Since it began grading college football in 2007, Pro Football Focus has seen almost every type of offensive line there is. those in charge. mediocre ones. units that don’t hold up on Saturdays but look good on paper. Because of this, PFF’s assessment of Iowa’s 2025 offensive line is highly significant. This Hawkeye front five was not just good, but historically good, according to the analytics behemoth.
For a large portion of the season, Iowa’s offense’s shortcomings dominated national discourse. For fans accustomed to evaluating contemporary offenses by aerial fireworks, the passing game’s lack of rhythm became the defining story. Whether fair or not, the airborne struggles influenced how the entire unit was perceived by the outside world. However, that superficial perspective overlooked what was going on in the trenches, where football games are frequently decided.
The Hawkeyes quietly developed one of the nation’s most potent rushing offenses while Iowa’s passing attack faltered. Iowa ranked 44th in the country with an average of 177.8 rushing yards per game, but this figure doesn’t adequately convey how reliable and punishing the ground game became every week. Iowa continued to run the ball even when defenses were aware of what was coming. And it worked most of the time.
Points were a direct result of that success. In 2025, Iowa averaged 28.9 points per game, which was a significant improvement over the offensive output of previous seasons under former coordinator Brian Ferentz. Nearly 30 points per game felt like a revelation for a program that had become used to scraping for every point, even though it didn’t appear explosive in the conventional sense.
The way that production was put together is what makes it even more amazing. Despite averaging only 137.4 passing yards per game, Iowa was still able to achieve those numbers. That statistic practically seems unreal in today’s pass-happy college football environment. However, it remains one of the best measures of the true dominance of the running game and, consequently, the offensive line.
With his ability to extend plays and occasionally injure defenses with his legs, quarterback Mark Gronowski added a new wrinkle. However, even with that extra dimension, Iowa’s offensive efforts always began up front. The offensive line dominated games in addition to blocking. Defenses were worn down by it. The tempo was set by it.
That is strongly supported by PFF’s grading. With an astounding 94.1 overall grade, the 2025 Iowa offensive line ranked eighth on PFF’s all-time list since the organization started assessing college football almost two decades ago. That is elite by any standard, not just Iowa’s. As is often the case when dominance is so obvious, awards quickly followed. The Joe Moore Award, which is given to the best offensive line unit in the country each year, was won by Iowa’s offensive line. It is the only significant team-based award in college football. The awards also accumulated on an individual basis. Beau Stephens and Logan Jones were named All-Americans, solidifying their place among the nation’s top linemen.
As the best center in the country, Jones in particular won the Rimington Trophy, one of the sport’s highest individual awards, to cap off his season. For a player who anchored a line that continuously enforced its will, snap after snap, it was a fitting recognition. Raw talent wasn’t the only thing that set this unit apart. It was unity. Interaction. method. The linemen from Iowa didn’t rely on spectacular plays or standout performances. They performed the unglamorous tasks with accuracy, such as picking up blitzes, double teams, and second-level blocks. It felt like a throwback to watch them grind out hard yards late in games, a reminder that physical football still has a place in a sport that is becoming more and more focused on speed and space.
In retrospect, it’s obvious that the Iowa offensive line of 2025 should be regarded as one of the decade’s pivotal teams. Despite other constraints, it drove an offense that succeeded in its own unique way. It transformed quiet efficiency into national recognition and skepticism into respect. Iowa has emphasized the value of line play for many years. That philosophy peaked in 2025. The rest of the college football community now has the data to support what Hawkeye supporters witnessed every Saturday: this wasn’t just a strong offensive line, thanks to PFF’s historic grading. It was the best one ever.
