By Blake Dowson
It’s been hard to describe the Iowa offense as explosive this year. At times, the receivers will go in hiding. At times, the offensive line won’t be able to get a push off the line to give LeShun Daniels Jr. and Akrum Wadley room to work.
But the Iowa offense was clicking on Nov. 25 against No. 17 Nebraska, a culmination of a three-week redemption tour head coach Kirk Ferentz led his team on after an ugly loss to Penn State.
The 40-10 rout of Nebraska was the finishing touch, and plays of 56, 75, and 77 yards were the catalyst.
“We weren’t surprised [at the big plays],” senior quarterback C.J. Beathard said. “We went into the game knowing that they were a pretty good run defense and we were going to have some tough plays, but we figured we’d break a couple like we did last year. Obviously, I think we did a good job having productive runs the entire game.”
A jump cut as Wadley ran left, then back to his right, led to a 75-yard scamper that opened the scoring and put Iowa ahead for good.
The junior running back picked up more than 100 yards once again this season, and needs only 35 more yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career.
His running mate, Daniels, who had a 56-yard run of his own, broke into the 1,000-yard club against Nebraska, becoming the first Hawkeye to do so since Marcus Coker in 2011.
If Wadley gains those 35 yards in whatever bowl game Iowa ends up in, the duo would be the first ever to each gain 1,000 in the same season at Iowa. They’re already the most prolific twosome in Hawkeye history.
“We always talk about leaving the jersey in a better place and being the best you possibly can while you’re here at the university,” Daniels said. “That’s just something we’ve been setting out to do. I feel like we’ve both made numerous big plays for the team throughout the year, but obviously, you have to give plenty of credit to the linemen, fullbacks, tight ends, receivers. They’ve all been contributing to us making big plays.”
Although the running game was the bread and butter once again for the Hawkeyes — they racked up 264 yards on the ground — a 77-yard touchdown pass from Beathard to senior wide out Riley McCarron with a little more than three minutes left in the first quarter kept the Cornhusker defense on their heels just enough.
It was part of an all-around effort from Iowa, which played well in all facets — offense, defense, and special teams.
The defense only gave up 217 yards of total offense while the offense gained 408 with no turnovers, and Iowa consistently won the field-position battle with the work of Ron Coluzzi, who punted 5 times for an average of 41 yards per punt.
“Special teams were huge,” Ferentz said. “They’re big in any game, especially a big game like this, and tonight I can’t say enough about our special teams’ effort.”
With the loss to Penn State not even visible in the rearview mirror, wins against No. 3 Michigan, Illinois, and No. 17 Nebraska have the Hawkeyes absolutely rolling. A break from game action is welcoming for fatiguing bodies, but with the momentum they have, it’s too bad a bowl game will have to wait.
“I definitely wish we had another game [next week],” junior offensive lineman Boone Myers said. “But it’s good to have a break. Twelve weeks into the season, the body is feeling it. It’s good to have a little break, but we’re anxious for the next game. We’ve been clicking, we’ve been moving forward, we’re ready.”
