Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - RAPID REACTION: Iowa & Gronowski COLLAPSE Late in Loss to Cyclones

Episode Date: September 6, 2025

Iowa falls to Iowa State in the annual CyHawk football game 16-13 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. The offense struggled once again with transfer QB Mark Gronowksi faltering late for the Hawkeyes who have now lost 3 of the last 4 to their rivals. Trent Condon breaks it all down. 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)

well that sucked another loss to iowa state two in a row three out of four as the cyclones get the victory 1613 iowa over iowa felt like one of those games that were going to go to hawkeyes wait until it didn't we break it down it's a rapid reaction to another scy hawk locks today locked on hawkeye 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 the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day here. After this one goes final, and what a disappointment that it was.

We were with you at halftime and talked a little bit about the feeling that Iowa hanging around, cutting it to a three-point lead when Iowa State dominated. first quarter and most of the first half, and it had the old feeling of a fair and special. One thing maybe we're learning here is the fair and special maybe doesn't work quite as well anymore. And secondly, maybe somebody across the state has figured out that formula because Iowa State now goes to seven and one and one score games over the last two seasons. That had been a script that has definitely been flipped, and I was on the wrong side of it. Once again, the Hawkeyes now losers of the last two games in the Seahawks series.

And three of the last four, that's a tough one to swallow. And this was a game that was tough to swallow. Now, there's a lot of blame to go around, a lot of frustration in this one. Kurt put this one in the lockbox. And after the game was tied, it was playing about as a conservative brand of football as possible. Now, there were a couple of big moments in this football game. And we'll, of course, talk about that final drive and just how ugly that it was. And boy, was that thing hideous from the jump.

but the tip ball to the completion to Burkle. I mean, you talk about a momentum swing and just how different this game looks on that play. I think that's the one that you look at, maybe more than anything, that really swung the complexion of this football game and the way that it eventually played out. You turn that into an incompletion,

and the ball that hangs up in the air like that. A lot of times that's an interception. Instead, it leads to a completion for Iowa State. That's the momentum, Turner. Iowa State was playing for a field goal as well. And they got an outstanding one. A kid from Eastern Iowa in Conrarty, who knocked it in again, second straight year, basically from the exact same spot he did a year ago, just on the right hash in Kinnick Stadium.

And here in the right hash at Jack Trice Stadium, and absolutely nutted that thing. No doubt about it is he pounded it through. Yet Iowa gets the football back. Got a time out in their pocket, just inside of two minutes left. You got a quarterback that has started, what, 57 games? in college football, and he have to have at least a modicum of hope going into that final drive that maybe get a field goal. Put this thing in overtime, and he can go from there.

Instead, it's Vaporlock again. It is what we talked about last week. Mark Bernowski's inability to just throw the ball. We saw it a couple of times during the first half of the game, and during the two long sustained drives, one at the end of the half, the one early in the second half, those two. It felt like he got out of that, but it went right back again. And I don't know what this is.

And I don't know if this is a mental block. If this is just the guy, what is he is, if it's coming off the shoulder surgery, and that is leading to it, whatever it is, it's not good enough. And for Mark Grinowski, we know it's frustrating for him. It's obviously, right? But for us to have to go through this once again is so infuriating. And that's, I know where a lot of,

of the yankst and frustration, certainly for myself, all my text groups, all my buddies that are calling a Texan throughout the game, and for all you watching and listening out there right now, it's the same thing. Mark Gradosky, if it is something mentally because of the shoulder or something else, okay, fine, but we've had to deal with this for six years now. And we have gone and we have played this game now of crap quarterback play for six years. an inability to do anything of substance in the passing game. And that's what we're going through once again now.

It was 77 yards. And yeah, it felt better. We're sitting here. I don't know there's people. And I know there's some people that I'll say, hey, he was a lot better. He was 83, excuse me, that he finished with. 13 to 24, 83 yards. And it was better than it was last week.

