.   
• He tied Kyle Schlicher’s program record that was set in 2004, making five field goals in the road win at Maryland on Nov. 23. The five makes also tied the SECU Stadium, which led to him being named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. 
• Two of Stevens’ makes came from 54 and 50 yards, making him the first Hawkeye since Tim Douglas (at Illinois, 1998) to make multiple 50+ yard field goals in the same game. 
• Stevens has four career games where he has made at least four field goals and he has three career game-winning field goals (21-yarder with 28 seconds left in road win at Minnesota in 2022, a 53-yarder in road win over Northwestern at Wrigley Field in 2023 and a 53-yarder as time expired in a win over Nebraska in 2024).
• For his career, Stevens has made 66-of-82 field goal attempts (80.5 percent) and is 103-of-105 on PATs. He is 11-of-15 from 50-59 yards in his Hawkeye career.  
• Steven’s brother, Jack, is a kicker at Washington State. He spent his freshman season at South Dakota State.

STEVENS ASCENDS IN CAREER SCORING
Senior Drew Stevens has scored a team-high 56 points in the first six games of the 2025 season, which is tops on the team. He now has 301 career points, which ranks third all-time in program history.

1. Nate Kaeding    373 (1 TD, 166 PAG, 67 FG)
2. Mike Meyer    324 (141 PAT, 61 FG)
3. Drew Stevens   301 (103 PAT, 66 FG)

BLOCK-A-PA-LOOZA
Iowa has blocked a pair of kicks this season, which are 13th-most in the NCAA this season. 
• Redshirt freshman Preston Ries got his hand on a punt in the fourth quarter of Iowa’s season-opening win over UAlbany. The Monticello, Iowa, native is the first Hawkeye since Yahya Black in 2023 to block a punt.  
• Graduate Ethan Hurkett blocked a field goal in Week 4 at Rutgers, giving the Hawkeyes a blocked field goal for a third straight season. It was Hurkett’s first career block.

ALONE AT THE TOP
Kirk Ferentz is in his 27th season as Iowa’s head football coach. He is the longest tenured active head coach in college football and the all-time winningest coach in Big Ten Conference history. Ferentz won his 206th game as a member of the Big Ten on Sept. 13, 2025, against UMass, to pass Ohio State’s Woody Hayes atop the prestigious list. He currently has 208 career victories.
• Ferentz has 130 Big Ten wins, which rank third all-time, trailing Hayes (153) and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler (143). 
• Ferentz won his 200th career game at Iowa State in 2023. He is the 27th coach at an FBS institution to reach the 200-career win milestone and the 99th coach across all divisions. Former Hawkeye head coach Hayden Fry finished his career with 236 victories.
• Ferentz has 10 career bowl game victories, which tie Joe Paterno for the most bowl wins as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

NOTABLE FERENTZ WINS AT IOWA
1 - Northern Illinois (9/18/99) - 24-0
2 - Michigan State (10/7/00) - 21-16 - first career Big Ten victory
11 - vs. Texas Tech (12/29/01) - 19-16 - Alamo Bowl
22 - at Minnesota (11/16/02) - 42-21 - clinched share of Big Ten title
37 - at Penn State (10/23/04) - 6-4
41 - Wisconsin (11/20/04) - 30-7 - clinched share of Big Ten title
50 - Montana (9/2/06) - 41-7
81 - vs. Georgia Tech (1/5/10) - 24-14 - Orange Bowl
100 - at Michigan State (10/13/12) - 19-16 (2 OT)
144 - Northern Illinois (9/1/18) - passed Hayden Fry for most wins in school history
150 - at Illinois (11/17/18) - 63-0
175 - at Northwestern (11/6/21) - 17-12
195 - Illinois (11/18/23) - 15-13 - passed Bo Schembechler for No. 4 in Big Ten history
200 - Washington (10/12/25) - 40-16 - passed Amos Alonzo Stagg to move to No. 2 in Big Ten history
206 – UMass (9/13/25) – 47-7 – passed Woody Hayes to become Big Ten’s all-time winningest coach