NOTES: at No. 17/18 USC

1ST & 10
• Saturday’s game is Iowa’s first game against USC in Los Angeles since 1976.
• Iowa’s three losses have come against teams ranked16th, 11th and 19th by a combined 10 points (3, 5, 2). All three games were decided in the closing minutes.
• The Hawkeyes became bowl eligible in the Week 9 win over Minnesota. Iowa is eligible for the 13th consecutive season and for the 23rd time in the last 25 seasons.
• The Hawkeyes scored a touchdown via offense, defense and special teams in its Week 9 victory over Minnesota. It was the first time for the program since 2020 vs. Michigan State.
• Iowa’s defense has recorded an interception in six straight games, including a season-high three against the Gophers. All 10 picks have come in the last six games.
• Senior Drew Stevens made a 58-yard field goal in Week 11 against Oregon, tying an Iowa and Kinnick Stadium record. It is tied for the second-longest make in the NCAA this season.
• The Iowa defense is fourth nationally in total defense (250.2) and scoring defense (13.0), fifth in first down defense (129) and passing defense (146.7) and 17th in rushing defense (103.6). The 13.0 scoring defense would be the lowest in a single season under DC Phil Parker.
• QB Mark Gronowski is the only player in the nation to score a touchdown in every game and the streak is the longest by a Big Ten quarterback all-time. (Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson has scored in all seven contests; he has missed three games because of injury.)
• Gronowski’s 12 total rushing TDs are seventh-most nationally and are the fourth-most among FBS quarterbacks. The 12 rushing TDs are a single season record by an Iowa quarterback.
• Coach Kirk Ferentz has coached in the L.A. Coliseum once before, in 1993 when he was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns.
• PK Drew Stevens has made 71 career field goals -- the most in program history. He is also tied for second in school history in career scoring (324).
• Graduate Kaden Wetjen has a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown (Week 3 vs. UMass), a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (Week 4 at Rutgers) and a 50-yard punt return TD (Week 9 vs. Minnesota). He is the only player in the nation to have both a punt and kickoff return TD in 2025.
• Wetjen is also the only player in the country to score via a punt, kickoff, rushing and passing touchdown. He is the first player since 2009 to accomplish the feat.
• Over his last six games, Gronowski has completed 96-of-144 attempts (66.7 percent) for 957 yards and four touchdowns.
• Iowa lost its first fumble since the season opener in Week 11 against Oregon. The team has three lost fumbles in nine games.

THE SERIES
• Saturday’s game will be the 11th meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and USC. The series began in 1925 in Los Angeles.
• USC leads the all-time series, 7-3. The Trojans are 3-2 against Iowa in Los Angeles. This is Iowa’s first trip to play a road game against USC since 1976 -- a 55-0 Trojan victory.
• The last two meetings in the series came in the 2003 Orange Bowl (38-17 USC win) and the 2019 Holiday Bowl (49-24 Iowa win).

GRONOWSKI IN 2025
Graduate Mark Gronowski has completed 117-of-183 attempts for 1,084 yards and five touchdowns in nine games this season. The Illinois native also has 338 rushing yards (second-most on the team) and is leading the team with 12 touchdowns.
• His 12 rushing touchdowns are seventh nationally and second in the Big Ten.
• 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.
• In Week 8 against Penn State, Gronowski rushed for 130 yards on nine attempts -- the most ever by an Iowa quarterback -- and scored two touchdowns. He had a 67-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up the go-ahead touchdown.
• Gronowski had a 29-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee in Week 9 vs. Minnesota. It was the team’s longest touchdown pass of the season. 
• Gronowski has had both a passing and rushing touchdown four times this season -- Week 1 versus UAlbany, Week 3 versus UMass, Week 9 vs. Minnesota and Week 11 vs. Oregon. He has 30 such games in his collegiate career.
• He has 11,392 career passing yards, 2,105 career rushing yards, 98 career passing touchdowns and 49 career rushing touchdowns.

