Iowa weathered a storm in Piscataway and emerged with a 38–28 win over Rutgers, a game Kirk Ferentz said showed his team’s toughness and growth.
“First and foremost, just really excited to get the win tonight,” Ferentz said. “Really proud of our team, I thought they did a great job of competing for the full 60 minutes, and that is part of football.”
It was anything but smooth early. Rutgers came out firing, slicing through Iowa’s defense with ease. “They came out on fire offensively, went up and down the field pretty much at ease against us,” Ferentz admitted. The veteran coach even recalled another back-and-forth battle. “The first half I kind of flashbacked to 1983 against Penn State, we won 42-38, and it was up and down.”
The turning point came when Kaden Wetjen flipped the momentum with a dynamic kick return. “Wetjen sparked us with the kick return, he’s a pretty dynamic guy,” Ferentz said. That jolt set up quarterback Mark Gronowski, who proved steady throughout. The transfer finished 12 of 18 for 186 yards passing while adding 55 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
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Running back Kamari Moulton chipped in 68 yards and a score, while Jaziun Patterson added 37 yards on just six carries. The Hawkeyes leaned on their run game to control the second half, piling up 160 yards rushing on the night.
“Luckily at halftime things settled down a little bit and we started getting some traction defensively,” Ferentz said. “The second half we were much better at getting off the field. The guys kept pushing and kept digging. They believed in each other.”
Now sitting at 3–1, Iowa returns home next Saturday to host undefeated Indiana in a pivotal Big Ten clash.
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