Hawkeyes’ first drive leads to success

Iowa couldn’t have started on a much better note against Minnesota on Saturday.

After Nate Stanley underthrew Ihmir Smith-Marsette on a deep ball on the first play of the game, it looked like just another drive.

That changed quickly.

After a Minnesota offside and a 3-yard run by Tyler Goodson — who started the first game of his career against the Gophers — Goodson broke off a 26-yard run on a fullback fake, halfback toss.

Stanley then missed Smith-Marsette on an overthrow that would have gone for six before scrambling for eight yards on third down and finding tight end Nate Wieting for 11 yards on fourth.

One play later, Stanley hit Nico Ragaini for a 21-yard touchdown to put the Hawkeyes out in front.

The drive showed Iowa’s poise on the offensive side of the ball, which is something that had been missing. Even after missing on two potential touchdowns, the offense strapped back in and got the job done.

The success on the Hawkeyes’ first drive led to two more touchdowns before the half ended.

If Iowa can continue to keep its offense rolling — which hasn’t been the case in recent weeks — it could be in for another win over a top-10 team in Kinnick Stadium.

-Pete Ruden

Goodson goes off

In the past couple of weeks, the absence of Tyler Goodson in the first half has been a mystery. Today, the narrative shifted strongly in Iowa’s favor.

The freshman made his first career start and notched 77 yards on nine carries in the first half. He was the only running back seeing action until close to halftime.

His longest run so far on the day for 26 yards came on Iowa’s first drive of the game. He took the ball up the left side of the field into open territory for Iowa’s first third-down conversion of the day.

His ability to make plays himself and run over defenders showed during a touchdown run in the first half to put Iowa up 13-0 on the undefeated Golden Gophers. On his 10-yard run near Iowa’s sideline, he broke through two defenders to fight his way into the end zone.

He opened the drive with three-straight rushes for a total of 35 yards.

After the first quarter, however, Minnesota dominated the clock. Goodson only had one carry for two yards. With just over two minutes to go, Mekhi Sargent got in on the action and rushed for 11 yards on three carries.

-Anna Kayser

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