IOWA CITY — Iowa opened its 2025 football season with a 34-7 win over UAlbany on Saturday.

The 27-point victory offered a mixed bag of takeaways for fans eagerly awaiting the debut of South Dakota State transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski.

The Hawkeyes (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) looked out of sync from start to finish and Gronowski said he was disappointed with his own performance , but the ground game looked dominant with 310 yards on 53 attempts. The defense also excelled limiting the Great Danes (0-1, 0-0 Coastal Athletic) to just 177 yards of total offense.

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Head coach Kirk Ferentz shared a nuanced take on the win, befitting of the game’s pros and cons, during his postgame press conference on Saturday.

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