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AUTO GROUP. NOW, SINCE HE COMMITTED TO IOWA ALL THE WAY BACK IN JANUARY, MARK GRONOWSKI HAS BEEN THE TALK OF THE TOWN. THE CONVERSATION AT EVERY WATER COOLER AND EVERY HAWKEYE FAMILY DINNER. DO THE HAWKEYES FINALLY HAVE A GUY? THAT IS THE QUESTION WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING TO FIND OUT. IOWA AND ALBANY SATURDAY, SHANNON EARHART, AS YOU SEE LIVE AT KINNICK STADIUM. WE’RE GOING TO GET TO HER IN A MOMENT. LET’S GET TO THIS HAWKEYE HOME OPENER. THE FIRST SWARM OF THE YEAR. THERE IS GRONOWSKI FRONT AND CENTER. HAWKEYES GOT INTO THE RED ZONE ON THEIR FIRST DRIVE, BUT THEY STALLED OUT. DREW STEVENS 28 YARDS. HAWKEYES LEAD THREE. NOTHING. ALBANY CAME TO PLAY. JACK SHIELDS SCANNING LASALLE ROWS JUNIOR IN THE BACK OF THE END ZONE. GREAT DANES HAVE THE LEAD THERE. ONE FAN IN THE STANDS. CAN’T BELIEVE IT. FRANKLY, NEITHER COULD WE. WELL, IT WAS SHORT LIVED. XAVIER WILLIAMS, WHO CAME IN FOR AN INJURED KAMARI MOULTON WITH THE TOUCHDOWN THERE. THEY TAKE THE LEAD BACK. BO BEAU BOWMAN WAS IN THE STANDS. HE WAS LOVING IT. PUT SOME SUNSCREEN ON BEAU. YOUR FACE WAS RED. KADEN WIEGANDT GETS A TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM MARK GRONOWSKI. MAKES IT 17 TO 7 AT HALF. HERE’S GRONOWSKI SHOWING OFF THE LEGS IN THE THIRD QUARTER, NOW PLUNGING HIS WAY INTO THE END ZONE. AND THEN YOU’RE GOING TO SEE HIM. HERE HE GOES DOWN. AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS IS HE HAD SOME CRAMPS. HE’S GOING TO GET STRETCHED OUT. HE WOULD NOT COME BACK INTO THE GAME. HANK BROWN TOOK OVER. WE SAW A 63 YARD FIELD GOAL FROM KYLE CONRADI AND AMES. HOW ABOUT DREW STEVENS WITH A BOOT OF HIS OWN? 55 YARDS? KIRK FERENTZ IS GOING TO GET WIN NUMBER 205, TYING THE GREAT WOODY HAYES FOR THE MOST IN BIG TEN HISTORY. HAWKEYES WIN 34 TO 7. FOR MORE ON WHAT WAS AN INTERESTING GAME, WE COULD SAY WE SEND IT OUT TO OUR SHANNON EHRHARDT. SHANNON, I’M NOT SO SURE HOW HAWKEYE FANS SHOULD FEEL TONIGHT. DESPITE A 27 POINT WIN. YEAH, JEFF, THOSE HIGHLIGHTS, THEY’RE PRETTY EXCITING FOR HAWKEYE FANS. THEY’VE WAITED A LONG TIME TO SEE SOME IOWA FOOTBALL AND SEE QUARTERBACK MARK GRONOWSKI. THEY’VE ALSO WAITED A LONG TIME TO SEE WHO WAS GOING TO REPLACE CALEB JOHNSON. KAMARI BOLTON, WE WERE TOLD, WAS THE MOST EXPERIENCED BACK IN THE ROOM, BUT HE ACTUALLY GOT INJURED, YOU GUYS. AND IN THE FIRST QUARTER, I GOT SOME VIDEO OF HIM WALKING OFF THE FIELD. YOU CAN SEE THAT HIS RIGHT ARM THERE IS KIND OF HANGING DOWN. HE DID NOT LOOK HAPPY AT ALL. HE WALKED RIGHT THROUGH THE TUNNEL AND WHEN HE RETURNED, HE WAS IN A SLING. NOW KIRK FERENTZ, IN HIS POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE, OF COURSE, WAS ASKED ABOUT THIS. HE DID NOT ELABORATE ON THE INJURY. HE JUST SAID, IN TYPICAL FASHION, WE