Three Key Reasons Iowa Lost to Oregon

Somehow, Iowa's Mark Gronowski outdueled Oregon's Dante Moore, but the Hawkeyes still suffered defeat. The final score was 18-16 as a last-second field goal guided No. 9 Oregon to victory. Iowa can kiss its No. 20 ranking goodbye as it likely won't see itself ranked again this season.

The game was filled with rain, chaos, and everything one would expect from Iowa football. Dan Lanning learned the hard way just how tough this Hawkeyes team is, but in the end, they let another one slip away from them.

1. Safety

Iowa's long snapper nearly sent his first snap of the game through the end zone, and he clearly didn't learn his lesson. On Iowa's second punt attempt, he airmailed a snap that the punter was forced to push and eventually kick through the end zone. Very early on, Iowa trailed 2-0.

Iowa somehow managed a worse snap on the next punt and it's a safety pic.twitter.com/agXr1Oh5d0
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 8, 2025

Looking at the final score, it's very clear how much those two points cost them. Not often are there safeties in college football, let alone football in general, but they always come back to bite a team.

2. Kaden Wetjen's Fumble

Arguably, the biggest moment of the game was when Iowa was driving down the field in the third quarter. Their only drive of the quarter was an 11-play, 54-yard drive that was cut short just shy of seven minutes. With the Hawkeyes inside Oregon's 20-yard line, Wetjen fumbled the ball on his second carry of the game.

Oregon turned that fumble into three points, but Iowa was well on its way to adding seven points on that drive. The field goal put Oregon on top 15-7, but had Iowa scored and that field goal never taken place, Iowa would've been on top either 13-12 or 15-12, depending on the outcome of an attempted two-point conversion.

3. Failed Two-Point Conversion

Speaking of two-point conversions, look no further than Iowa's failed attempt after Gronowski's touchdown. The fifth-year senior quarterback put the team on his back with a dominant drive, one that he thought would be enough to win the game.

Iowa was so close to
Pulling off an insane 2 point conversion pic.twitter.com/ZvQ74Wa1pQ
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) November 8, 2025

He was 4-for-6 for 66 yards as he led the Hawkeyes down the field 93 yards. He had a pair of big fourth down conversions, but the conversion Iowa needed the most was their two-point try. While it was originally called good, it was overturned upon review.

Ultimately, the officials made the right call. Iowa fans can blame the rain if they want, but it was clear that neither of Moulton's feet were in bounds prior to coming down with the ball. Sitting at 16-15, Oregon's late field goal would've sent this game to overtime had the conversion gone through.

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