USC football scouting report: Iowa Hawkeyes offense and key matchups vs Trojans' defense

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Nobody wins easily against the Iowa football team, and the USC Trojans should be prepared for a rockfight. The Hawkeyes are 6-3 and have taken Iowa State, Indiana and Oregon down to the wire in their three losses. All of those teams were high in the AP Poll rankings at the time of the game.

This week will be the ultimate test of two things. One, can they win Big Ten conference games the Big Ten way: winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football, because the Hawkeyes will make the Trojans do it if USC wants to escape with a win.

And two, is USC’s defense actually building something respectable? The Trojans struggled defensively throughout their first few games of the season while the offense thrived, and questions arose about if D’Anton Lynn’s unit was regressing. But USC has turned it around, allowing only 17 points in its last two games with only 3 points allowed in the second half of both contests.

This is an especially important point because USC’s recent 2 games were against teams that have a very similar offensive identity to Iowa, so the Trojans have plenty of practice defending what the Hawkeyes will throw at them.

Here are the strengths and weaknesses of Iowa’s offense, and how USC should attack them:

Mark Gronowski and Kirk Ferentz just win

Iowa’s offense is led by an absolutely fearless leader in quarterback Mark Gronowksi, who is the winningest quarterback in NCAA history with 55 career wins. He won 2 FCS National Championships at South Dakota State and nearly had a third. Up until last week, Gronowski had Iowa in surprise contention for a College Football Playoff appearance. He’s not afraid of having a bad game or needing to win in wild ways. He just wins.

Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is also a winner. He set the record for most wins by a coach in Big Ten history this season.

They are a pairing that does whatever it takes to win football games. Even if that means winning ugly.

Gronowksi’s passing limitations

That said, Mark Gronowski is not exactly someone who is an elite passer at the FBS level.

He is 17th in the Big Ten with 1,084 passing yards on the season. That is last amongst all full-season starters in the conference. To put that in perspective, he has less yards than Penn State quarterback Drew Allar…who has not played since October 11 against Northwestern and is out for the season.

He only has 5 passing touchdowns on the season, which is also good for 17th best in the conference and also a lower total than Allar.

He has not thrown for more than 186 yards in a game this season. And remember, Iowa had their share of cupcake games on the schedule early in the season like anyone else.

For the third straight week, and perhaps more than any game this season, the Trojans can rest assured that Gronowksi will not tear them up through the air. They need to worry about stopping the run, though, and in that calculus, they can’t stop worrying about Gronowski entirely.

Gronowski as a runner

Mark Gronowski is, however, probably the best, most consistent running quarterback the Trojans have faced or will face all season. That would have been a bold preseason prediction given that USC has faced Aidan Chiles and Bryce Underwood, and will face Dante Moore. Nico Iamaleava has an argument, but if it’s not Iamaleava, it’s definitely Gronowski.

Gronowski does it with a combination of great field vision running the football, smart decision making and sneaky good athleticism.

He’s especially a rushing threat in the red zone, where he has 12 rushing touchdowns, the second most of any quarterback in the Power 4.

But he’s a threat to break off a long run at any moment. He scampered for a 67 yard run against Penn State earlier in the season, the most crucial play in the Hawkeyes’ 25-24 win.

That’s a significant storyline for a USC defense that has struggled to limit the big running plays during Lincoln RIley’s tenure.

Running by committee

Iowa’s running game isn’t flashy or exciting either. For how much they rely on running the football, they are middle of the pack in the Big Ten in rush yards per game.

They don’t have a clear star, like Emmett Johnson of Nebraska or Caleb Komolafe. Their leading rusher, Kamari Moulton, has 0 games of 100+ rushing yards this season.

Instead, they do it by committee. Moulton is the leading rusher, Gronowksi is the second leading rusher, and the Hawkeyes have 5 more rushers with 25+ attempts and 95+ yards on the season.

For reference, USC has only 5 total rushers with those totals, and the only reason they have that many is due to injuries to Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders.

No WR stars

Because the Hawkeyes don’t throw the ball that much, they don’t have any wide receivers that stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Two names to watch: Jacob Gill and Sam Phillips. Gill is tied for the team lead in catches with 17 and has the second most receiving yards with 193. He’s the closest thing Iowa has to a go-to receiver. Phillips is first on the team with 216 yards and averages 16.6 yards per catch, so he’s the closest thing Iowa has to a deep ball threat.

Dominant offensive line

The only way that you can have as predictable of an offense as Iowa has and still win games is with a great offensive line. They have one of the best in the country.

They have been a Pro Football Focus darling all season long. Beau Stephens, Logan Jones, Gennings Dunker, and Kade Pieper are four of the best offensive linemen in the country.

This means, like against Northwestern, the Trojans cannot rely on their talented but young and inexperienced defensive line to dominate and stop the run. Their linebackers need to sell out for the run and play aggressive, downhill football as well. If they are in the right spots like they have been against USC’s last two opponents, Northwestern and Nebraska, the Trojans will be in good shape.

The outlook for USC

It’s simple, but it’s also easier said than done. Sell out for the run and limit the big plays.

USC needs to make Mark Gronowski beat them through the air. If Gronowski reaches into his bag of tricks and shows he has another level to his quarterback play, beating USC with 250+ yards passing and 3 pass TDs despite USC’s cornerbacks making it tough on him, you tip your cap. But that’s not going to happen. They need to be much more worried about Gronowski’s legs and the Iowa running game overall. USC has struggled against running quarterbacks in the past under Lincoln Riley but have been much better containing QB scrambles in 2025.

And they need to not give up big plays. I anticipate that over the course of 60 minutes, USC is going to have a relatively successful game on defense. I don’t anticipate Iowa going on many long, methodical drives. But if the Iowa defense plays up to their standard, they won’t need to. If USC is struggling on the offensive side of the ball and scores 24 points or less like every Iowa opponent to this point, it is paramount that the Trojans do not allow any long, quick, easy touchdowns.

So sell out for the run and play soft coverage? No. Sell out for the run. If any of Iowa’s big run plays come, it will be in the running game. Trust USC’s corner’s to do a serviceable job in man to man coverage against limited passers like they have the last few weeks.

USC has a big advantage playing at home, but they need to be prepared for an ugly game akin to their Nebraska win, and they need to stay levelheaded if that happens.

Because if they manage to beat the Hawkeyes, they will remain within striking distance of the College Football playoff with just two games remaining.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: How USC football defense should attack Iowa offense in Week 11

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