IOWA CITY, Iowa — South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski will make his much-anticipated first start when Iowa hosts Albany of the Football Championship Subdivision at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday. The Hawkeyes hope Gronowski can bring a spark to a passing offense that has ranked no higher than 96th in the nation since 2020. Iowa was 8-5 last season. Albany is coming off a 4-8 season and will be led by interim coach Jared Ambrose. He took over in March when Greg Gattuso stepped down after 11 seasons to become defensive line consultant at Penn State.

HOW TO WATCH?

KEY STATS

Albany (2024):

Overall offense: 334.7 yards per game (84th in FCS)

Passing: 226.0 yards per game (39th)

Rushing: 108.7 yards per game (105th)

Scoring: 19.6 points per game (104th)

Overall defense: 353.5 yards allowed per game (53rd in FCS)

Passing: 192.5 yards allowed per game (32nd)

Rushing: 161.0 yards allowed per game (77th)

Scoring: 28.3 points allowed per game (77th)

Iowa

Overall offense: 328.8 yards per game (117th in FBS)

Passing: 131.6 yards per game (129th)

Rushing: 197.2 yards per game (24th)

Scoring: 27.7 points per game (72nd)

Overall defense: 318.4 yards allowed per game (20th in FBS)

Passing: 203.1 yards allowed per game (42nd)

Rushing: 115.3 yards allowed per game (25th)

Scoring: 17.8 points allowed per game (11th)

TEAM LEADERS

Albany (2024)

Passing: Van Weber, 739 yards, 5 TDs, 4 INTs, 56 completion percentage

Rushing: Jojo Uga, 422 yards on 100 carries, 6 TDs.

Receiving: Caden Burti, 271 yards, 24 catches, 3 TDs.

Iowa

Passing: Mark Gronowski, 2,719 yards, 23 TDs, 7 INTs, 61 completion percentage (at South Dakota State)

Rushing: Kamari Moulton, 473 carries, 84 carries, 3 TDs.

Receiving: Jacob Gill, 411 yards, 35 catches, 2 TDs.

LAST GAME

Albany beat Hampton 41-34 to end the season 4-8.

Iowa lost 27-24 to Missouri in the Music City Bowl to end the season 8-5.

NEXT GAME

Albany visits Delaware State on Sept. 6. Iowa visits Iowa State for the CyHawk Game on Sept. 6.