Welcome to Relive the Moment, our offseason series where we crack open the tape on some of the most memorable games in Iowa Hawkeye history. We’ll revisit the setup, the swing plays, and the legacy — and tell you where the cast of characters ended up. First up: a game we never want to stop watching.
The Setting: October 18, 2025 — Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City
Iowa came in at 4-2, fresh off a road loss at Indiana the prior week, with a Big Ten record sitting at 2-1 and a season that was teetering between “this could really be something” and “here we go again.”
Penn State arrived in Iowa City on a three-game losing streak that had cost James Franklin his job — fired earlier that month after a 22-21 loss to Northwestern. The Nittany Lions were 3-3 overall, 0-3 in conference, and starting backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer in place of injured starter Drew Allar. They were also still ranked in the AP Top 25 when the season started and carried that “best roster Penn State has had in a decade” reputation into Kinnick.
The lights were on. The stadium was sold out — 69,250 packed in for a primetime kickoff. Iowa was unbeaten in night games on the year. And nobody — not the broadcast team, not the analytics models, not the fans clutching beverages in the south end zone — had any idea they were about to watch the Mark Gronowski Game.
The Game: A Back-and-Forth Punch-Out
Penn State drew first blood with a 39-yard Ryan Barker field goal in the first quarter. Iowa answered with a Drew Stevens 39-yarder of its own, then took the lead when Mark Gronowski punched in a 1-yard touchdown to make it 10-3. That score, however, got handed right back in the most painful way imaginable.
With seconds left in the second quarter, Kirk Ferentz green-lit a 66-yard field goal attempt — a moonshot Stevens probably could have hit on his best day, but never got the chance to. Penn State’s Xavier Gilliam crashed through the line, blocked the kick, and Elliott Washington II scooped it up and ran 35 yards the other way for a touchdown as the half expired. Penn State 14, Iowa 10.
Ferentz acknowledged the call afterward: “We should have just closed out the half and come back.” File that one under coaching decisions that aged about as well as warm milk.
The third quarter was a heavyweight round. Kaytron Allen — who finished with 145 rushing yards and two scores — broke an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 21-10. Gronowski responded with a 4-yard touchdown rush of his own, his second of the night, but a failed two-point conversion left the score at 21-16. Stevens hit a 31-yarder to cut it to 21-19, and the historic moment that came with that field goal almost got buried in the bigger story: that kick made Stevens Iowa’s all-time leader in field goals made, surpassing Nate Kaeding. He would finish his career with that record nailed firmly to the rafters.
Penn State pushed the lead back to 24-19 on another Barker field goal in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes had 4:56 to drive 75 yards or watch their season tip into a different bucket entirely. They needed one big play.
They got one of the biggest in recent Hawkeye memory.
The Moment: 67 Yards of Daylight
First play after the kickoff. Iowa’s own 25-yard line. Tim Lester dialed up a quarterback keeper up the middle. Gronowski faked the handoff, found a crease, made one defender miss in the second level, and turned on jets we didn’t know he had. 67 yards later, he was on the ground at the Penn State 8-yard line, gasping for air, with 69,250 people losing their minds above him. It was the second-longest run of his collegiate career.
One play later, Lester went back to the well — a Kaden Wetjen end-around that slipped through the right side and into the end zone. 8-yard touchdown, 3:54 to play, Iowa 25, Penn State 24. The two-point conversion failed, leaving exactly the margin we’d watch the defense protect for the next 234 seconds.
Penn State got the ball back. Penn State drove to midfield. And on a fourth-down throw across the middle, the Iowa secondary shut the door.
Then Gronowski did it again. Game. Set. Match.
The Numbers
- Mark Gronowski: 10-of-16 for 68 yards passing; 9 carries, 130 rushing yards (career-high), 2 TDs. His seventh straight game with a rushing touchdown.
- Kamari Moulton: 17 carries, 99 rushing yards. The unsung hero of the offensive game plan.
- Kaden Wetjen: The game-winning 8-yard rushing touchdown — his second rushing score of the season.
- Drew Stevens: Two field goals (39, 31) — and the all-time Iowa career field goal record (68) on the night.
- Xavier Nwankpa: 10 tackles, 1 interception (returned to the 1-yard line on a tipped pass), 1 forced fumble. Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Ferentz called it “probably his best game.”
- Koen Entringer: Career-high 11 tackles.
- Karson Sharar: 9 tackles, 2.5 TFL.
- Total team rushing yards: 245. Total Iowa offense: 313. Total Penn State offense: 266.
Gronowski’s reflection afterward was the line of the night: “This is what you dream of. It was so much fun.” 54-game career winner as a starting QB at that point. We were just lucky enough to watch the last chapter.
Where Are They Now?
This is the part of the story that hits different a few months later. The 2026 NFL Draft just happened, and the cast of this game scattered across the league:
- Mark Gronowski — Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins after the 2026 NFL Draft. He’ll compete for a developmental QB spot behind Tua Tagovailoa.
- Kaden Wetjen — Drafted in the 4th round (No. 121) by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s joining former Iowa lineman Gennings Dunker in Pittsburgh’s locker room.
- Logan Jones — The center of that 245-yard rushing performance went in the 2nd round (No. 57) to the Chicago Bears, walking out of the draft as the 2025 Rimington Trophy winner.
- Gennings Dunker — That Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line he anchored at right tackle? Pittsburgh traded up to grab him with the 96th pick.
- Beau Stephens — Drafted in the 5th round (No. 148) by the Seattle Seahawks.
- Karson Sharar — 6th round (No. 183) to the Arizona Cardinals.
- Max Llewellyn — 7th round (No. 238) to the Miami Dolphins, joining Gronowski.
- Xavier Nwankpa — UDFA signing with the Kansas City Chiefs. The pick-six in this game was a snapshot of his entire Iowa career.
- Aaron Graves — UDFA with the Baltimore Ravens.
- Drew Stevens — Iowa’s all-time field goal leader is still waiting for his NFL home as of this writing. Kickers are kickers. He’ll get a tryout invite somewhere.
The Legacy
This was the game that turned Mark Gronowski into a Hawkeye legend. He’d come to Iowa as a transfer from South Dakota State with a national-title pedigree and the “can he do it at the FBS level” question marks following him. The Penn State game answered those questions in three hours of nationally-televised emphasis. Tim Lester’s offense, which had looked clunky for stretches in September, found its identity that night: lean on the offensive line, let Gronowski be a runner, trust the defense to hold up. That formula carried Iowa through October and November.
And from a bigger-picture standpoint, this was the kind of result that defined the Ferentz era: outlast a more talented roster, win in the trenches, take advantage of the moment when it shows up. Penn State had the better recruiting rankings. Iowa had the better quarterback that night. We’ll take that trade every Saturday in October for the rest of time.
Watch the Highlights
If you just want to feel something good for ten minutes, here’s the official Big Ten Network highlight reel of the entire game.
Go Hawks!