Mark Grodowski, good physical runner. tough-nosed kid put his head in there and maybe took a tough one on that play where they had to burn a time out late in the middle of the fourth quarter before they gave the ball back but that aside it's not there is it the scheme probably i mean there has to be a part of it look when joe clats calling you out that you don't have any routes going down the field what's going on here i don't feel sam phillips is five foot seven but we know he has some wheels to him right Seth Anderson, these are guys that are running 4-940s. Look, if you walked across college football, and you can see everybody, doesn't watch it in Delaware right now go down on the field. Everybody has an ability to try to stretch the field, except Iowa. And it's the same thing that we've talked about now for the last, what, 15 years. After Ken O'Keefe left, it felt like the conservative nature came in.

He started with Greg Davis as the offensive coordinator. It was an awful marriage. his horizontal passing attack with Iowa zone blocking scheme. It was awful, absolutely awful. Brian Farrantz comes in and a guy that never should have the job, but he did. And we saw how that cratered because he was in over his head. And now here we are today. And as the headman gets older and over and Kirk Farrantz and more and more conservative,

you bring in Tim Lester. And the hope was that Tim Lester, a younger, innovative guy, going to bring in the shade of him offense. and it's going to do something different than what we've seen. And it just looks like more of the same. Shame on me for believing anything would be different. That's on me. My bad.

I will call myself out. I shouldn't have bought it. I shouldn't have. Last year it was the excuse. They don't have the quarterback play. Kate McNamara was terrible. Yada, yada. And here we are this year.

And we're seeing the same things again. back-to-back games out now without an ability to throw for 100 yards but it's not just the inability to throw free cards it's the mental issues that look to be out there let it rip that was the talk a couple times he let it rip it's just not there so here we go again and we'll go back and rewatch this and we will go through a bunch of different things let's take a deep breath I just, my frustration is this was there for the taking. Iowa State after the first quarter played terribly. And they played right into the hands of Iowa. And maybe that's also where the frustration is because these are the kind of games that Iowa wins. This is how Iowa beats Iowa State and Jack Tri State of seemingly every single time. You get a couple of breaks, a couple of things go your way, and then in the end, you pull it out, and they can't anymore.

And they can't make those final plays. It just doesn't happen. Conrari gets it done with the field goal. Iowa holds Rocco Beck to 134 yards. And in fact, going into the game, the over under total for Mark Grodowski at Fandoul with 136 and a half. Roccobeck was under that total, which is in the 220, 230 range, something like that. Again, early in the game, you played the wrong running back.

And it's time now to regulate Terrell Washington Jr. He's a third downback. Now, he's more of that versatile kind of guy, scat-back type of player. There's a reason he was at wide receiver. They like his versatility, but he's not a full-time running back. So let's stop putting him out there until Kamari Moulton's ready. This needs to be Jazzy on Patterson, needs to be Xavier Williams.

And Williams had one nice run, but he wasn't great overall. And it's disappointing because I would have liked to see what Brevin Dahl could do out there. He sprayed an ankle earlier in the week, as he saw in the intro report. He is out, and we'll see if he's going to be available next week. I get an opportunity because this running back room that we thought was deep without molten out there, look pretty pedestrian on the field against Iowa State. Dom Orange dominated at times early in the game and then again late.

But as we saw so many different times in this game, I've just left scratching my head about so much. I know people want to go after Kirk. And I had somebody coming at me, not on social media, anything like that. Somebody I know about its time. I force him to retire. And those kind of hot takey things,

I think of people that know me, people that watch the program daily, people that listen to the podcast, they know, I try to stay away from the hot takes. I try to stay away from the whole industry that is hot takes. I have opinions. Maybe sometimes they're hot. But the hot take artist, it's just not me.