ANOTHER DIMENSION
Graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski gives Iowa’s offense another dimension with his legs. Through nine games, the Illinois native is second on the team with 338 rushing yards on 88 attempts. He also has a team-best 12 touchdowns, which are the most by an Iowa quarterback in a single season all-time.
• Gronowski is seventh nationall y in rushing touchdowns (12) and 10th in total touchdowns (12) this season, while ranking 39th in total points scored (72). 
• The last Iowa QB to lead the team in rushing attempts in a season was Butch Caldwell in 1976.
• Gronowski finished with 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Week 8 win over Penn State. The 130
rushing yards are the most ever in a game by an Iowa  quarterback. His 67-yard rush in the fourth quarter set up Iowa’s go-ahead touchdown and was the team’s longest run of the season.
• He is the first Hawkeye QB to rush for 100+ yards since Butch Caldwell in 1972.
• Gronowski had 54 rushing yards (before sacks) on a career-high 16 rushing attempts in Week 2 at Iowa State and 55 rushing yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns in Week 4 at Rutgers. The three touchdowns are the most by an Iowa quarterback since Matt Rodgers had three against Cincinnati on Sept. 15, 1990. The last Iowa QB to even have two rushing touchdowns in a game were Brad Banks (2002) and C.J. Beathard (2015).
• Gronowski has had a rushing touchdown in each of his first nine games of the 2025 season, which includes two multi-touchdown games. The nine straight games with a rushing touchdown is a Big Ten single season record. Indiana’s Antwan Randle El had a rushing TD in nine straight games spanning the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
• Gronowski has had both a passing and rushing touchdown four times this season and in 30 games in his collegiate career.

GETTING POINTS
The Hawkeye offense has been efficient in the red zone, getting points 91.9 percent of the time, which ranks third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally. Iowa has been in the red zone 37 times and has come away with points 34 times (25 touchdowns, 9 field goals).

CONSISTENT D
• Iowa’s defense ranks fourth in the nation in total defense (250.2) and scoring defense (13.0), fifth in first down (129) and passing defense (146.7) and 17th in rushing defense (103.6) through the first nine games of the 2025 season.
• 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 limited Oregon to 18 points – 23.3 points below its season average – and 373 total yards – 110 yards below its average.
• Iowa’s defense has allowed just 39 points in the second half this season and two touchdowns. The unit didn’t allow a third-quarter touchdown until Week 8 and has allowed just 13 points in the third quarter.

DA DOUGH BOYZ ARE BACK
Iowa’s defense got two interceptions from its defensive  backfield in the Week 8 win over Penn State and three more (two by DBs) in Week 9 against Minnesota.
• Senior Deshaun Lee had a diving pick (the second of his career) in the second quarter and he had a pass breakup on the Nittany Lions’ final offensive play to clinch the Hawkeye victory. Senior Xavier Nwankpa recorded his first interception since 2023 (third of his career) in the second quarter and returned it 28 yards to the 1 to set up an Iowa touchdown. Nwankpa also had a forced fumble and tied a career high with 10 tackles in the victory.
• Sophomore Zach Lutmer and senior TJ Hall both recorded picks against the Gophers. Lutmer snatched his interception and returned it 34 yards for his first career collegiate touchdown.
• Lee recorded his second INT of the season in Week 11 against Oregon to match Lutmer for the team lead.

CLUTCH KOEN
DB Koen Entringer has a team-best two double-digit tackle games this season. He had a career-high 11 stops in the Week 8 win over Penn State and 10 tackles (seven solo), including a career-best two TFL, in Week 5 against Indiana. The Michigan native made a pair of key fourth-down stops in the second and fourth quarters for an Indiana turnover on downs.
• Entringer is second on the team with 53 tackles and 3.5 TFL. He also has two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in Week 2 at Iowa State.

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 18 yards) for a second straight season. He has 674 combined return yards (283 kickoff, 391
punt) through nine games. Wetjen is second in the NCAA in punt returns (24.4), second in punt return TDs (2) and third in kickoff 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 returns 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 IS NO. 1
Senior Drew Stevens made two field goals in Week 8 against Penn State to pass Nate Kaeding for the most career field goals made in program history. He has currently made 71 career field goals during his four-year Hawkeye career.
• The South Carolina native is 17-for-22 in field goal attempts this season. He is eighth in the NCAA (first in the Big Ten) in field goals per game (1.89).
• Stevens made a career-long 58-yard field goal in Week 11 against Oregon to tie an Iowa and Kinnick Stadium record. The 58-yarder is tied for the second-longest field goal in the nation this season.
• Stevens has 12 career makes from 50+ yards – an Iowa school record.
• He made 15 consecutive field goals from Week 10 of the 2024 season to Week 3 of the 2025 season.
• Stevens is currently tied for seventh in Big Ten history with his 71 field goals.

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 210 career victories.
• Ferentz has 132 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