Iowa Football 2025: Functional Offense, Familiar Defense, and Ferentz Still Punting From the 36

The Brian Ferentz era is mercifully over. But Kirk Ferentz, now entering his 27th year, remains. That means Iowa football is still Iowa football: run the ball, flip the field, win by four, and do it all with fewer fireworks than a retirement party at a church social. Still, things are changing in Iowa City.
 
Tim Lester is in his second year as offensive coordinator and brings with him a playbook that doesn’t rely on 1990s game film and nepotism. Even better, Iowa landed Mark Gronowski, a two-time FCS champion from South Dakota State, who gives the Hawkeyes their first dual-threat quarterback since Brad Banks was scaring defensive coordinators in 2002.
 
Add in a quiet but effective transfer portal cycle and the behind-the-scenes structure of NIL funding under Beth Goetz, and Iowa might be able to do something bold: field a balanced football team.
 
The Beth Goetz Model: Frugal, Focused, and Functional
 
Goetz has taken a top-down approach to Iowa’s NIL ecosystem. Unlike Big Ten powers that spend seven figures on five-star recruits, Iowa is investing carefully, rewarding known commodities and proven producers, and addressing immediate needs. This is not a school trying to buy five-star flash. It’s a place where 10–3 means you were fiscally responsible, and your long snapper is on scholarship.
 
Iowa’s 2025 roster reflects that: experienced, fundamentally sound, and upgraded at key points through the portal, not reconstructed.
 
Portal Additions: Quiet Wins, Not Headlines

• Mark Gronowski (QB, South Dakota State): A mature, dual-threat QB with a championship pedigree. Knows how to run a system and read the field—something Iowa hasn’t had in years.
• Sam Phillips (WR, Chattanooga): Slippery and productive, Phillips racked up over 800 yards last year. He gives Iowa a reliable short-yardage option with RAC ability—yes, actual yards after the catch.
• Bryce George (OL, Ferris State): 41 career starts and one of the most experienced linemen Iowa has landed in years. He’s the type of plug-and-play lineman Ferentz quietly loves.
• George Nahas (OL, Iowa State): Big, bright, and familiar with zone-blocking. Adds depth and toughness.
• Ty Hudkins (DB, Purdue) and Shahid Barros (DB, South Dakota): Two versatile defensive backs who’ll see action in sub-packages and on special teams.
• Jonah Pace (DL, Central Michigan) and Bryce Hawthorne (DL, South Dakota State): Rotation depth for a defensive line that lost some veterans but remains solid.
• Hank Brown (QB, Auburn) and Jeremy Hecklinski (QB, Wake Forest): Developmental depth behind Gronowski. One may end up a clipboard legend.

 
Game-by-Game Breakdown: Blood, Sweat, Punts
 
Aug 30 – vs. UAlbany
WIN (1–0)
The Danes are a respectable FCS program, but Iowa has bigger bodies, better schemes, and, finally, a quarterback who doesn’t wear cement shoes. A safe tune-up. Ferentz might even smile briefly.
 
Sep 6 – @ Iowa State
WIN (2–0)
The Cy-Hawk game: where dreams go to die and punts get fair caught. Matt Campbell has a decent defense but still hasn’t found a quarterback who can throw with confidence or accuracy. Expect an emotional rock fight, with three field goals and a tipped interception sealing the deal.
 
Sep 13 – vs. UMass
WIN (3–0)
This is not a football game. This is a wellness check on a football program. If Iowa doesn’t win by at least four touchdowns, something is very broken.
 
Sep 20 – @ Rutgers (Friday night)
WIN (4–0)
A sleepy Friday game in New Jersey screams “upset” in some programs. But not this one. Iowa mucks this up early, lets Rutgers hang around, then crushes their hopes with a 12-play, 57-yard drive ending in a field goal and a coffin-corner punt. Ferentz-style domination.
 
Sep 27 – vs. Indiana
LOSS (4–1)
Curt Cignetti turned Indiana into a 2024 success story, winning 11 games and finally convincing the Hoosier fan base that football is indeed legal in Bloomington. They play fast, clean, and smart. Unless Iowa’s offense keeps up, this is a long afternoon with a lot of angry dads muttering in Section 131.
 
Oct 11 – @ Wisconsin
WIN (5–1)
Luke Fickell treated the transfer portal like a clearance sale and now has more parts than a Home Depot warehouse. This team might click in November, but Iowa is better-coached. This is a win for cohesion over chaos. Iowa takes the Heartland Trophy while Fickell blames chemistry.
 
Oct 18 – vs. Penn State
LOSS (5–2)
This one’s not a mystery. Penn State has athletes everywhere, and Iowa doesn’t. Parker’s defense will hang tough, but it’s hard to stop five-star receivers with a pass rush built on walk-ons and fundamentals. Iowa keeps it respectable, loses by 14, and avoids embarrassment.
 
Oct 25 – vs. Minnesota
WIN (6–2)
Fleck still rows, but the oars feel splintered. Minnesota’s offense is methodical to a fault, and Iowa eats up slow-moving teams. Floyd of Rosedale remains in Iowa City, quietly absorbing another winter of Midwestern indifference.
 
Nov 8 – vs. Oregon
LOSS (6–3)
Oregon has more speed, more depth, and more ambition. Unless Kinnick gets weird—and it might—this one slips away late. Still, it’s a valuable litmus test. Iowa won’t be humiliated, but they’ll be outpaced.
 
Nov 15 – @ USC
LOSS (6–4)
Lincoln Riley’s defense is still soft, but his offense will stretch Iowa’s secondary to its limit. Gronowski may make this interesting with his legs, but it’s hard to imagine Iowa winning a shootout in LA. A 34–24 loss feels about right.
 
Nov 22 – vs. Michigan State
WIN (7–4)
MSU is trending upward under their new regime, and they’ll be a problem in a year or two. But Iowa’s defense will win the day, and Gronowski won’t make the mistakes Sparty is hoping for. Ferentz closes Senior Day with a clinical, low-octane win.
 
Nov 28 – @ Nebraska
WIN (8–4)
This game has become Ferentz’s annual signature win. Rhule has done well to rebuild Nebraska’s culture, but they still lack polish in late-game execution. Iowa turns a special-teams edge and two defensive stops into another Black Friday victory.
 
Final Projection: 8–4 (5–4 Big Ten)
 
Iowa isn’t going to win the Big Ten, but they don’t need to. This team can run the ball, play smart defense, and now, finally, has a quarterback who won’t sabotage drives with delay penalties or screen passes to nowhere. Lester doesn’t need to revolutionize the offense; he needs to make it coherent.
 
If that happens, this team will beat everyone it should, challenge everyone it shouldn’t, and finish exactly where Iowa always seems to: annoying the top-tier teams and outlasting the mediocre ones. Just how Ferentz likes it.