Hawkeyes throttle Panthers, 38-14
Iowa moves to 3-0 on the year after it takes down in-state foe Northern Iowa on Saturday.
Iowa tight end Noah Fant celebrates as he crosses the goal line in the first quarter of a football game against Northern Iowa at Kinnick Stadium on Satruday, Sep. 15, 2018. At halftime, the Hakeyes led the Panthers 21-0. (David Harmantas/The Daily Iowan)
September 15, 2018
Hawkeye football is 3-0 to start 2018 after Iowa took down Northern Iowa, 38-14, in dominating fashion on the evening of Sept. 15.
Iowa had a stumbling start on its first drive — penalties effectively killed any early momentum, but from then on, the Hawkeye offense hit its stride.
The Black and Gold put up a season-high point total while eating up yards both through the air (338) and on the ground (206).
Quarterback Nate Stanley had himself a day against the Northern Iowa secondary, throwing for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns, while completing 82 percent of his pass attempts.
The two top targets in Iowa’s passing game in 2017, Nick Easley and Noah Fant, had their best games of the season. Easley snared 10 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Fant caught 5 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, with Ivory Kelly-Martin out with an injury, Iowa used its two-man wrecking crew to tear apart the Panther defense. Toren Young finished with 82 yards on 14 carries (and a touchdown), and Mekhi Sargent gained 72 on 15, scoring 2 touchdowns of his own.
On the other side of the ball, the Hawkeye defense allowed just 228 yards of offense by Northern Iowa. The Panthers’ first points of the game came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Eli Dunne threw a 4-yard pass to Briley Moore. Before that score, Iowa’s defense had not allowed a touchdown for seven quarters in a row.
Looking ahead, Iowa will turn its focus to Wisconsin. The Badgers will travel to Kinnick for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Sept. 22. They will be hungry Badgers, having lost to BYU on Sept. 15 in Mad City.