Iowa football entered its 2026 season with plenty of concerns on both sides of the ball. 

That didn't come as a surprise to anyone considering the Hawkeyes didn't return much starting production (especially on defense) but there was one area Iowa fans and probably the coaching staff didn't think would be a problem when the calendar flipped to October - the run game. 

Few Power Four teams entered the new campaign with a running back room as deep as Iowa's. Kamari Moulton was already anointed as the No. 1 back, but South Dakota transfer L.J. Phillips and even the young guys in the room (Xavier Williams and Nathan McNeil) figured to continue the Hawkeyes' offensive resurgence under coordinator Tim Lester. 

The Hawkeyes opened the season with an impressive 289-yard performance against Northern Illinois, but they've been stuck in the mud ever since. 

Ninety-three rushing yards against Iowa State was concerning, but it's been all downhill against Power Four competition since - literally. Iowa tallied just 58 yards against Michigan and 39 against Ohio State, and though Kirk Ferentz hasn't openly expressed any panic about the run game, there's probably been a lot of internal conversations about it. 

I'm no film expert, but I went back and watched every snap from the Ohio State game to get a better idea of what could be the problem with this run game.

Here are my thoughts after the rewatch and listening to a few offensive lineman speak during Tuesday's media availability: 

Though Iowa tallied just 39 rushing yards against the Buckeyes, it's hard to pinpoint the loss on that. This week's film review isn't going to focus on quarterback Hank Brown, but there were a lot of missed throws to open receivers that could've allowed the Hawkeyes to make it a four-quarter ballgame. 

Miscues in the passing game aside, even an average rushing performance would've been very beneficial for Iowa in this game. Ohio State's run defense is average at best, but my biggest takeaway from this game was that Lester simply didn't trust his run game right from the get go. Moulton's first carry of the game went for five yards, but even after Brown fumbled on the opening drive, Lester still opted for a pass-heavy attack. 

Being aggressive is great in such a monumental game, but when the Hawkeyes had a 2nd and 2 deep in OSU territory, they still opted to throw it. That decision cost Iowa a chance at an early tying touchdown, and it fell behind enough to almost completely abandon the run game. 

It's hard to analyze a run game that carried the ball just 21 times last Saturday, but after watching the snaps, it's clear that Iowa's three new starters up front - center Cael Winter, right tackle Jack Dotzler, and left guard Leighton Jones - are still getting settled into their new roles.

Being a Big Ten lineman has to be one of the difficult positions in sports, but it's easy to tell that this Iowa unit needs to develop a lot more chemistry. The procedural penalties - several false starts and the crucial illegal formation that wiped out a third down conversion - is something that Ferentz knows needs to change, but then there's other problems, too. 

Ohio State is always going to have great athletes all over the field so that could be part of it, but I noticed Winter and Dotzler really having a hard time getting a good push on both the run and pass protection. The running backs will be the first to tell you that they need to read the holes a little bit better, but there just isn't much space to be had. 

The Hawkeyes could mix things up and insert Pieper at center to see if things change, but Ferentz is staying put with Winter. It's probably the right decision for now, but if the run game continues to go south, a change might be the best thing for this group. 

Jones and Pieper both spoke to the media on Tuesday, and though they are both frustrated with how the run game has performed so far, they say the key to improvement is working on the fundamentals - avoiding the aforementioned penalties and using the backside hand to get more power. 

"I feel like if we just keep going, keep pounding the rock, that's kind of what we're looking to do," Jones said. "Keep fundamentals. The more we play together, the faster, and hopefully everything works out." 

We'll see if the offensive line can turn that answer into an improved performance on Friday when Iowa travels to Seattle to take on a hungry Washington team. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CDT on Fox or FS1. 

Don't miss out on our Roundtable community and the latest news! It's completely FREE to join.

Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members in the community section! Download the FREE Roundtable APP and stay even more connected!

Click here to join the fun and potentially win some FREE Hawkeye swag! 

HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]