Iowa HC Still Not Ready to Name Top RB

The Iowa Hawkeyes, with last week's home win over the Penn State Nittany Lions (who have fallen apart as a program on the national stage), improved to 5-2 on the season and, more importantly, 3-1 in the B1G. The Hawkeyes are now in a five-way tie for fourth place in the conference.

What's more? They'll have the opportunity to break that tie and gain more positional control in their next matchup against the Minnesota Golden Gophers this coming week, who also share 1/5 of that fringe B1G relevancy at this midseason interval in the 2025 campaign.

Offense Wins (Some) Games

Much of the Hawkeyes success in their win over Penn State came from their offensive efficiency; the unit put up an uncharacteristic 25 points, overcoming a vengeful push from the Nittany Lions that, at one point, saw Iowa down 21-10 in defense of their home field.

It was the ground game specifically that put the Hawkeyes over the top. In spite of senior quarterback Mark Gronowski completing only 10 passes for 68 yards, no touchdown and an interception in the game, the QB alone rushed for 130 yards and two scores. The designated passer was completely unstoppable on the turf, and he wasn't the only one.

Iowa Hawkeyes running back Kamari Moulton | Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Kamari Moulton, the team's long-anticipated primary back, led the Hawkeyes in rushing behind Gronowski with 99 yards on 17 carries, good for a piercing 5.8 average. While he wasn't able to tally a score, Moulton's efficiency between the gaps helped the Hawkeyes eclispe the two century mark in total yards on the ground for a dominant final number of 245.

Run by Committee

While he appeared to be Iowa's clear main option at the position, head coach Kirk Ferentz emphasized a different strategy to media members following the game.

"I don’t want to ordain or anoint anybody yet as our guy," he said of Moulton and his performance. "Last year, Kaleb [Johnson], just emerged. It became pretty apparent. But I just compliment that whole room. They’ve done a good job. Maybe we’ll get Jaz back next week, too. They work together. They complement each other."

"Kamari is sneaky good to your point," he continued. "He runs really well. He’s got great vision. Tougher and stronger than you would think. So it’s fun."

While Iowa is in a solid, competitive position on the season right now, having question marks on the depth chart at this point in the season is a bit of a head-scratcher. Then again, if it's working this well for the team, perhaps it would be best to let Ferentz call it however he'd like to.

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