Mark Gronowski has played a lot of football, but as he walked off the field one final time, it wasn’t the score or the stat line that first came to mind.
“It’s not only a tip of the cap to the fans,” he said, “but a tip of the cap to the game as well.”
Before that farewell moment arrived, Gronowski delivered one of his most complete performances in an Iowa uniform. The veteran quarterback threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score, leading the Hawkeyes to a 34-27 victory over No. 13 Vanderbilt in Wednesday’s ReliaQuest Bowl at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.
For Gronowski, a two-time FCS national champion a South Dakota State who called this season his final college stop, the performance felt fitting.
“This opportunity that I was given,” he said, “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
On a chilly day that doubled as his father’s birthday — and ended with Gronowski handing him the game ball — the Hawkeyes’ quarterback closed his career the same way he played it: steady, grateful, and in control when it mattered most.
Gronowski completed 16 of 22 passes, connecting on touchdown throws of 10 and 21 yards to Reece Vander Zee and DJ Vonnahme as Iowa surged to a 21-3 lead early in the third quarter.
He also recovered a fumble of his own on a strip sack, diving into a pile and fighting for possession — a moment he later described as “fighting for every inch.”
Vanderbilt (10-3) rallied behind Diego Pavia. The Heisman Trophy runner-up threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Tre Richardson and a 16-yarder to Joseph McVay to pull the Commodores within 24-17.
The teams traded scores early in the fourth quarter, with Gronowski making it 31-17 with a 1-yard keeper and Pavia answering with an 11-yard TD run.
Iowa (9-4) pushed the lead back to double digits with a 44-yard field goal from Drew Stevens to cap off a 13-play, 49-yard drive that took more than seven minutes.
Vanderbilt answered with a 37-yard field goal from Brock Taylor to make it 34-27, but Iowa was able to close out the game with Xavier Williams running for 11 yards on a third-and-1 with 1:55 remaining and the Commodores out of timeouts.
'They're a really explosive, dynamic team offensively," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said about the Commodores. "A great first half on the offensive side, and to their credit, they made some adjustments and came out and went a little tempo at times and just got us on our heels a little bit. Tale of two halves. That's what makes football so interesting."
Pavia finished with 347 passing yards. Richardson caught six passes for 127 yards and Junior Sherrill had eight catches for 123 yards for Vanderbilt.
"[Iowa] played better football than we did today, and that team we played against is going to make it hard on you if you don't play a clean game. And we did not, we did not do that," Vandy coach Clark Lea said.
Vonnahme led the Hawkeyes with seven catches for 146 yards and Kamari Moulton rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown. Gronowski had 54 rushing yards.
Iowa scored a touchdown late in first half as the result of a quirky play involving an illegal kick by Vanderbilt punter Nick Haberer.
On fourth down at the Vandy 15, took the snap and began moving toward the line of scrimmage as if to wait for the coverage team to get downfield. He stepped over the 15 before sending a punt 53 yards out of bounds at the Iowa 32.
Haberer was flagged for an illegal kick, and the 5-yard penalty from the spot of the foul gave the Hawkeyes possession at the Vandy 10. Reece Vander Zee pulled down a touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski on the next play for a 14-3 lead.
"Obviously, the special teams penalty there to end the first half was, was a gut punch. You know, we had what we needed to overcome it," Lea said.
The Hawkeyes are 4-3 in the ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as the Outback Bowl) in seven trips under Ferentz. It’s the 11th time Iowa has won nine or more games in a season under Ferentz.
Despite the loss, the Commodores set a school record with 10 wins and signed Lea to a six-year contract extension in November.
"Yeah, it's the first 10-1 season ever. To think that we had the greatest team to ever come through Vanderbilt in the locker room one last time here, obviously, it's heartbreaking and sad," Pavia said. "But you look at the guys, see how much talent we got on the team."
An announced crowd of 35,382 attended the game. Excluding 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the fourth lowest attendance since the game moved to Tampa in 1986, when it was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
