Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - EXPOSED?: Gronowski's DISASTROUS Debut Raises ALARM BELLS for Iowa | Can Hawkeyes RECOVER For Rivalry Week?

Episode Date: August 31, 2025

Iowa Hawkeyes football stumbles in season opener. Is the quarterback situation already in crisis?Trent Condon breaks down Iowa's disappointing 34-7 win over Albany, focusing on Mark Gronowski's lackluster debut. The host analyzes the Hawkeyes' offensive struggles, praising freshman Xavier Williams' impressive 122-yard rushing performance. Condon explores potential changes at quarterback, including the possibility of backup Hank Brown stepping in.Despite offensive woes, Iowa's defense and special teams showed promise. The upcoming rivalry game against Iowa State looms large, with Kirk Ferentz eyeing a historic win to tie Woody Hayes' Big Ten record. Can the Hawkeyes overcome their shaky start and secure a seventh straight victory at Jack Trice Stadium?Tune in for Condon's in-depth analysis of Iowa's path forward and his shifting confidence in the team's prospects.Follow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondonLISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyesListener SurveyWe’ve put together a survey to learn more about our listeners and make your favorite podcasts even better. Go tohttps://lockedonpodcasts.com/survey/ to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of ten $100 Amazon gift cards.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!UpsideSimply download the free Upside app in the App Store or Google Play and use the promo code FOOTBALL to get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your first fill up. Start earning cash at the pump, today!Click Here: https://getupside.onelink.me/zlLr?af_xp=custom&pid=barrington&c=barrington_lockedon25&deep_link_value=promo&deep_link_sub1=lockedon25&af_dp=upsideapp%3A%2F%2FThe Game CapGrab your team’s classic bar or retro circle designed hat and use code LOCKEDON for an exclusive discount. Head to Because legends wear The Game. Head to thegamecaps.com DoorDashWith DoorDash Streaks, you save every Saturday you order — stack it up all season and you could save up to $250. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. Fuel your gameday — only with DoorDash. Terms apply. Promo period through 11/18.MazdaIt’s the small details that make the big plays. And just like there’s more to every player, there’s more to a Mazda vehicle.Mazda. Move and Be Moved. Rugiet150,000 men have made the switch →https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEUse code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off your order!SupplyHouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://www.supplyhouse.com/apply-for-trademaster to sign up for free and use promo code SHCOLLEGE5 for 5% off your first order. GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at www.monarchmoney.com/lockedoncollege for 50% off your first year.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

It's a new year of Iowa football, but the same issues are there. The passing game puts up 48 yards against Albany. Rapid reaction, Lockdown Hawkeyes. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is a rapid reaction, locked on Hawkeyes, just back from Iowa City. And here with you, as we break things down, what we saw in Iowa City, Iowa gets the win over Albany, 3427 as the Hawkeyes kickoff the 2020.

Now, a beautiful day in Iowa City, perfect tailgate weather, had the warmth, a little breeze. Everything was good, good vibes, and something different, a night kickoff to open up the season. season and that weird 5 o'clock start time. Unfortunately, that is not going to be the storyline of this one. It is going to be a lot about what we saw in the passing game. And with the million dollar quarterback, Mark Grinowski, did not go very good in game number one. My name is Trent Condon.

I'm here with you on lockdown Hawkeyes. I've been covering the Hawkeyes for over 20 years on the radio here in the state of Iowa and currently on the Iowa Sports Radio Network where we can hear me each weekday from noon to two. and I'll be back at it on Monday. I'm going to be with you here throughout the course of the week, of course leading into SciHawk Week. We'll take a peek ahead to that just a little bit here later on. But the big story today is quarterback play and what we saw this evening at Kedek.

So let's get into it and let's just start at the top. We're not going to dink around. We're not going to talk about the defense that improved as the game went on. We're not going to talk about a ton of some of the other things, a Reese Vander Z being out, those kind of things that we talked about throughout the course of week. We got football. And to say that this was a disappointment would be a huge understatement.

The expectations that I certainly had for Mark Rennowski what I thought we were going to see even in game number one. This is an Albany team that their coach quit on them. And they didn't hire a full-time coach. They have an interim coach in his stead. This is not taking on North Dakota's state. That's not the program that is here. This is not South Dakota State. This is Albany. And to see Iowa struggle the way that they did in the passing game, it comes down to

one thing. So seats as I took the kids to the game here. And so sat in a little bit different spot than I normally do. And we're in the end zone. And so in the end zone, you get that all 22 look. That's a little bit difficult to decipher exactly the depth of plays and things like that. But I think it gave me a very good vantage point. And one thing that I think was a huge takeaway watching this, and we'll rewatch things as we do during the course of the season on Sunday night. And when I do, we'll see if that matches up with what I saw inside the stadium. However, he had guys running open.

