It's been a very busy week for those of us who cover Iowa athletics. That means it's a great time to fire up the Hawkeye Report Podcast to discuss everything we have learned and preview upcoming events. 

Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann open the show talking hoops. We have had back to back media days for the Iowa women's basketball team and then the men's team on Wednesday. We open with the Iowa women and dive into a deep discussion on the 21st ranked Hawkeyes and the potential starting lineup, the potential concerns involving shooting, what we think are the keys for this team and most of them involve Hannah Stuelke, and a whole lot more. 

Then we move over to the Iowa men's team, who had their media day on Wednesday. We discuss what we learned at media day this week and thoughts on the overall roster. We look at how good point guard Bennett Stritz is at controlling the game and why Iowa fans shouldn't be concerned with the rumored results from the secret scrimmage last weekend in St. Louis. Really interesting coversation regarding both basketball teams. 

After that we slide over to Iowa football as they host Penn State this weekend. Really more of our discussion involves the wild week that it has been for the Nittany Lions following the firing of James Franklin. What do we expect from Penn State this weekend? We also discuss the story that most aren't paying attention to and that is the Nittany Lions will be starting a backup quarterback on Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium. 

We then wrap up by picking several huge games in college football, including the Penn State/Iowa game. 

This week on the Chuck Long Podcast, we are talking a whole lot of Iowa football, along with the latest news in the Big Ten. 

We open the show reviewing the Hawkeyes one-sided victory over Wisconsin. Long discusses just how poorly the Badgers performed and how stunning that was to him given how the program was so strong for so long under recent coaches. 

Also, we talk about the strong performance of the Iowa offense and defense. We go in-depth on what Long saw from Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski. How did he perform coming off his knee injury? Did he look good throwing the football? What about running and did they limit that in the game plan? 

We discusses the key to the game, which was the Iowa ground game and how the Hawkeyes won the game up front and on the other side the Hawkeye defensive line intercepting a pair of passes and controlling the line of scrimmage. 

Then we move on to this week and the stunning firing of Penn State head coach James Franklin. How does Long think that will impact the Nittany Lions this week? Will they play for the new coach or have they basically checked out on this season? 

Finally, we pick several games involving Big Ten teams this weekend. 

It's a later than normal post game podcast. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann look back at Iowa's win over Wisconsin on Saturday night. 

We discuss the Hawkeye dominant win over the Badgers and what we learned from it. What did we think of Mark Gronowski's performance coming off his knee issue. Did it impact what he could do running or throwing? What do we make of the change with the backup quarterback position? What does that tell us about Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown why did he jump to the second spot during the bye week?

We also look at the Iowa defense and what we saw from their performance. The impressive interception by a pair of defensive tackles, particularly by Aaron Graves, who looked like he got in for a touchdown. We talk about some of our disputes with the grades from Pro Football Focus this week and more. 

Then we wrap up looking ahead to the Penn State game with the news on Sunday that head coach James Franklin has been fired. Iowa plays the Nittany Lions this week and what impact will this have on the game? What about the season ending injury to Drew Allar and what that means for the quarterback position? Will this team rally around the replacement coach or is this Penn State team kind of done this year?

We are approaching what we like to call crossover season for Iowa athletics. That is when Hawkeye football and basketball are both front and center in the mind of Iowa fans on the court and on the field. 

This week was Big Ten Media Days in Chicago for the Iowa men's and women's basketball team and we were front and center with plenty of coverage. We open this show talking about the Iowa women's basketball team and what we learned from Iowa head coach Jan Jansen, along with Hawkeye players Hannah Stuelke and Kylie Feuerbach. How is Stuelke doing in her quest to become an outside shooter? What did Jensen say about the recruiting efforts in 2025? Who will be the backup point guard and what do the Iowa players have to say about Chit Chat Wright?

Then we move over the Iowa men's team, who were represented by head coach Ben McCollum along with Cam Manyawu and Bennett Stirtz. They had plenty to say about the strength and conditioning improvements that they have made and impact it will have on their games in the Big Ten. They talk about several of the players on the roster and what they have seen from them and the particular emphasis on playing defense. We also get McCollum's view of secret scrimmages, like the one that they will play this weekend. What does he like to work on in those events?

Finally we talk Iowa football and get the latest on the status of Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski for Saturday's game at Wisconsin. Will he play against the Badgers? Will he be limited at all? Who will be his backup in this game? Will it be Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski? What are our predictions for the Iowa/Wisconsin game and several other Big Ten games? 

It's a mega podcast this week with Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner Lafever coming together to discuss the latest in Iowa Hawkeye athletics. This week we open the podcast with huge news on the Iowa women's basketball recruiting front.

Iowa picked up a commitment from five star forward McKenna Woliczko. Kyle Huesmann has all the details of the commitment from the talented 2026 prospect and what led her to pick Iowa. We we also discuss how she fits into the Iowa roster next year and what the potential is for her to bring along a couple other four or five star players in the Class of 2026. 

Then we do a bit of women's hoops projections for this fall. What do we think the starting lineup and rotation will be this winter? After that we side over to the Iowa men's basketball team and what their starting lineup could be this winter.

Then we move over to the sport of wrestling and Tanner Lafever discusses a women's meet against Oklahoma State. After that he goes weight by weight for the Iowa women and who might be in the starting spots. Following rundown of the women, he flips over to the Iowa men's wrestling squad and what their starting lineup might be this season. 

After that we update the injury status of Mark Gronowski. With Iowa on a bye this week, is it possible for him to be back for the Wisconsin game? Could his injury keep him out longer than many think? We discuss it and other things that the three Hawkeye coordinators had to say this week. 