WILL SEE. COME. KAMARI MOLDEN WAS OUT. BUT THAT MEANS XAVIER WILLIAMS, THE REDSHIRT FRESHMAN, ACTUALLY STEPPED UP BIG TIME FOR THE HAWKEYES. HE HAD 122 YARDS ON 11 CARRIES AND A TOUCHDOWN, HIS LONGEST 43 YARDS. IT WAS AN AVERAGE OF 11 YARDS PER CARRY FOR THE REDSHIRT FRESHMAN. WE WEREN’T EXPECTING TO SEE HIM BREAK OUT LIKE THAT, BUT MARK GRONOWSKI SAID, HEY, IF HE’S GOING TO WORK WITH IT, YOU KNOW, MIGHT AS WELL ROLL WITH IT. KAMARI STARTED OFF THE GAME BUT WENT DOWN EARLY AND SHOOT STEPPED UP. IT’S ALWAYS NEXT MAN UP MENTALITY AND HE’S A HARD MAN TO GET DOWN. HE’S A HARD GUY TO TACKLE. AND I MEAN YOU SEE HOW BIG HIS QUADS ARE. EVERYONE’S KIND OF AFRAID TO HIT HIM. HOW BIG ARE YOUR QUADS? I DON’T KNOW, I HAD A PRETTY MUCH MY WHOLE LIFE. SO I’M NOT REALLY SURE. THAT CRACKED ME UP THAT HE SAID THAT HE WASN’T REALLY SURE HOW BIG HIS QUADS WERE. A LOT OF GUYS ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT HOW BIG HE WAS. IT WASN’T JUST HIM IN THAT RUNNING BACK ROOM. THEY COMBINED FOR 310 TOTAL YARDS. ON THE FLIP SIDE, THOUGH, THROUGH THE AIR, NOT SO HOT. JUST 48 PASSING YARDS FOR MARK GRONOWSKI. THE QUARTERBACK DID WALK INTO THE PRESS CONFERENCE AND SAID RIGHT OFF THE BAT THAT HE WAS DISAPPOINTED IN HIS PERFORMANCE. HE SAID, THERE ARE SOME GOOD THINGS THAT I’M PROUD OF, BUT JUST DISAPPOINTED. GOOD THINGS THAT WE KNOW HERE IS THAT HE CAN RUN THE BALL. YOU’RE WATCHING IT RIGHT NOW. HE KNOWS HOW TO USE HIS BODY AND BE SUPER PHYSICAL, VERY AGGRESSIVE. HIS TIMING WAS A BIT OFF WITH HIS RECEIVERS AND THAT’S WHY THERE WERE SO FEW YARDS THROUGH THE AIR. MARK GRONOWSKI ACTUALLY HAD TO COME OUT OF THE GAME IN THE THIRD QUARTER BECAUSE OF SOME CRAMPS. LOGAN JONES, HIS CENTER, SAID HE JUST WANTED TO PLAY, BUT IT’S OKAY THAT HE HAD TO SIT OUT. HE GETS US GOING WHEN THINGS AREN’T GOING WELL, AND THEN JUST TO SEE HIM RUN THE BALL, JUST HOW PHYSICAL HE IS. YOU DON’T SEE THAT A LOT WITH THE QUARTERBACK. SO TAKING HITS, YOU KNOW, DIVING AND DOING ALL THESE THINGS THAT THE QUARTERBACK, YOU KNOW, WON’T TYPICALLY DO. HE’S JUST AN ULTRA COMPETITOR AND SEEMED TO GO OUT THERE TODAY WAS AWESOME. YOU KNOW IT WAS TOUGH. YOU KNOW I THINK HE STARTED CRAMPING AND HE WAS LIKE NO I’M SORRY MAN. LIKE YOU CAN’T CONTROL THAT. HE WANTED TO BE OUT THERE WITH US. BUT YOU KNOW, I’M REALLY EXCITED FOR DUAL THREAT QUARTERBACK. DEFINITELY HELPS A LOT. YOU COULD RUN. YOU COULD PASS. SO IT’S DEFINITELY SOMETHING I HAVEN’T REALLY SEEN BEFORE. SO IT’S DEFINITELY BEEN REALLY GOOD. THIS WAS MARK GRONKOWSKI’S 50TH WIN. YOU GUYS 50 WINS FOR THAT QUARTERBACK. SOME PLAYERS DON’T EVEN GET TO PLAY 50 GAMES IN THEIR CAREER. YOU CAN THANK THE COVID AND REDSHIRT AND WHATEVER ELSE HE HAD TO DO. BUT 50 WINS. VERY IMPRESSIVE. WHAT A WAY TO START OUT THE SEASON. THE HAWKEYES START ONE. AND OH AND H