Heading into halftime at Kinnick on Oct. 7, it looked as though the Iowa/Illinois game would be a lot closer than many expected it to be. Iowa was up by just 4 points (17-13), and it had turned over the ball twice.
The third quarter cleared that up pretty quickly, though; the Hawkeyes went on to win, 45-16.
After Iowa’s back-to-back losses to Penn State and Michigan State, it seemed as though the team needed a spark to get going again. Oct. 7 provided just that and more during the Homecoming game, with energy and big plays coming from all sides of the ball.
“Just very proud of our guys. I thought it was a real team effort, and right along those lines, we played a lot of good complementary football out there,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Taking advantage of … big plays gave us a big boost today.”
The special-team unit showed off a few more weapons it has in its arsenal — the fake field goal from last week was not the only trick the team has accumulated in its arsenal.
Up 7-3 in the first quarter, a penalty moved Iowa’s kickoff point to the 50-yard line. Instead of kicking it out of the end zone, Miguel Recinos booted it across the 40, where true freshman Matt Hankins picked it up.
The next quarter, the Hawkeyes faked a punt, and Amani Hooker caught the snap then rushed for 18 yards to give the team a chance to move ahead of the Illini going in to halftime.
“We’ve been working on it since fall camp, and we felt like now was the time to do it,” Hooker said about the play. “You get a little bit of nerves, but we’re working on it all the time in practice.”
The offense finally looked strong again after putting up subpar numbers the last two games.
Quarterback Nate Stanley threw 3 touchdowns to bring his season total to 15, placing him back on top of the Big Ten and pushing him to the top five in the NCAA.
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Akrum Wadley was another player who found some rhythm again — he rushed for 115 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown and added one more touchdown through the air.
Finally able to spot some holes made by the offensive line, Wadley almost tripled the production he had last week at Michigan State.
“Last week, we weren’t that good as a unit. It’s good that we bounced back,” Wadley said. “I saw a lot of daylight. It took a lot of pressure off of me … Sean Welsh, James [Daniels] on the line, they just kept going.”
The last, and maybe the biggest spark for Iowa’s morale, was Brandon Snyder, who hit the field for the first time since tearing his ACL during spring practice. Just five and a half months from surgery, Snyder looked better than ever.
He finished the game with 3 tackles and 2 pass breakups and posted the first Pick-6 of his career after intercepting Jeff George Jr. at the Iowa 11 and taking it all the way to the house (on Melrose).
The turnover and points were the first of the second half and started the ball rolling on the next 21 Iowa scored during the third and fourth quarters.
“I was kind of just reflecting. It’s been a long process to get back here. It’s just a really cool moment to run into a stand full of Iowa fans in the end zone,” Snyder said. “It’s pretty cool. It’s a great way to come back, that’s for sure.”