Iowa QB Mark Gronowski Recounts Playing vs. Hawkeyes in 2022: ‘It Was Loud’

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski hopes his 2025 games at Kinnick Stadium don’t go like they did the first time he played there.

Gronowski, who signed with Iowa after the 2024 season, played at South Dakota State from 2020 to 2024. The Hawkeyes and Jackrabbits played against each other in 2022, when Iowa beat South Dakota State 7-3.

That was Gronowski’s first glimpse at Hawkeye football.

Mark Gronowski, Iowa Hawkeyes — Sep 3, 2022; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; South Dakota State Jackrabbits quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) is sacked by Iowa Hawkeyes defensive end Joe Evans (rear) and defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness (91) as offensive linemen Garret Greenfield (74) and Mason Richman (78) look on during the fourth quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

“That game was awesome,” Gronowski said.

The contest didn’t go particularly well for either team’s offense.

The Hawkeyes and Jackrabbits combined for only 10 points and 288 total yards. The teams were tied 3-3 at halftime, and Iowa logged two safeties in the second half to earn its four-point win.

Gronowski struggled in that game.

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The quarterback went 10 of 26 on pass attempts, finishing with 87 yards and zero touchdowns. He averaged just 3.3 yards per attempt.

Gronowski was also sacked four times, finishing the game with minus-three rushing yards.

A redshirt sophomore at the time, Gronowski said the atmosphere at Kinnick Stadium made it nearly impossible for his team to move the ball down the field.

“(It was) the loudest stadium I’ve ever played in,” Gronowski said. “A lot of loud Kinnick Iowa fans. It was loud, it was fun.”

Gronowski’s lackluster performance against the Hawkeyes was an outlier in an otherwise outstanding career at South Dakota State.

In four years as the Jackrabbits’ starting signal-caller, Gronowski registered 10,330 yards, 93 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,767 yards and 37 touchdowns across those four seasons.

Gronowski led SDSU to FCS national championships in 2022 and 2023 and won the Walter Payton Award — given to the most outstanding player at the FCS level — in 2023.

Now a Hawkeye, Gronowski will get the chance to redeem himself at other raucous venues across the Big Ten Conference. And the quarterback is glad that he no longer has to fight against the crowd in Iowa City.

“I’m excited to be on the other side of it,” Gronowski said.

Iowa opens the 2025 season against the Albany Great Danes on Saturday, Aug. 30. The Hawkeyes finished 8-5 in 2024 and went 6-3 in Big Ten play. They lost 27-24 to Missouri in the Music City Bowl.