I call it like I see it. I call it as it is. And if it sounds like a hot take from time to time, that might be the case. But when people come in, you've got to force Kurt to retire. We're not at that spot. A guy was still were the winnings programs in college football of the 2020s. This deep into his tenure. To start to put those kind of parameters in there just because of a bad performance

or a disappointing year last year and not seeing the force through the trees. We still have it very good. That's difficult to say after another one of these devastating losses. We're not at that spot. Now, could we get there? It can happen very quickly. And I take you back to 1998. Because coming on the heels of the disappointing 1997 season, remember last year and the preseason expectations that went along with it. And coming into 1998, the expectation was, it was still going to be a bowl team. They weren't going to have, certainly, the roster to contend for a Big Ten title. But the thought at that time was, I was still okay, maybe a little bit retooling here.

And he tried to build yourself up again for the next year, too. Reminds you of a little bit of last year into this because it happens very quickly. Now, there was other circumstances as well. Remember for Hayden and for the youngsters out there, Hayden was also going through prostate cancer at that time, which changes the equation completely. But back to the topic again, I'm not going to sit here with a hot take because of it, Kurt needs to retire, step down today. That's not me.

It's idiotic. Don't, let's be smarter here. Let's be above the fray. I mean, I know there's other places that you can go if you want that kind of jackassery. I'm not going to do it here. I'm just not. What I am going to say, though, is this. It can happen quickly.

And if this season falls apart and with the schedule that they have, that is a realistic possibility. If Iowa misses a bowl game this year, if Iowa limps to a five and seven type of season, it can happen very quickly as it did in 1998. That's what we'll say. I'm not going to sit here right now after this kind of loss and call for it. But I understand the wheels are emotion, the thought processes are out there. This is Lockdown Hawkeyes. I'm your daily source for Iowa Hawkeyes.

You can find me each day during the week talking Hawkeyes with you. We come out to you Monday through Friday. every single day, your daily source of Iowa football. Let's go into the comment section and get some of the thoughts that are out there right now, people going through. No aggressiveness from John. I agree with that one. Hold the ball too long from Tim Malley.

I think he's talking about Grinowski there. Tim also continues, maybe let Brown start a game to see how he looks. I don't think we're there there yet. But I harkened it back to what I talked about last week. And every day, as you know about this, as I talk about this, as I talked about at the end, beginning of the week. All right, we're talking about Grinowski, what was happening, what went wrong, the excuses are coming in, okay.

But I also reminded you two different times we got to hear from Tim Lester before the season began. And both times, he went out to talk about Hank Brown in glowing, absolutely glowing reviews. Tremendous, I believe was the adjective that he used both times what he was talking about Hank Brown. And we did get the same things. about Mark Bernowski. On the surface, it doesn't matter.

Got a young guy, you're developing him, talking up a young guy, not a big deal. However, we go back to last year and the rumblings that were out there during August camp, that Tim Lester, the new offensive coordinator, did not want Kate McNamara to be the guy who was awful, as we know,

in that open practice. He wanted Brendan Sullivan to be the guy, but it didn't happen. And then my wheels start turning. Could we be goal? going through this. Again, we're an offensive coordinator doesn't have the guy that he wants. I don't know. That's, again, jumping a couple of steps further ahead than we actually are. But that's just a thought. That is out there.

Fraud-ass coach can't win crap from Tom. Clown State. Nice job losers. Dom, I share your sentiment in a couple of different ways. Iowa, a sinking ship this season with the Jack Rabbit as a QB I said months ago. Mike, you absolutely nailed that one. Iowa is a failure. Broadfins. I think it's a Kirk Barents. Yeah, okay.

Let's see. What else? Mike O Moran, I will say this. I wonder how different the game would have bet if Weegean didn't slip on that interception. I agree with you on that one. Now, they were looking for that route. I don't think they would have jumped in front and picked it off, but there were two defenders there.

