NOTES: Senior Day vs. Michigan State

1ST & 10
• The Hawkeyes will honor 27 student-athletes during Saturday’s pregame Senior Day festivities.
• A rare occurrence… Iowa has dropped consecutive regular season games for the first time since 2022.
• QB Mark Gronowski scored a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in Week 12 at USC. He is the seventh Big Ten player (fifth QB), and first Hawkeye, to accomplish the feat this century.
• 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.
• Iowa 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 of the last seven games, including a season-high three against the Gophers.
• 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 third-longest make in the NCAA this season.
• The Iowa defense is sixth nationally in total defense (261.2) and passing defense (157.4), seventh in first down defense (150), eighth in scoring defense (14.3) and 16th in rushing defense (103.8). 
• Gronowski is the only player in the nation to score a touchdown in all 10 games this season. The streak is the longest by a Big Ten quarterback all-time. 
• Gronowski’s 13 total rushing TDs are tops in the Big Ten and the sixth-most nationally and are tied for the second-most among FBS quarterbacks. The 13 rushing TDs are a single season record by an Iowa quarterback.
• PK Drew Stevens has made 71 career field goals -- the most in program history. He is also second in school history in career scoring (327). 
• 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.

THE SERIES
• Saturday’s game is the 51st meeting in the all-time series that began with a 21-7 Michigan State win in 1953. That first meeting, played in Iowa City on Sept. 26, 1953, marked MSU’s first game as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
• Iowa leads the all-time series, 25-23-2 (series record does not reflect Michigan State’s vacated win in 2024 due to recent NCAA sanctions). The Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings in Iowa City and are 15-10-1 all-time against the Spartans at home. 
• The Hawkeyes’ 49-7 win in 2020 is the most lopsided Iowa victory in the series.
• Kirk Ferentz recorded his first Big Ten win as Iowa’s head coach when the Hawkeyes topped Michigan State (21-16) in Iowa City in 2000. The teams have played two overtime contests with Iowa winning both in double overtime (34-27 in 2007 and 19-16 in 2012). 

SENIOR FAREWELL
Iowa will honor 27 student-athletes during Saturday’s Senior Day festivities. They include Seth Anderson, Shahid Barros, Gennings Dunker, Bryce George, Jacob Gill, Aaron Graves, Mark Gronowski, TJ Hall, Jaden Harrell, Ethan Hurkett, Logan Jones, Kale Krogh, Hayden Large, Max Llewellyn, Ty Nissen, Xavier Nwankpa, Jonah Pace, Sam Phillips, Jeremiah Pittman, Jaxon Rexroth, Karson Sharar, Beau Stephens, Drew Stevens, Kelby Telander, Kaden Wetjen and Bryant Worrell.

KINNICK'S VOICE DEPARTS
Saturday’s game will be the final home game for Mark Abbott, who has served as the public address announcer in Kinnick Stadium for the past 26 seasons.  Abbott began behind the microphone in 2000 and has been the unmistakable voice in Kinnick for 173 games.  

GRONOWSKI IN 2025
Graduate Mark Gronowski has completed 129-of-202 attempts for 1,216 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games this season. The Illinois native also has 370 rushing yards (second-most on the team) and is leading the team with 13 touchdowns.
• His 13 rushing touchdowns are tops in the Big Ten and sixth nationally.
• 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 five times this season -- Week 1 versus UAlbany, Week 3 versus UMass, Week 9 vs. Minnesota, Week 11 versus Oregon and Week 12 at USC. He has 31 such games in his collegiate career.
• He has 11,524 career passing yards, 2,137 career rushing yards, 99 career passing touchdowns and 50 career rushing touchdowns. 

ANOTHER DIMENSION
Graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski gives Iowa’s offense another dimension with his legs. Through 10 games, the Illinois native is second on the team with 370 rushing yards on 96 attempts. He also has a team-best 13 touchdowns, which are the most by an Iowa quarterback in a single season all-time.
• Gronowski is sixth nationally in rushing touchdowns (13) and total touchdowns (13) this season, while ranking 26th in total points scored (84).
• 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 10 games of the 2025 season, which includes two multi-touchdown games. The 10 straight games with a rushing touchdown is a Big Ten single-season record.  
• He is the first FBS quarterback with a rushing TD in each of his first 10 games since Houston’s D’Eriq King in 2018 and the first Power Conference QB with a rushing TD in each of his first 10 games.
• Gronowski has had both a passing and rushing touchdown five times this season and in 31 games in his collegiate career.

AIR, RUSH, CATCH
Graduate Mark Gronowski threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dayton Howard; he rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from WR Reece Vander Zee in Week 12 at USC. He became the seventh Big Ten player (fifth Big Ten quarterback), and first Hawkeye, to accomplish the feat this century.
• Gronowski’s TD reception is the first by a Hawkeye QB since Matt Sherman caught a pass from Tim Dwight against Minnesota in 1994.
• The touchdown reception was the second of Gronowski’s career.

CONSISTENT D
• Iowa’s defense ranks sixth in the nation in total defense (261.2) and passing defense (157.4), seventh in first down defense (150), eighth in scoring defense (14.3) and 16th in rushing defense (103.8) through 10 games in 2025. 
• The defensive unit has limited big plays, yielding just four runs of 20+ yards and seven pass plays of 30+ yards.
• Iowa’s defense has surrendered just two scoring drives of 80 yards or more through 10 games.
• 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. The Hawkeyes also kept USC (360) to 147 total yards below its season average (503).
• Iowa’s defense has allowed just 55 points in the second half this season and four touchdowns. The unit didn’t allow a third-quarter touchdown until Week 8 and has allowed just 22 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 third on the team with 58 tackles and 3.5 TFL. He also has four 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 73 yards) for a second straight season. He has 729 combined return yards (338 kickoff, 391 punt) through 10 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 13th in the NCAA (second in the Big Ten) in field goals per game (1.70).
• 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