Mark Grinowski had a couple of big opportunities to make big plays. And he wouldn't deliver the ball. So there was a play where Sam Phillips started out on the right side, cut back across, It was a deep route across the middle. And he's looking at him the whole time. Grinowski is. That is his read. He is all alone.

I mean, guys are trailing him, and he didn't deliver. The throw also, I believe, to fill up in the end zone. I thought it was deflected in the stadium. You see the replay. No, he's short-hopped it. He's throwing bounce passes. You don't get a half touchdown for that. You got to complete the ball.

in the air. He looked dreadful. His footwork was absolutely terrible. He looked skittish. He looked a lot like Kate McNamara. Those are words that I never thought I'd say this year. And yet here we are in week one against Albany. And it's already coming out. And you can say that maybe coming off the injury is a part of it. But this is very much becoming And sometimes we've got to listen, right? You've got to have your ear to the ground and listen a little bit deeper. And I didn't do it a year ago. I didn't.

When the reports were coming out of camp, that Brendan Sullivan at times was out playing Cade McNamara and that there were many in the offensive coaching room, including maybe the O.C. That wanted to go with Sullivan as the starter over Cade McNamara, ah, push to the side. McNamara is going to be okay. And we saw he wasn't.

He was skittish himself. And he was not the quarterback. Certainly he was at Michigan. And he was damaged goods. And with Mark Grunowski, coming off shoulder surgery, with a big brace on a knee, a guy that looked overwhelmed. It looked like the moment was too big.

This is a guy that won two FCS championships. This is a guy that has played in big environments. But you look at the biggest. said he's played in, not very good early in his career against Iowa in the 7-3 game. And last year against Oklahoma State certainly wasn't great. When this is the performance that you get, 8 of 15, 44 yards at a touchdown, wasn't a great throw either. You start, what, 2 of 8 in the ball game?

You're not taking those shots down the field. That was what we saw Kids Day. He was taking shots. He was pushing it. This was not part of the game. plan. Nobody schemes in a way, in a game, unless you're a service academy to try to throw for 44 yards and get a win. This is not the game plan. This was a Mark Grunowski problem. This one's not on the coaches. This one is on number 11. He was bad. And to his credit, he said as

much in the post game. That was frustrating. That was irritating. That was more of the same. And as I said, a year ago, we heard a ton about Kay McNamara struggling. Sullivan, maybe he's going to be a better fit for this team. I didn't want to believe it. And what have we been talking about a ton during this game? What have we continued to hear?

And it hasn't gone very well for Mark Bernowski. And that it has for Hank Brown. Hank Brown, two different times. Tim Lester's talked about what a tremendous camp that Hank Brown And are we already there? Are we already there with the question? And this isn't just an Iowa thing, though at times it does feel like an Iowa thing, or the backup is always the guy.

However, I'm already thinking. Mark Grinowski looked that bad. And if you had told me that at any point from the day he committed to yesterday, Friday, I would have called you crazy. Yes, maybe were there a better point. point in the year you start having that conversation if this season doesn't go according to plan yeah probably but like this god crazy frustrating but that's where we are there was some good news though in the game yes iwa gets the win does not cover as they win at 34 7 but there were plenty

of positives the run game david williams the defense starting to turn it on there were some good moments and some good players. And let's talk about the positives. Not all negative here. We're going to get into some of those positives here. It's a rapid reaction. Iowa gets a win over Albany as we break it down on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Guys, you probably heard of Viagra or Cialis, maybe even tried them. But if you're looking for something beyond the usual pill, it's time to meet Ruggiat Ready. Rugi at Ready is a next-gen prescription treatment designed to amplify arousal in the brain and boost blood flow. Unlike usual pills that can take hours, Ruggiat's three-and-one formula dissolves under your tongue and kicks in fast.

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Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is also brought to you by Fanduel. Well, Fandual Futures Day has come and gone, but there's still an opportunity for you to get involved with NFL season predictions with Fanduel. So much going on as they kick off the NFL season. Of course, we got college football that continues on Sunday and Monday. So much to get into. We go to the final month of the Major League baseball season.

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Lockdown, Hawkeyes. We take a look at some of the positives from Iowa's win against. Albany. Now, there was a point in the second half where Iowa was dominating. The defense was running around the field. But when Albany scores the touchdown and make a 7-3, give the great Danes the lead, you're thinking what's going on here. Their quarterback made a couple of plays, like certainly looked a lot better than Mark Bernowski did in the game and give credit to Jack Shields going out there and making a couple of passes and a couple of tight windows that he was able to throw the ball into. But I think that also leads to some of those questions.

