It was a tale of two different looking teams for Iowa against Western Michigan on Saturday. The final score of 41-10 is not indicative of how this game started for the home team. After a brutal first quarter, Iowa scored 31 points in the second and third quarters combined. The offense worked in some true freshman at running back, getting things back on track to send the Hawkeyes into conference play with an undefeated 3-0 record.
Flat Start
It was about as bad of a first quarter as you could have wanted if you’re a Hawkeye. Western Michigan moved the ball 96 yards on Iowa’s defense for a touchdown to take the lead. Iowa tight end Luke Lachey left the game with what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury. Phil Parker’s defense allowed a 29 yard rush and a 64-yard touchdown, both in the first ten minutes of play. Drew Stevens uncharacteristically missed a 41-yard field goal, and the Broncos led 7-0 after 15 minutes.
Early Quarterback Struggles
Cade McNamara missed two weeks of camp, and that’s definitely a factor in his play in this ballgame. However, he had some inexcusable passes and misses early in the game that led to his two-interception day. He appeared to force the ball on a few occasions in the first quarter. The first of which was on the first drive of the game and resulted in an interception. A second forced pass was nearly intercepted again on the ensuing drive. Late in the second half at the Western 31-yard line, McNamara looked to the end zone in double coverage, forcing another throw to his receiver. This time, Keni-H Lovely came down with the Broncos’ second interception of the half.
McNamara was greeted on the sideline by an irate Brian Ferentz. The offensive coordinator threw his headset in frustration with how the drive ended. McNamara had Nico Ragaini open underneath, and at the least, was in field goal range. Instead, McNamara attempted the home run ball, and it backfired. It’s fairly certain that Ferentz was letting his signal caller know the cost of his mistake.
Cooper DeJean
Cooper DeJean was a standout all afternoon in the return game. He finished with 77 yards on five punt returns. That included a 28-yard return where he showed patience in letting his blocking develop, and brought Iowa out to the 34 yard line. It began a Hawkeye drive that went 66 yards for a touchdown in five plays. The score sparked a second quarter in which Iowa scored two touchdowns to take the lead.
Mid-way through the third quarter, DeJean received a punt at the 22 yard line. He ran about 10 yards forward before slamming on the breaks and spinning away from four Bronco defenders, getting to the outside for a 28-yard return. Iowa was then forced to punt, but the defense created a three-and-out on the ensuing Western Michigan drive. LeVar Woods’ punt team blocked the punt through the back of the end zone for a safety. DeJean’s ability to flip the field with his elusive return skills set up that opportunity for the special teams. It was the start of what would be a different looking third quarter for the Hawkeyes.
What Changed?
Iowa came out in the third quarter with some fire, a completely different feel from the early half of the game. The Hawkeyes scored 17 in the third to take a commanding lead into the fourth quarter. The difference was Iowa put the ball in the hands of their running backs. In the third quarter, Iowa rushed the ball 10 times for a sack-adjusted 68 yards. True freshman Kamari Moulton had eight touches for 50 of those yards. Leshon Williams had the other 18 yards on two rushes.
Moulton’s first action of the year led to a career day. His first touchdown was on a drive in which Iowa ran the ball on all six of their plays. Moulton had five of those carries. The first two were of 18 and 10 yards, respectively. Then, he capped the drive by punching it in for six. On the ensuing drive, Iowa went three plays for another touchdown in the hands of Moulton. He finished with 50 yards on eight carries. In addition to Moulton, another true freshman in Terrell Washington Jr. got in at running back. Washington Jr had six touches for 31 yards on the day, and helped set up the Hawkeyes’ field goal drive in the fourth quarter with five of those carries.
The real difference maker from the second quarter and on was Iowa’s ability to impose their will in the run game. When you adjust for sacks, Iowa had 39 true rushes for 295 yards. That’s an average of 7.6 yards per carry. We entered this matchup looking to see Iowa work the ball to the receivers. After the tough start for McNamara through the air, the offense went back to their roots. Iowa found great success on the ground and was able to score their most points since beating Maryland 51-14 in October of 2021.
Up Next
The Hawkeyes head to Happy Valley next week to open conference play against Penn State. The Nittany Lions got a hard-fought, but commanding, road victory against Illinois this week. Both teams will enter next week’s matchup unbeaten. It will be a whiteout inside Beaver Stadium for the visiting Hawkeyes. The last time Iowa walked into a whiteout was the 2009 season, where Kirk Ferentz‘s program left with a victory over the top-five ranked Nittany Lions.
