Iowa

What We Learned: Iowa Hawkeyes

Published

2 years ago

October 14, 2024

Well, that was something.

Saturday’s trip to Iowa looked more like a Field of Nightmares for the Huskies, as they were physically overmatched by both of Iowa’s lines on offense and defense, losing 40-16. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Mistaken Identity

Coach Fisch said last week in the locker room before the Michigan game that “this is the game where we establish our identity”. They then went out and did just that, or so we thought. Then they ran into a black and gold buzzsaw.

Make fun of Kirk Ferentz all you want, the Drive for 325 was my favorite storyline of last season. But man…

He’s been there 26 years for a reason.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

As I said before the game, Iowa is going to drag you down to their level and beat you with a frustratingly effective run game, all the while controlling the ball and wearing down their opponent. They did just that against the Huskies, with Kaleb Johnson rushing for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries while also catching a touchdown from Cade McNamara, who was 8/14 for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Iowa passing offense was efficient and effective when they needed to be, and Iowa’s great play on offense was due to a very cohesive and physical offensive line, which only gave up 1 sack compared to the Huskies giving up 4. The Hawkeyes were able to capitalize often, only punting twice on the day as they scored 40 points. This is how it feels to be bludgeoned repeatedly for 4 quarters.

The Huskies, however, were a different story.

Despite outgaining the Hawkeyes 393-328, an opportunistic, physical defense got to Will Rogers early and often, forcing Will Rogers to lose a fumble in the second quarter and get intercepted in the third, an interception which was entirely his fault. And despite two drives of 14 plays each to open the game, with each of those going over 7 minutes, they only resulted in 7 points. The Huskies 3rd down performance was also a factor as they went 5/15 on third downs. This underlines the struggles we’ve had all year with leaving points on the scoreboard despite moving the ball fairly well.

Some of that is due to Coach Fisch’s game management issues, illustrated most clearly in this game by his insistence on using Demond Williams in place of Will Rogers in the red zone in the first quarter, even after a false start penalty moved the Huskies from the Iowa 11 to the Iowa 16. You’d think that’d change his calculus a bit, but apparently not, as Demond stayed to finish the drive where a Grady Gross field goal was blocked.

This stands as the worst loss of the season to this point because it proves that even as we triumphed over Michigan last week, Iowa reminded us of what it’ll take to be competitive in this conference going forward. And we have a long way to go. So I say this:

Jedd, what kind of team is this? Is this a passing team? A run heavy team? Because as it stands right now, I don’t think we know. And we need to pick a lane if we want to be competitive, both this season and the next. Because we don’t have an identity right now! Iowa does, and that was the difference on Saturday! As former UW QB Brock Huard said on Saturday on the Fox broadcast, this is the difference between 25 years of continuity with Iowa and 6 months of continuity with the Huskies. But that doesn’t make our identity issues less prevalent, or this loss less demoralizing.

Special Teams Miscues

Going into the game, we had known about the Huskies’ struggles with special teams. But this game brought said struggles into sharp relief. The kick coverage is a glaring issue, as Kaden Wetjen, Iowa’s kickoff and punt returner, averaged 23.3 yards per kickoff return and notched 37 yards on his lone punt return in the second quarter, setting up Iowa with great field position on a drive in which they scored a touchdown. It’s something that you don’t notice until you’ve been given a reason to, and it’s an issue that special teams coordinator Jordan Paopao needs to confront, and clean up quickly. And yes, we need to talk about Grady.

It seems that he’s got the yips, as he hooks every field goal kick slightly, despite nailing them in practice. It also seems as though he struggles with the finer details of his kicks, as this is the second week in a row that he’s had one blocked, but that could also be due to Iowa getting past UW’s blockers. Plenty of stars have struggled with the yips in the past, but this is getting to the point where every drive is 4 down territory, and as a play caller, the lack of a guarantee of points on any given drive would make you anxious. What really makes me feel bad is that Grady is a great guy, and it hurts me to write this. But it is another issue that this team must fix, in a year that is full of them.

