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Iowa

Late field goal once again beats Hawkeyes

On3 imageby: Tom Kakert09/06/25HawkeyeReport
Jaziun Patterson(1)
Jaziun Patterson rushed for 60 yards in the loss to Iowa State.

It was déjà vu all over again for ending of the annual battle between Iowa and Iowa State on the football field.

For the second straight year, Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy drilled a 54 yard field goal in the final minutes to lead the Cyclones to victory. This time it was a 16-13 win over the Hawkeyes leading to Iowa State’s first win at home over their rivals since 2011.

With the win, the nationally ranked Cyclones moved to 3-0 on the season. Meanwhile, Iowa falls to 1-1 with UMass up next for the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium next Saturday. Iowa has now dropped 10 straight games to ranked opponents.

For the second straight game the Iowa offense started very slow. They went three and out and a short punt from Rhys Dakin gave the Cyclones great field position at their own 45 yard line. The Cyclones moved down the field fairly quickly until picking up a holding call that stalled their drive. Konrardy hit a 44 yard field goal to make it 3-0 Cyclones in the first period.

The Hawkeyes went three and out once again and the Cyclones were on the move. The key play in their next drive was a 35 yard pass to Brett Eskildsen. But, the Iowa defense stood up the Cyclones and held them to a 27 yard field goal  and a 6-0 lead in the first period.

The Hawkeyes third drive also ended in a punt, but Iowa was able to create a turnover on special teams. The punt hit the hand of Xavier Townsend and was recovered by Iowa. Mark Gronowski took the final play of the first quarter for a 13 yard run to the 20 yard line. From there, Iowa couldn’t get much more going on offense and Drew Stevens connected from 31 yards away to make it 6-3 Cyclones in the lead. Both defensive units dominated the action for the next three series and then Iowa made the first costly mistake of the game.

Mark Gronowski threw to the right sideline area for Kade Wetjen, who slipped. That pass was intercepted by Jeremiah Cooper and returned 24 yards to the Iowa 18 yard line. Four plays later Rocco Becht, who was 18-27 for 134 yards, found Ben Brahmer for a two yard score and a 13-3 lead.

At that point, Iowa’s offense woke up. Starting at their own 15 yard line, Jaziun Patterson seems to spark the Hawkeyes on the ground. He rushed for 14 yards on two carries to get the Hawkeyes moving. Then Gronowski, who was 13-24 for 83 yards on the day, hit Sam Phillips for a 15 yard gain. Iowa kept grinding away on the ground and then Gronowski hit Gill for a 16 yard gain. Iowa benefited from a defensive holding call and eventually Gronowski ran it in from two yards out to make the score 13-10 at the break.

After the Cyclones went three and out, Iowa put together another long drive that featured all three running backs gaining yardage and Gronowski hitting Jacob Gill for a key 22 yard completion. But, the drive stalled out and Iowa settled for a 36 yard field goal from Stevens to tie the game at 13.

Neither team could generate much offense into the fourth until the Cyclones got the big play that had been avoiding the Hawkeyes. On a third and four play, the ball was tipped into the air by a Cyclone receiver and instead of it being intercepted, it fell into the hands of ISU tight end Gabe Burkle for a 17 yard gain.

The Cyclones were able to get the ball into Iowa territory after a ten yard completion to Brahmer on third and two. Iowa got the stop, but Konrardy drilled a line drive field goal from 54 yards out to make the score 16-13. Iowa went quietly in their final attempt in the last minute of action with Gronowski being sacked twice.

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