Iowa QB Reveals Biggest Turning Point in Iowa State Loss

The Iowa Hawkeyes landed quarterback Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State last month via the transfer portal. The former Walter Payton Award winner led the Hawkeyes to a 34-7 win over Albany in the season opener. He completed 8 of 15 passes for 44 yards and one touchdown and also recorded 11 carries for 39 yards and one touchdown.

However, the Hawkeyes fell to the Iowa State Cyclone in the second game of the season, losing 16-13. Gronowski completed 13 of 24 passes for 83 yards, no touchdowns and one interceptions and charted 16 carries for 37 yards and 1 touchdown.

The two-time FCS National Champion talked to the media ahead of Saturday's fixture against UMass and reflected on last week's narrow loss.

"I thought it was very gritty and tough game we played last week," Gronowski said. "There's a lot of opportunities that we left out there. We could have executed a lot better on certain plays and maybe that would have changed the game... We learned from it and we are going to continue to progress this year. It's a long season and we're going to improve every single week."

Gronowski also addressed the 16 carries he recorded in Saturday's game against the Cyclones.

"I wasn't really 100% expecting that, but sometimes that's what the game turns into. There's some plays that happen... where I'll just take matters in my own hands and use my feet to go get that first down," he said.

The Hawkeyes QB went on to talk about the biggest turning point of the game.

"We were really close on that deep one... I guess that guy ended up making a good play kind of saving it by causing the PI. That could have ended up being a 75 yard touchdown and I mean that would have changed the game." Gronowski said.

The Illinois native acknowledged the need to start and finish games better with improved execution. Gronowski is comfortable with the RPO system, having run similar concepts during his time at South Dakota.

Gronowski also pointed out that the team gets a lot more media attention than South Dakota State and he sometimes stays off social media after difficult games to maintain focus. He watched the game film immediately on the bus ride back from Iowa state.

The 23-year-old believes his reads against Iowa State were good despite facing one of the top pass defenses from last year. Gronowski follows a 24-hour rule: watch, learn, then move on to the next opponent. He would hope to lead his team to another win when they face the UMass Minutemen at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

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