IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Rain splattered 98-pound Floyd of Rosedale as Iowa players swarmed arm-in-arm to grab the bronze symbol of victory that has defined the Hawkeyes' series with Minnesota for the last 90 years. They carried it to their Kinnick Stadium locker room about 150 yards away, where they whooped it up and splashed water bottles while signing the fight song following a 41-3 victory.

It was a complete domination for the Hawkeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten), who have won three straight games since their five-point loss to No. 2 Indiana. All three phases scored touchdowns against the Gophers in the game's first 18 minutes, and the Hawkeyes allowed just 133 total yards. At first blush, it was as "Iowa" as an Iowa win can get.

"We scored on defense, scored on special teams, scored on offense," quarterback Mark Gronowski said. "That's just great complimentary football."

Counting a 37-0 win at Wisconsin on Oct. 11, Iowa has dispatched its two oldest rivals 78-3, wrapped around a 25-24 comeback victory against Penn State. At 31.3 points per game, the Hawkeyes have shrugged off the old "Drive for 325" score sarcasm that followed their struggling offense throughout the 2023 season. In fact, this team has totaled 34 more points through eight games than the 2023 version scored in 14. Yet the current Hawkeyes remain unranked and, to the players, somewhat slighted.

"I'd say a little bit," Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa said. "We're hoping we were ranked last week, but hopefully that one will solidify."

If it's not scoring output that has rendered Iowa unloved, then it's probably style points, of which Iowa never has looked the part. Gronowski, a grad transfer from South Dakota State, completed 12 of 19 passes for 135 yards and his first Big Ten touchdown pass on Saturday. This year, he has thrown for 946 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 64.8 percent of his throws. Those numbers will get a quarterback benched at most places.

But Gronowski -- who embodies this team in efficiency as well as toughness -- has provided leadership and powerful running. With a 2-yard scramble for a score on Iowa's first drive, Gronowski has run for a touchdown in every game. His 11 rushing touchdowns tie a 65-year school record for the most by a quarterback.

Sporting a Fu-Manchu moustache on Saturday, which he said is part of his look for one game each year, Gronowski at times leaves his teammates in stitches. But his unconventional and physical style of play as a 6-foot-2, 235-pound quarterback is what endears him to them on the field.

With Iowa holding a three-point lead in the fourth quarter against Indiana last month, Gronowski went down with a sprained left knee. He couldn't decelerate and left the game. It's an injury that usually wipes out players for at least three weeks, but Gronowski spent six hours a day in the training room trying to get his knee right and didn't miss a game.

"He's just a freaking stud, dude, just the way he's done everything," Iowa center Logan Jones said. "From the day he got here, we understood he was a winner, and he's acted like a winner, and I think that's why he's had so much success."

With a career record of 55-8 as a starter, Gronowski has the most wins of any quarterback in college football history. South Dakota State won national titles in 2022 and 2023, and Gronowski claimed the Walter Payton Award as the FCS Player of the Year after the second championship. In four seasons with the Jackrabbits, he threw for 10,309 yards and 93 touchdowns while rushing for 1,767 yards and 37 scores.

In December, Gronowski debated between leaving for the NFL or entering the transfer portal. A slight labrum tear made the decision easy, and when his coach, Jimmy Rogers, left for Washington State, Gronowski eyed a mutually beneficial situation for a step up -- and Iowa provided it. He had surgery on his right shoulder, which cost him spring football and robbed him of the opportunity to develop chemistry with his receivers.

A horrific debut against Albany, in which he described himself as too anxious, led to questions about whether Gronowski could perform in the Big Ten. That effort led to what he calls an envisioning routine before games. He tells himself to "breathe in confidence, release out any doubt. Breathe in confidence, release out any fear." He has since mostly avoided the passing yips that led to his 8-of-15 passing performance for 44 yards in the season opener.

His improved efficiency hasn't translated into passing success, which is not what he envisioned when he transferred to Iowa. Gronowski often is too hesitant when receivers break open.

"One big thing Mark will say, he's not so much missed throws, but some throws that maybe he could have taken that he didn't take," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "That's just part of the whole process. There's still a lot of areas we can get better, and we'll go back to work on that."

Yet, Iowa's staunch running attack has turned its passing deficiencies into footnotes. In the second half against Penn State, the Hawkeyes threw the ball just twice, but they ran for 177 yards. The ground game was less effective against the Gophers on Saturday with 133 yards on 36 carries, but with a 31-0 halftime lead, the competitive phase was over early and Gronowski had engineered victory.

Ferentz quipped that, "It's OK to throw a couple of touchdowns instead of just running." But Gronowski's leadership provides the Hawkeyes with something they haven't had the last two seasons. Ferentz called Gronowski returning for the Wisconsin game as "one of the biggest breaks we've had."

"Mark's competitiveness, toughness, all the things that make a great football player, he embodies those and doesn't try to broadcast it, just who he is," Ferentz said. "Players pay attention to each other, that's for sure. It's easy to gravitate, if you're a player, toward a guy like that, and coaches feel the same way. You call those guys feel-good players. They make you feel good."

With a bye next week, the Hawkeyes look toward November, which Ferentz referenced as "mental toughness month." In the last 23 November games, Iowa is 21-2, and both losses were by one score after its starting quarterback was knocked out of the contest. With its October winning streak, the Hawkeyes have played themselves into the College Football Playoff discussion, and in two weeks, No. 6 Oregon (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) heads to Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 1989.

Without a flashy passing game, Iowa's style of play generates plenty of detractors. But with Gronowski, the wins pile up, and that's perfectly fine with Ferentz -- and the Hawkeyes.

Iowa dominates Minnesota in the most 'Iowa' way possible -- and is now in the CFP discussion