If he doesn't slip, I'm speaking of bad games, boy. Hey, Wichin really struggled. So this was a disappointing effort overall. Let's see, continuing on here. As we look through, no recruits want to play quarterback at Iowa, and we'll keep paying injured transfers too much to come and let Turk destroy them. That's from the Scrappy Drew. That's a good take.

I like that one. From Ray, he won't pull the trigger. The line gave him a lot of time to put it in there. He had a man across the middle wide open. Yeah, a couple of different times. I definitely saw the same thing right now. Late offensive line. play wasn't great. But overall, yeah, there were opportunities there. They mixed it a little bit

of the slow mesh, which was something. Didn't write it very well, but it was something. Oh, boy. I get it, guys. I'm as frustrated as you guys are. Maybe some people are more frustrated. I get that part of it, too. This was a winnable game. And now, I remember also last year, talking about how quickly things can change, how quickly it felt like the season just fell apart last season. After they dropped that second game, I know what was looming in front of them still, you felt like it was a lost season. And we're not ready to go there because the expectations are also different this year than they were last year. But the Hank Brown conversation is going to continue to ramp up. And we're going to continue to hear the talks of Iowa going out again

in the portal and getting duped. And here's another thing that is frustrating, too, is we found out that Mark Grinowski, after the excitement initially of this guy that a lot of people felt was going to be drafted in the NFL draft last season. Instead, he's going to go through the process. Miami wanted him.

Before they got Carson Beck, who did they want, number one? Mark Gradosky. Some wish maybe they would have got him. That aside. And as we're going through it, Well, there's a chance. He's going to be taking a visit. I was in the hunt for Mark Grinowski, this guy that's a winner, this guy that can do all these things.

Look at the numbers. Look at the championships. Look at the Walter Payton Award. Mark Grinowski is going to be greater. Then he announces this commitment and a day later. By the way, he needs shoulder surgery. And people lost it. There was a huge population out there that absolutely lost it because we just went through this.

We've gone through it. And the feeling now that Iowa, for the second straight transfer quarterback, got damaged goods, got a guy that is hurt, that is injured, and maybe never will return to the guy that he is before, that is still out there. That thought is still out there, I know for a lot of Hawkeye fans. And when you go through that, you have that thought, starting to creep in, the frustration that is there is absolutely at a high, high level. And I get that. The defense, I thought, played pretty well.

I had a couple of cracks early on, but they were there. They played well enough for Iowa to win the game. I don't think here, at least at the outset, there's anything that you can point at, anything that you look at and say, no, you point to the defense. I mentioned the past that popped up in the air. I mean, what are you going to do, right? Those kind of things happen. So let's get back into your comments here.

It is locked on Hawkeyes, a little rapid reaction for you as we take a look back at everything that is going on in the Hawkeyes lost. 16-13 to Iowa State here at our final few minutes here of the program. Let's see. Iowa always fails when it counts. That's from down. Well, come on. Not a serious program. Beat-ass teams and limp through.

Well, it's kind of been that way recently, right? And here's another problem. At least this game was close. I mean, so many times against ranked teams recently, I was getting blown out. that Iowa State team, I don't think impressed by any means themselves, but there we are. Let's see, what else do we got? Do we, yeah, talked about Tim O'Malley, yeah, do we need to take a look at Hank Brown in a game next week? Wouldn't hurt.

Yeah, they're playing UMass next week. Look, this has got to be the time now. First of all, you've got to do something down the field. I mean, have we seen a throw, go more than 15 yards down the field? Not really. So you've got to do that against UMass because like last week against Albany, going to be able to line up and bully him and win the game and get the victory and Kirk will break the record and okay, we're done. But then you got to get Hank Brown some action

because here's the other part. If Mark Bornowski keeps playing like this, carrying the ball 16 times, taking some major hits as he did late in the game, taking those kind of things, he's not going to survive the whole season. And if he does, it's going to be at a very diminished guy physically and certainly running the ball. So yes, Hank Brown, absolutely needs to get going. Wisconsin would love to have Kirk Farrants and Phil Parker. Yes, they would. And Bill, you bring up a good point.

