Caden Buhr didn’t call it relief when the kick split the uprights. He said it felt more like joy, and that emotion fit the day in Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Iowa’s 16-13 win over Iowa State had the usual Cy-Hawk bite to it: tight, tense, and decided late. The Hawkeyes got just enough to escape with a rivalry win, and the details told the story of how they got there.
The clearest bright spot was the way Hank Brown was protected. Iowa stuck with one quarterback for the entire game, and Brown wasn’t sacked once.
He finished 21 of 30 for 191 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions, and the pocket mostly stayed steady enough for him to work through short and intermediate throws without much panic. He had a few shots downfield that nearly landed, but he rarely had to scramble for his life.
The line kept things clean, too. Jack Dotzler was called for holding on the final play of the third quarter, but that was the lone blemish on a day when the Hawkeyes avoided false starts and other penalties up front. That mattered because Iowa had already shown some promise in pass protection in Week 1, when Brown, Jeremy Hecklinski and Jimmy Sullivan combined for 40 pass attempts without a sack.
If the passing game held together, the run game never fully found its footing. Iowa finished with 93 rushing yards on 29 carries, a 3.2-yard average, and Kamari Moulton was held to 57 yards on 15 carries after going off for 183 yards and two touchdowns against Northern Illinois.
Iowa did keep leaning on the ground game, and Kirk Ferentz pointed after the game to his team’s willingness to stick with it. The Hawkeyes picked up nearly half their rushing total, 43 yards, in the fourth quarter, which helped them manage the clock and set up Buhr’s winning kick.
Still, Iowa State largely did what it wanted against the run, and that’s a problem Iowa will have to solve against teams built to take away that part of the offense. The Hawkeyes also missed South Dakota transfer LJ Phillips, who sat out because of the lower leg injury he suffered against Northern Illinois.
The biggest issue came on third down. Iowa opened the game by converting one when Brown found Moulton for nine yards, and two of its five conversions came in the fourth quarter.
But the rest of the day was a grind. The Hawkeyes finished 5 of 15 on third down, with Brown throwing four incompletions on those snaps.
One second-quarter sequence ended with a quarterback draw on third-and-10, but Brown was stopped for no gain after Iowa had thrown the ball on the previous five plays.
In the end, Iowa did enough in each phase to get by its rival. The margins were thin, and the Hawkeyes will want cleaner answers in the run game and on third down when Week 3 arrives.
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Iowa Escaped Cy-Hawk Trouble But One Concern Just Got Louder
Iowa left the Cy-Hawk game with a win, but the margin did little to soften the familiar concerns that followed it out of the stadium. A game-winning field goal was enough to settle a tense afternoon, yet the broader picture still pointed back to an offense that struggled to find rhythm for long stretches, even as the defense supplied the kind of steady work Iowa fans have come to expect in rivalry games.
Special teams again played a central role in the outcome, and the defense had plenty of moments worth spotlighting, including strong showings from a few key players who helped keep Iowa State from taking control. Still, the most lasting takeaway may be how loudly the offensive issues now stand out, especially after a game in which the Hawkeyes needed every bit of their edge in field position, defense and composure just to survive a competitive Cyclone team. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Week 3 Depth Chart Keeps One Big Offensive Question Alive
The Week 3 depth chart gave Iowa some clarity before its matchup with Northern Iowa, and Kamari Moulton is set to remain part of the plan after leaving the previous game late in the fourth quarter. Kirk Ferentz said Moulton is expected to play, which matters for an offense that wants to establish some stability early in the season.
The biggest question, though, still sits at quarterback, where Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski remain listed without a decision made public. Elsewhere, the special teams picture stayed the same, with Reece Vander Zee holding the punt return job and Zach Lutmer behind him, but the Hawkeyes still have one notable offensive spot that has yet to settle into place. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Cy-Hawk Thriller Just Fueled A Big Future QB Win
The Cy-Hawk rivalry had its usual pulse and then some, with Iowa escaping Iowa State on a last-second field goal from Caden Buhr. Even before the finish, the afternoon carried an extra layer for the Hawkeyes, because a future quarterback target made his college choice known during the game itself, giving the program another reason to leave the weekend feeling good about more than just one result.
Chase Grove, a 2028 quarterback prospect from Indiana, announced his commitment to Iowa while the rivalry game was still unfolding. The three-star recruit became the third pledge in Iowas 2028 class, a notable early addition for a program that always values quarterback development and long-term roster building, and his decision added some recruiting momentum to a win that already had plenty of emotional weight. [Read more 🡒]