Iowa rushes for 310 yards in rout of Albany

Field Level Media|published: Sat 30th August, 22:07 2025

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Hank Brown (9) warms up before playing the Albany Great Danes Aug. 30, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

Xavier Williams rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries to help lead Iowa to a season-opening 34-7 win over FCS opponent Albany in Iowa City on Saturday.

Making his debut for Iowa after transferring from South Dakota State, quarterback Mark Gronowski went 8 of 15 passing for 44 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 39 yards on 11 carries.

The Hawkeyes rushed for 310 yards on 53 carries, didn't commit a turnover until the game was out of hand in the last minute and had only two penalties. Iowa also held the ball for 36:37 and held Albany to 177 yards of total offense.

Jack Shields went 13 of 26 passing for 134 yards and a touchdown, and wideout Caden Burti caught three passes for 56 yards in defeat for Albany, which only ran for 43 yards on 21 carries.

Iowa fell behind 7-3 in the second quarter, but scored 31 unanswered points to win going away.

Williams scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 7:28 left in the second quarter to give Iowa a 10-7 lead, and then the Hawkeyes took a 17-7 lead with 1:51 remaining in the second on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Gronowski to Kaden Wetjen on 4th-and-goal.

With 5:27 to go in the third quarter, Gronowski scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Iowa a 24-7 lead. The touchdown finished off a 14-play, 60-yard drive that took 8:28 off of the clock.

Iowa kicker Drew Stevens then connected on a 55-yard field goal with 14:18 remaining in the game and Hank Brown scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:42 left to round out the scoring.

Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter following a 28-yard field goal by Stevens with 8:51 left in the first quarter, Albany took a 7-3 lead with 11:33 to go until halftime on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Shields to Lasalle Rose Jr.

--Field Level Media

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