Bill brings up something. Be careful what you wish for. Had this argument earlier today. Somebody was throwing shade at us. Hawkeye fans. And somebody had a different kind of program. The realization and the thought, as we see what's happened with Wisconsin,

remember what Michigan went through with Rich Rod. The disaster that was until they finally got Jim Harbaugh to agree to come there. As programs go through dips, and the likelihood that I was next coach, just as a consistent winner, is going to be more successful than Kirk Farrant's, I believe is unreasonable. Can they do a good job? Absolutely. Can they hit heights? Maybe that Kirk hasn't?

Possibly. But to think that they're going to be an even more consistent winner or winning consistently at a high level, that's unrealistic. as Wisconsin's proving. They went out. They wanted something different, right? How's it going for the badgers? Not very well.

Who's calling the plays? That will be Tim Lester, Matt. Tim Lester is your offensive coordinator. And whatever game plan and script he came up for the first quarter, that was hideous. Things improved, but overall, not very good. A couple more for you. We got Kurt in here.

This is not a step forward. Maybe a baby step, but I thought it would be better than this. Kurt, I thought it was going to be better than this. I think we all thought it was going to be better than this. And we're going to see something better than what we're seeing at the quarterback position. I bought it. Bad work out of me. I believed that it was going to be better.

Taken. Fool me twice. I really thought the past game would be different. The trajectory, easy for me to say, of the year has totally changed. I am right there with you. Sam Thompson. Same old frustration. D plays well enough to win.

Yet a one-dimensional offense isn't enough to get a win. Nailed it. Nailed it. Graski doesn't appear to be worth the $2 million I would pay them. Yep. Nailed it, son. You absolutely nailed it on that one. A couple more.

This is from Michael Bubba. Why play Hank Brown who throws a solid long ball? Yeah, exactly. Oh, boy. Miami passed him on him for reasons, Ed. Maybe you're right. Let's see. Bobby Hanson.

the Bobby Hanson or a Bobby Hanson. How many great defenses we washed over the ears with an awful offense? Yeah, for a year, same crap. You nailed it. Bobby, here we go again. I don't see a score more than 13 against major conference teams going forward. Jeff, I think that's a good take. There's nothing that leads you to believe that this thing's going to be much different

of what Iowa is offensively. Felt like we were done when they got the ball with six minutes left. They will play hard, Ben, but don't break. Let them run down the clock. And Michael, yeah, that's the way that it played out. Guys, I get it. The frustration is here. And I am right there with you.

We're going to have plenty of time to react. Wanted to get something out to you, though, directly after the game. That's what we did here on lockdown. If you're new to us, Locked on Hawkeyes, your podcast every day on the Hawkeyes that we do across the lockdown network. I'm talking Hawkeyes with you every single day of the week. And it's going to be a busy one I know coming up. So I will rewatch the game tomorrow, as I always do. And then late Sunday into Monday morning, I will have our second look at the ball game.

I'll look back. Chad likes to call out the register. He likes to call it as DVR Monday in the column that he puts together. I do something similar. I'll look back and went right, what went wrong, because at times we overreact to what we just saw. That's part of being a fan. It's a great part of being the fan. Maybe the reason that I had to go down in the basement, so I'd stop swearing in front of my six-year-old.

And I didn't want him to hear some words because I'm. was there with you i went through it sucks lost three out of four now to iowa state boy tough to swallow no doubt about it but that's where we are back with you tomorrow with more thanks for being with us for this rapid reaction podcast on locked on hawkeyes hit subscribe again if you're watching this on youtube really appreciate all of you out there and for every dares with us each and every day i'm trent conda you can follow along with me as well on Twitter at Trent Condon or the podcast feed at Lockdown, Iowa. We'll talk to you again tomorrow with another look back at this one.

Oh boy. Until then, go Hawks.