From a first half of toil and struggle came an offensive onslaught. Directed by mobile backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan and a dominant defense that conceded only 163 yards and forced three turnovers the Iowa football team crushed Northwestern, 40-14, Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium. 

“At halftime, I thought everybody was in a good place, everybody was thinking the right way,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said in his postgame press conference. “Pleased with the way they did things and the way it turned out.”

Sullivan entered the game midway through the second quarter after starter Cade McNamara threw an interception returned for a touchdown that gave the Wildcats an early 7-3 lead. While Sullivan’s first three drives were all three-and-outs, the Northwestern transfer got revenge on his former team, ending his evening with [stats] as Iowa had four straight touchdown drives. 

Ferentz said the initial plan was to rotate Sullivan in the game after the first few drives, but after McNamara took a hard hit in the first quarter, it made sense to stick with Sullivan the rest of the way.

“It just worked out that way. He did a really good job,” Ferentz said of Sullivan.

When asked if Sullivan would stay No. 1 on the depth chart, the head coach did not give a clear answer.

Referencing the 1981 season, Ferentz said the Hawkeyes had rotated between two quarterbacks before. Iowa, then under head coach Hayden Fry, won eight games that season and finished No. 13 in the country.

“It wasn’t like we were benching Cade, we were going to give Brendan a chance too,” he said. “He’s done some good things. Gives us a chance to look at him. He did a lot of really good things today, a lot of things he’ll hopefully get better at, too. Hopefully, we have two guys we can win with.”

Coupled with Sullivan’s 41 rushing yards was running back Kaleb Johnson’s routine brilliance. The third-year running back churned 109 yards and three rushing scores out of 14 attempts before being pulled in the fourth quarter with the game in hand. 

Johnson explained that forcing the Northwestern defense to key in on both him and Sullivan provided a definite advantage. The Wildcats couldn’t stack the box with extra defenders, as Sullivan could’ve run around the offensive tackles in a scramble.

“They were widening out, and it opened up for me,” he said.

Heading out of the halftime tunnel with a five-point advantage, the Hawkeyes left their offensive struggles in the rearview mirror with a seven-play, 78-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 40-yard catch-and-run from tight end Johnny Pascuzzi on a deceptive play-fake from Sullivan. ‘

The junior quarterback continued his production via misdirection, feigning a handoff to Johnson before taking the ball himself and racing past two Wildcat defenders to the pylon for a score. 

The Hawkeyes continued to play complementary football down the stretch. After Sullivan’s touchdown, the Wildcats went three-and-out. Northwestern’s Luke Akers delivered a 46-yard punt to a waiting Kaden Wetjen at the Iowa 15-yard line. Sprinting past defenders, Wetjen managed a tap-dance down the sideline for an 85-yard score – his first collegiate touchdown. 

Wetjen had come awfully close to scoring this season. Against Troy back in September, he had a punt-return touchdown called back because of an Iowa penalty. His touchdown against Northwestern went under further review to see if he stepped out of bounds, but the call stood as the Iowa sideline erupted in cheer for the former Iowa Western Community College star.

“They almost gave me a concussion with how many people were hitting me on the head,” Wejten said of the celebration.

The offensive onslaught continued on the ensuing Iowa drive. The Hawkeyes notched two first downs, including a fourth-and-1 attempt. Iowa initially planned to punt before calling a timeout and inserting its offense back on the field, much to the Kinnick crowd’s delight. Left tackle Mason Richman said Iowa used a similar play to one of Sullivan’s red zone packages.

“It was back and forth, it felt like we were running a gasser out there,” Richman said with a smile. “So in that situation, we really needed that.”

Ferentz taking the chance proved to be the right gamble, as a few plays later, Johnson broke free on a run down the middle. Wildcats nipping at his ankles, the Hawkeye ran into the end zone unscathed to make the contest a 33-7 affair. In Richman’s eyes, Johnson has become a more mature player, defining his running style as angry rather than “pissed off.” 

“He’s not mad at us or himself or anything,” he said of Johnson. “He’s running angry, running downhill, and talking trash. Once he starts talking trash, you’re pretty much screwed as a defense.”

Northwestern earned its first first down of the second half on the following drive but coughed up the football a few plays later. On 3rd-and-11, Lausch’s pass was rejected by linebacker Nick Jackson. The careening pigskin then fell into the hands of a blitzing Jay Higgins for an interception. 

It took all of seven seconds for Johnson to complete his hat trick and give Iowa its third 40-point affair of the season. Yet before this explosion, the Hawkeye offense mirrored the cringe-worthy editions of recent seasons, combining multiple three-and-outs and costly turnovers to keep the Wildcats within five points heading into the break. 

Sullivan’s first drive of the game came midway through the second quarter, relieving McNamara from duty after the Michigan transfer attempted an ill-advised pass to Luke Lachey. The tight end was blanketed by Northwestern defensive back Theran Johnson. Coming down with the jump ball, Johnson found the left sideline and coasted 86 yards to give the Wildcats a 7-3 lead after the Hawkeyes’ opening drive field goal. 

Sullivan’s initial drive resulted in eight yards and a three-and-out, but punter Rhys Dakin made up for the ineffectiveness with a 41-yard boot that pinned Northwestern at the 6-yard line. 

The Iowa defensive line took quick advantage, as junior Max Llewellyn wrapped up Lausch near the goal line for a safety to cut Northwestern’s lead to 7-5. 

“It starts with special teams,” Jackson said. “Rhys Dakin put us in some really good situations. Anytime the ball started on the 5-, 6-[yard line] … it just narrows what [Northwestern] can do. Allows us to speed things up. We really credit that safety to him.”

The two teams traded three-and-outs twice before Iowa found the end zone to close out the half. After two Sullivan runs for 12 yards and another 14 through the air, running back Kaleb Johnson eased past defenders for a 26-yard rushing touchdown, providing the coup de grace with a spin move past a Wildcat defender.  

That run would be a foreshadowing of the explosion waiting to come. From a disappointing road loss to Michigan State one week ago, the Hawkeyes delivered an eye-opening turnaround on both ends of the football. With three losses, a spot in the expanded playoff is out of the question.

For Higgins, a sixth-year senior in his last season of eligibility, games like Saturday’s aren’t ones he takes for granted. For him and Jackson, games before a sold-out Kinnick crowd are numbered, but the pair aren’t alone in their dedication to the moment. 

“I’m all excited. I’m all-in on Iowa football, playing in the Black and Gold,” Higgins said. “And I think I’ve got a bunch of guys on the team who are more interested in playing today, playing now, and not really looking forward.”

Injury updates 

Iowa wide receiver Reece Vander Zee and tight end Luke Lachey each exited the game with injuries. Vander Zee sat on the sideline the rest of the game in street clothes and a boot. Ferentz said Lachey was still available on an emergency basis.

Linebacker Kyler Fisher missed the game due to illness but should be good to go for Monday, Ferentz added. As for cornerback John Nestor, who also sat out the contest against the Wildcats, Ferentz said the second-year was dealing with a soft tissue injury and does not have a timetable to return.

Up next 

Iowa, improving to 5-3 and 3-2 in the Big Ten, continues its homestand next weekend with a matchup against Wisconsin on Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. The Badgers are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play after falling, 28-13, against No. 3 Penn State in Madison on Saturday night.