Get Right

This year, the roster has turned over a lot. We know this, we knew it coming in. But as the injuries have piled up, the cracks in the depth of this team have started to show. Sure, building a cohesive offensive line from scratch was never going to be easy, but this line is thin. Drew Azzopardi, the sophomore tackle, played the most snaps (82), and recorded a PFF grade of 32.2 out of 100 in overall blocking. Soane Faasolo played 56 snaps and recorded a grade of 29.2 overall. This could be due to Iowa being just physically better defensively, but when you’re getting consistently beat, and you have no other options due to injury, it’s obviously an issue of team health, which is why Coach Fisch stressed that “We need to get healthy this bye week. We need to get all of our offensive and defensive linemen back, and we have to go on the road and play another good Indiana team.”

Taken in sum, this is most definitely a team in a rebuilding year, but this performance is something that’s sad to see as a lifelong Husky fan. Thank goodness for the bye week, because it doesn’t get any easier from here.

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Iowa

Iowa High School Baseball Stats: Leaders On The Diamond This Summer

Published

2 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Iowa High School Baseball Stats: Leaders On The Diamond This Summer

As we work through the month of June, things are starting to heat up on the diamond around Iowa high school baseball.

With the start of postseason play just around the corner in July, teams are working to get prepared for the stretch run.

High School On SI Iowa has a Top 25 state power ranking while the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association releases weekly class-by-class rankings.

Here are leaders as of June 17, 2026 for several major hitting and pitching categories. Stats are from those uploaded to the Bound website.

Iowa High School Baseball Leaders

Home Runs

Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 9
Colton Roemmich, West Des Moines Valley, 9
Brandon Bea, Davenport North, 8
Kamden Jorgensen, Saydel, 8
Gabe Blanshan, Urbandale, 7

Running Batted In

Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 38
West Cole, Mason City Newman Catholic, 37
Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 36
Chance Georgius, Roland-Story, 34
Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 34

Stolen Bases

Aiden Ferry, Roland-Story, 38
Tate Garman, Algona, 33
Titan Foster, Nodaway Valley, 32
Tate Moulton, Grand View Christian, 30
Cael Wishman, Baxter, 29

Runs Scored

Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 45
Aiden Frey, Roland-Story, 43
Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 41
Kolton Schiltz, Fort Dodge, 40
Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39

Hits

Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 38
Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 36
Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 35
Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 34

Doubles

Joe Nilles, Sioux City North, 13
Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 13
Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 12
Brett Harris, Western Dubuque, 12
Brooks Bond, Lewis Central, 11

Triples

Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 7
Will Nesler, Ankeny Centennial, 5
Jacob Pierro, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, 5
Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 5
Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 4

Total Bases

Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 68
Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 68
Bryce Pauly, Davenport North, 67
Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 65
Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 62

Pitching Wins

Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 9
Chase White, Dyersville Beckman Catholic, 7
Colton Moffit, Baxter, 7
Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 6
Aidan Nielsen, Don Bosco, 6

Earned Run Average (min. 18 innings pitched)

Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 0.00
Luke Vestal, Pleasantville, 0.00
Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, 0.24
Will Litton, Iowa City Regina Catholic, 0.25
Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 0.26

Strikeouts

Colton Moffit, Baxter, 85
Brody Wangsness, North Butler, 75
Lincoln Roethler, Denver, 71
Owen Klocksiem, Louisa-Muscatine, 67
Cooper Chizek, Emmetsburg, 65

Opponents Batting Average Against (min. 18 innings pitched)

Macklin Loftus, Logan-Magnolia, .017
Jack Wedemeier, Waverly-Shell Rock, .065
Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, .069
Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, .072
Bronx Siebersma, MVAOCOU, .075

Saves

Beckham Simon, West Liberty, 4
Deacon Kucera, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4
Graham Rima, Pleasant Valley, 4
Gavin de Jesus, Waukee, 4
Easton Goodwin, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, 3

Innings Pitched

Colton Moffit, Baxter, 43
Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 38.2
Owen Galvin, Denison-Schleswig, 38
Tallon Crandall, Carroll, 37.1
Austin Remster, Melcher-Dallas, 37.1

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Iowa

Rain brings second week of relief in Iowa drought monitor map

Published

12 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Rain brings second week of relief in Iowa drought monitor map

Drought conditions in Iowa improved for a second consecutive week, though areas of moderate drought expanded in parts of the state.

The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday. What are the current drought conditions in Iowa?

U.S. Drought Monitor map: How much of Iowa is in a drought?

