IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Foundation for Teamwork announced on Monday the University of Iowa’s offensive line as the recipient of the 2025 Joe Moore Award, with the program earning its second honor as the Most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in College Football.

In a surprise presentation inside the Hansen Football Performance Center on Iowa’s campus, the Hawkeyes’ offensive line was presented with the only award in college football that celebrates a group or unit. This is the second time Iowa has earned the Joe Moore Award, and it is the fifth time a Big Ten program has captured the top honor (Iowa 2016, Michigan 2021, Michigan 2022 and Washington 2023). Iowa joins Michigan and Alabama as the only two-time winners.

“In a season when O-line continuity was challenged across college football by injuries and inexperience up front, Iowa’s unit provided the kind of dependable, physical consistency that has become increasingly rare,” said Aaron Taylor, founder of the Joe Moore Award and a CBS Sports analyst. “That ability to play steady, disciplined football with an edge – week after week – is what separated them from the rest of the pack. When the moment demanded their best, Iowa consistently answered the call.”

Taylor, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, was an All-American at the University of Notre Dame for the Award’s namesake, the legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore.

“Iowa set themselves apart through consistency and the rare blend of toughness, effort, technique, and a true willingness to finish,” said Cole Cubelic, lead sideline analyst for the SEC Network and Chairman of the Joe Moore Award voting committee. “They faced heavy boxes and constant movement all season, yet stayed patient, limited negative plays, and allowed the offense to function as designed. Iowa won because of its O-line.”

Iowa’s five starters – guards Beau Stephens and Kade Pieper, tackles Gennings Dunker and Trevor Lauck, and center Logan Jones – started all 12 games in 2025, with Jones, Stephens and Dunker combining for 120 career starts. Jones was voted the Rimington Trophy recipient as college football’s top center as well as being an Outland Trophy finalist. Together, the unit did not have its first accepted holding penalty until Game 10 at USC.

“When you watch Iowa on tape, they epitomize a unit that wins with cohesion,” said Mike Golic Jr., DraftKings and lead TNT Big 12 game analyst. “Their first steps and timing are almost hypnotic, with precise landmarks and angles, well-executed combo blocks, solid pass protection, and reliability. When margins are tight and steadiness is required, this group rarely blinked, and that consistency especially late in games is what ultimately separated them from the other outstanding finalists.”

Looking Ahead
No. 23 Iowa travels to Tampa, Florida, to face No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31, 2025, at Noon (ET) on ESPN. This is the first matchup between the two programs.