The Iowa Hawkeyes have some moxie, and they showed some guts. This team is tough and this team is not afraid of the moment. It took the offense, defense, and special teams all making plays in the 38-28 win over Rutgers.
Iowa went into Rutgers, in front of a sold-out crowd on a raucous night in SHI Stadium, and came away with a hard-earned Big Ten victory that felt bleak at times, but reminded everyone how Kirk Ferentz can rally a team like no other.
The victory pushes Iowa to 3-1 on the year with a 1-0 start to their Big Ten slate, and saw some individuals lead the way. As Iowa gets to enjoy an extra day of rest, check out the takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ win at Rutgers.
Kaden Wetjen is on another planet
What more can you say about Kaden Wetjen? My goodness. How many more opportunities to return kicks or punts is he going to get this season? After last week’s monster performance, he showed up again this week and turned the game on its head immediately.
Wetjen took the opening kickoff 104 yards to the house for a touchdown, which proved to be critical in this game. He also added a 43-yard punt return right before half that almost saw him spring free for a touchdown. When he gets the ball, he is lethal. The biggest question remaining is how many teams continue to kick to him.
Mark Gronowski has moxie
Mark Gronowski showed all of Iowa exactly why they brought him in. He answered the bell tonight, stepping up time and time again. He had his season-high in passing yards, going 12-18 for 186 yards, which could have been nearly 250 yards without the drops.
He also ran for 55 yards on the night and found the end zone three times. When Iowa needed a score, a big first down, or a big play, the ball was in Gronowski’s hands, and he proved that he can be the quarterback that Iowa has been yearning for.
Iowa’s defense stepped up
To be blunt, the defense struggled in the first half. Things were bleak. Iowa was getting torched in the passing game and had no answers. Fortunately, halftime exists, and the Hawkeyes found their rhythm out of the break. After giving up 21 first-half points, Iowa held to seven in the second half.
In the second half, Iowa had six defensive drives. Of those six drives, two ended in a punt, one ended in an interception, and one ended on a turnvoer in downs to ice the game. While the overall numbers may not be the prettiest, the timing of their successes is beautiful, and sometimes that can be enough, like it was tonight.
Zach Lutmer and Ethan Hurkett rose to the occasion
Two individual efforts stood out tonight, and those belong to Zach Lutmer and Ethan Hurkett. The two of them made big plays down the stretch to propel Iowa to victory. Ethan Hurkett’s biggest play may have been getting a hand on Rutgers’ field goal attempt late in the third quarter to keep things tied. His sack and tackle for loss didn’t hurt either.
Quite possibly my favorite performance from tonight comes from Zach Lutmer. He was picked on in the first half, but he kept swinging. He stayed in the fight. Despite giving up some completions, his confidence never wavered on his way to a strong showing of six tackles and three pass breakups, which felt like they always came in a big moment.
This team is tough
This game was a grind for Iowa. To put it bluntly, Iowa had to fight tooth and nail for this win. The Hawkeyes were outgained by more than 50 yards, were down multiple times, and were on the road on a short week against a hostile, sellout crowd.
But they found a way to win. This game saw Iowa grow up a lot. The Hawkeyes showed they might have a little juice this year on both sides of the ball as well as special teams and are here to make some noise.
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