The latest Drought Monitor report, released on Thursday, June 18, showed about 46% of Iowa experiencing some form of drought. This continues the streak of conditions improving week to week in Iowa. The previous report, released on June 11, showed that 63% of the state was experiencing some form of drought.

The most recent report reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. June 16, right as storms were sweeping through Iowa, with parts of eastern Iowa seeing more than 2 inches of rainfall. Light rainfall on June 17 led to areas like Iowa City and Burlington reporting around an inch of rain.

Here is the breakdown of current drought conditions in Iowa:

61% of the state of Iowa is experiencing no drought conditions
39% of Iowa is experiencing abnormally dry conditions
7% of Iowa is experiencing moderate drought conditions
0% of Iowa is experiencing severe drought conditions

Even though drought conditions have improved overall in Iowa, the area experiencing moderate drought increased from the week of June 11, particularly in northern Iowa. Much of Cerro Gordo, Hancock and Kossuth counties are under D1 conditions, with nearby Palo Alto, Winnebago, Floyd and Mitchell also in moderate drought.

Pockets of moderate drought also persist along the northwest edge of Iowa in Lyon, Sioux and Plymouth counties. In eastern Iowa, Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties saw their moderate drought status ease week to week.

Most of the U.S. is facing drought conditions

About 73% of the U.S. is experiencing some level of drought, a 2-percentage-point improvement from the prior week. Some of the most intense drought conditions are in the southeast and the mountain west.

Iowa Drought Monitor tracks conditions weekly

The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday.

The intensity levels range from abnormally dry, or D0, to exceptional drought, or D4.

Typically with D0 conditions, corn can show drought stress. Pond levels start to decline under moderate drought conditions and soybeans abort pods, according to the Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor also has a look-back chart that compares drought conditions from 3 months ago up to 1 year ago.

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

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Tornadoes reported in Illinois, Iowa as severe weather roils Midwest

Published

22 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Tornadoes reported in Illinois, Iowa as severe weather roils Midwest

Confirmed tornadoes were reported in Illinois and Iowa Wednesday night as severe weather descended on a large swath of the Midwest.

According to the National Weather Service, a confirmed tornado was reported near the small northeast Iowa community of Harpers Ferry at 5:10 p.m., while a second confirmed tornado rolled through Charleston in central Illinois at about 6:40 p.m. local time.

Both tornadoes were flagged by the weather service as a “particularly dangerous situation,” a rare designation used by the weather service for environments in which “strong and violent tornadoes” are possible.

Photos and videos obtained by CBS News showed extensive damage in Charleston, with downed trees and power lines. Hail that measured 2.75 inches was also reported in the Charleston area, according to the weather service.

“There are a large number of trees blocking roadways throughout Charleston at this time,” Charleston police said in a Facebook post. “Unless it is an absolute emergency, do not drive or attempt to go anywhere.”

The city of Charleston later declared a local state of emergency.

Damage after a tornado struck Charleston, Illinois, on June 17, 2026.

Cameron Craig

One cell phone video captured the terrifying moments what appeared to be a large tornado tore through Effingham, Illinois, located about 40 miles southwest of Charleston.

Larry Thies, coordinator for the Effingham Emergency Management Agency, told CBS News that initial information indicated damaged buildings, trailers, and downed power lines and trees. He said officials were working to set up an emergency operations center, but were facing challenges because internet was down in the area.

The extent of the damage to region was still unclear. There was no immediate word of injuries or fatalities. CBS News senior meteorologist Rob Marciano said there were at least seven reported tornadoes during the weather event.

According to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, at least 55,000 customers were without power in Illinois.

Earlier Wednesday, Marciano reported that more than 125 million Americans were facing severe weather advisories, including the Gulf Coast states, which were under flood alerts due to Tropical Storm Arthur. Speaking on “CBS Evening News,” Marciano said such ripe tornado conditions were rare for June.

“This is unique for June, this is unusual to have such a strong jet stream just screaming across the country, then you’ve got the summertime tropical moisture coming in…and then some cold air coming in,” Marciano said. “And winds coming at different direction, at different levels, creating that spin. So what that equates to is really the high probability of seeing, not just tornadoes, but intense tornadoes of EF2 strength or higher on the ground for a long time. And also damaging winds at 75 mph or higher, and of course big time hail.”

Nikki Nolan

contributed to this report.