And you see some of those passes that weren't complete, that next week against Iowa State, against Indiana, Oregon, Penn State, and I can keep going, those are going to be completions. Yeah, you look at the final numbers, they were good, but I think there were still some concerns. Lutmer was flying around and making some plays, also got sucked in a couple of times. The zone replays crashing into the defensive end,

a couple of different times you just saw guys that were not. a container. That's just not what we're used to with Iowa football. So I think that was a little bit of concern, even at the effort. But the biggest positive is what we saw out of Xavier Williams and the rest of the running game on Saturday evening. Xavier Williams finishes with 122 yards. And one of my favorite game notes that we got after the game talked about this

as I bring it back up here. Because he becomes the first freshman to go over 100 yards. In his first career game, since Sean Green did it in his debut against Ball State back in 2005. Because they're built very similar, I mean, you're looking for a cop. That's a pretty easy one, right, with those two guys, Sean Green, Xavier Williams. Big, physical, got some power that goes along with it. And Iowa just made an effort. We're going to run the football right at him.

whatever the reason that the passing game wasn't going then you're left saying let's go back to what worked and the run game works Tim Lester's got that part figured out this Iowa offense is able to run the football

and against most everybody this year I anticipate that they're going to be able to run the football but if you can't pass it it's going to be a problem the injury to Kamari Moulton he was in a sling and you'd anticipate that going to be something that's going to set him back and the likelihood that I was going to be

without him. Great to see Jazzy on Patterson come in and do his Jazzy and Patterson things. I thought he was really good getting in there in the fourth quarter, getting some carries, and definitely pushing that pile. But now, what's the direction they go? I still believe that Terrell Washington is more of a third down type of back. I don't think he is your full-time type of guy, at least at this part in his career, maybe develops into that. And if we do go into next week anticipating that Kamari Bolton is not going to play, who's your starter at running back? Is it the veteran and Patterson? Guy that a couple of years ago had a big game and a couple of big runs against the cyclones.

Do you go that direction? Do you go with what feels maybe on paper? Is your number two in Washington? Or after what we saw from Xavier Williams at the time now? Go do it, young man. Here's your opportunity. Here's your chance. And against that Iowa State team, that's got a ton of linebackers.

after all the injuries that they had last year, got one of the best defensive tackles, nose tackles in all of college football in Dominic Orange. Do you go with physicality? And do you go with Xavier Williams in this game? That'll be something that we're certainly going to be talking about in this one.

Also got to see a little bit of Nathan McNeil. Other positives from the game, Drew Stevens, doing what he did. A couple of field goals, including a career long, 55-yarder. That was great to see after, of course, the struggles two years ago at the end of the year. the bounce back season that he had a year ago and now maybe taking a final step forward

Dakin just two punts which is good don't want a lot of them and we would sign up for two puns a game out of Reese Dakin as he averages 50 a punt how about the special teams and the advantage that Iowa has open he kicked the ball out of bounce twice like they didn't want to have anything to do

with Cain Weechin speaking of Weechin he does get a touchdown oh and one other thing going back because I mentioned we're in the end zone for the game. And after Grinowski ran it in for the touchdown, and then he's just laid in the end zone, and he can't really see where we are what exactly was happening.

Just knew it. It looked like a non-contact injury, and here we go again, another injury. He's that what we're talking about, the quarterback spot. Luckily, it was just cramped. Boy, for a moment. I mean, there were some tense moments until you can figure out exactly what was going on and saw that it was a cramp. that he was dealing with.

We will continue to break it down as we do every single day here, Locked on Hawkeyes. Sunday night into Monday morning, we will have a look back as I will go back and take a look at things on the TV broadcast and break things down. That way for you, a full overview of everything, and maybe I overreact to Mark Bernowski.

We'll see if it looks a little bit different, a second viewing. That happens quite often. We will do that, get you set up, and then you're going to have a host of a great guest coming up next week for you and get you ready for Iowa, Iowa State next week. I was 1-0. It wasn't pretty.

A win-to-win. Kirk Ties, Woody Hayes now on the all-time wins list in the Big Ten and a victory against the Cyclones would do it. But by his feeling as confident as it was before the season began, and also what we saw today out of Iowa State and their big win against South Dakota that I was going to go win there and win their seventh straight game inside Jack's Tri-Statium. No, I'd be lying to you if I said. that I feel as confident and certainly not more confident than I did at the beginning of this season.

It's one game, things can change, and the old adage, right? You make your biggest gains between week one and week two. Let's hope that's the case for this Iowa team and specifically for the Iowa passing game. Your team every day, that's what we do here on the lockdown network. Big thank you to you every dayers with us each and every day. Glad to have you aboard with us here. A little rapid reaction here. A quick one, a little bit shorter than what we normally do,

but want to get something out there over this long holiday weekend. But we will be with you on Monday with a full recap episode. Hit subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube. Really would appreciate that. Thank you to you every dayers. If you listen on the podcast side, hit us up with a five-star review over on Apple. We'll talk again to you tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks.

Thank you.