Finally, we pick some games today, with the lines provided by BETMGM.

It's a special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast to start your week. We are joined by Jesse Shaw, who is the new Chief of Staff for Iowa Basketball under head coach Ben McCollum. 

We learn about Shaw and his background. How he played college basketball with McCollum and who was actually the better player. His path into doing what he always wanted to do, which was coach basketball and the journey he went on, starting with being a graduate assistant on a staff with McCollum, who was an assistant coach. 

We discuss what a Chief of Staff does at the college level and some stuff that he handles on a daily basis. That includes studying data on rebounding and how he also hits the recruiting trail for the Hawkeyes, including trips overseas to see players. 

We discuss the importance of having six players come with them from Drake to help establish the culture of the program and how helpful that has been this summer, much like it was helpful last summer. We talk about what he has seen from Trey Thompson since he arrived on campus in late July and the progress that he has made as a player. 

Finally we discuss the Big Ten giving Iowa no soft start by starting the conference slate at Michigan State and we talk about the type of players that McCollum likes to recruit in terms of style and size, which was really interesting. 

This week on the Chuck Long Podcast, we are taking a look back at the Iowa loss to Indiana on Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium. But, before we start to breakdown the game, we talk with the Chuck Long about his visit to Kinnick Stadium this week as his 1985 Iowa Football team gathered for their 40th anniversary. He talks about a surprise visitor who returned for the reunion and much more. 

Then we get into the game and discuss how Iowa has tended to win in the margins, but in the two losses this year they have really lost both games in the margins. We discuss the struggles for the Hawkeyes in the area of tackling, special teams errors, penalties, and losing the turnover battles. How have they impacted the Iowa team this year? More importantly, how can they address them in the bye week?

We discuss the play of both quarterbacks who saw action, Mark Gronowski and Hank Brown, who filled in during the fourth quarter of the game while Iowa's starter was out due to a possible knee issue. We talk about the call on third down late in the game before Drew Stevens missed 42 yard field goal and if it was a good call.

We also discuss the bye week and what Iowa should be doing in practice this week. Should they be doing tackling drills to work on that area of their defense? We also review the Big Ten this past weekend and look ahead to the upcoming game this Saturday. 

For a good amount of Saturday afternoon and evening, it looked like the Iowa Hawkeyes were about to end their struggles against ranked opponents and pick up a huge win over Indiana. 

Instead it was frustrating defeat that included a key missed field goal and missed opportunities. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo have their usual post game podcast breaking down the Iowa Football team game from all the angles. 

We discuss the missed opportunities from the game, the injury to Mark Gronowski and what the latest is on his health status. What do we think of the play of Hank Brown in his place? What about the Iowa defense and the struggles when it comes to good, solid and firm tackling? 

Should we be concerned with special teams for the Hawkeyes? What about the stuggles of Drew Stevens, particularly from shorter distances, and should be there concerns about Iowa's punt protection after another blocked punt this week?

Plus we talk about the break for the Hawkeyes this coming week and what that means for the team and what they need to do moving forward. 

It's another busy edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We are in the middle of the Iowa football season and we open the podcast this week talking a whole lot about Iowa women's basketball recruiting. 

It seems like the recruitment of five star 2026 prospect McKenna Woliczko is close to a decision and plenty of rumors and hints from good sources on Wednesday indicating that Iowa is in a good position to land her. Kyle Huesmann gives us the latest on what he is hearing and we preview the visit this weekend from fellow five star guard Addison Bjorn. What are the chances that the Hawkeyes could land both five stars? Who else is still on the table for Jan Jensen and her staff?

We also preview a big recruiting weekend for the Iowa men's basketball program. Tom Kakert previews the visit from four star combo guard Quentin Coleman from St. Louis. What are the Hawkeyes chances to land him?

Then we get to the preview of the visit the high scoring Indiana Hoosiers football team. We look at some of their eyepopping stats that they have put together this season and who their key players are on both sides of the ball. 

What's Iowa's path to victory in this game? Why is the play up front along the line the key to the game and could Kaden Wetjen end up with a return for a score for the third straight week. We also discuss what we think of hte swagger filled head coach in Curt Cignetti? What are our predictions of the final of the Iowa game and several other high profile teams in the world of college football?

The Iowa football team went on the road and scored 38 points in a win at Rutgers. This week on the Chuck Long Podcast, we discuss the Hawkeyes hard fought road victory. 

We open talking about the game itself and get Long's views on the game plan that Tim Lester put together. Does it take time for an offensive coordinator to figure out a new quarterback and are we seeing progress on that front from Lester and Mark Gronowski? Is the game plan reflecting that and what does Long think of the fact that Gronowski is running the ball in the mid teens in terms of attempts each week? Would you want that a big lower?

We also discuss the red zone offense for Iowa and how Lester is looking to get Gronowski out on space to make a play with his arm and his legs and what does his run game threat do to a defense in that situation? We also discuss Phil Parker making adjustments on defense and how bringing more pressure changed the game. Will Iowa have to bring more pressure moving forward due to the pass rush not being overally explosive?

We preview the game against Indiana and is Curt Cignetti kind of lack Hayden Fry in that he brings a little swagger to a program that has been down and he's backing it up with his teams performance? How dangerous is this Hoosier team coming off dropping 63 points on Illinois?

We also talk about the fact that this weekend will be a reunion of the great 1985 team that Long was the starting quarterback and captain of the team that won the Big Ten title. Then we pick some games coming up this weekend.