Iowa defeated Illinois State, 40-0, during Iowa’s home opener at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday.
The game got off to a slow start with Iowa leading 6-0 at halftime, after two field goals from Iowa kicker Drew Stevens.
Iowa went on to shut down Illinois State with five touchdowns – one from wide receiver Jacob Gill and two from running backs Reece Vander Zee and Kaleb Johnson respectively.
Iowa led overall in the game, with 241 rushing yards to Illinois States 56, in rushing yards, 251 Passing yards to Illinois States, 133, and 34:48 total time of possession to Illinois States 25:12.
The Hawkeyes saw the return of quarterback Cadee McNamara after a season-ending ACL injury in September 2023. McNamara had 251 total yards without any interceptions.Â
Iowa also played under Interim Head Coach Seth Wallach for their season opener due to Head Coach Kirk Ferentz’s one-game suspension for a recruiting violation.
The Hawkeyes will face Iowa State in the annual Cy-Hawk match-up at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 2:30 p.m.
