Game Report: Iowa 31, Iowa State 17

OPENING SALVO

Iowa cornerback Desmond King stepped out of bounds at the 2-yard line on a kickoff return. Iowa wide receiver Riley McCarron dropped a 5-yard pass on third-and-1 near midfield. Hawkeyes running back Jordan Canzeri fumbled inside Iowa State's 10-yard line in the fourth quarter.

All three blunders could cripple a team, yet each of those players atoned for their mistakes with crucial plays to clinch a 31-17 Iowa victory at Jack Trice Stadium.

King was apprehensive and inconsistent as a returner, leaving Coach Kirk Ferentz to briefly consider benching him in that role. But with less than 7 minutes left, King fielded a punt at his own 16 and returned it 34 yards, leading to a touchdown. Then he clinched Iowa's win with an interception on the Cyclones' next possession.

'I couldn't read it as well,' King said about his kickoff blunder. 'It was a hard decision. I didn't know if I wanted to take the ball or let the ball go out as well. It was a split-second decision right there. But I kept my head in the game and just came back stronger.'

Canzeri neared the 100-yard mark before fumbling at the ISU 7-yard line with the score tied. Undaunted, Canzeri ran five more times for 34 yards, including an 8-yard score with 1:05 left to ice Iowa's victory. He finished with 124 yards on 24 carries.

'I wouldn't really say redemption,' Canzeri said. 'It's just the fact that I had a bad play. A lot of people just let it affect their whole game plan. It was in my head. I was upset. We were in the red zone, and I fumbled. But my whole team told me to stay positive.'

McCarron elevated himself into a role where he's Iowa's only wide receiver in a two-tight end, two-running back set. He was open for a first down but dropped quarterback C.J. Beathard's offering. Late in the fourth quarter, McCarron hauled in a 25-yard strike for the leading score.

'You're going to have to deal with adversity at some point,' McCarron said. 'No one's perfect, but it's just a matter of bouncing back, doing your job, not letting yourself get too down or too up. Everybody just bounced back (last night).'

BY THE NUMBERS

Iowa second-half points — 21

ISU second-half points — 0

ISU First-half yards — 244

ISU Second-half yards — 66

Consecutive times visitor has won Cy-Hawk Trophy — 4

REPORT CARD

A — After a day of spinning plates over hot lava filled with sharks, the swarm was perfectly executed.

— Marc Morehouse

B-plus — I hope Iowa can somehow find room for a traveling trophy in its tiny, new football facility.

— Mike Hlas

A-minus — Nothing pithy here. Iowa has a player that tips the field at its most important position.

— Scott Dochterman

GAME BALL

Beathard kept his composure despite facing adverse situations. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed 10 times for 77 yards. One of his most impressive plays, Beathard scrambled from the end zone and ran 44 yards to get Iowa out of dangerous territory. Later on that drive, Beathard connected with wide receiver Tevaun Smith in the corner of the end zone for Iowa's first touchdown.

'C.J. obviously made some great plays with his feet,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'Some great plays with some precision throws. The most impressive thing about the way C.J. played was him keeping his poise. When you talk to him or see him on the sideline, he never looks any different. He doesn't get rattled.'

Beathard ran for 57 yards on a draw late in the first half and passed for the game-leading touchdown to McCarron with 2:14 left.

'I like running the ball especially when you can run like that,' Beathard said. 'I'm not going to lie, I was dying toward the end of that. My legs, I was gassed. Trying to go hurry up, I'm having to call a play, I'm out of breath. But I wanted to make sure I took care of the ball. The line did a good job of getting me holes out there.'

BIBLE STUDY

After Canzeri's fourth-quarter fumble, wide receiver Matt VandeBerg met him on the bench to console him. From the Bible, VandeBerg recited Joshua 1:9. That lifted the spirits of both players.

'I command you be strong and be courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,' VandeBerg recited. 'I told him that because he was a little bit down after his fumble, tie game, we're getting ready to score and he fumbles. I gave him that and obviously he was able to turn it around.'

For Canzeri, that was the right tone after his fumble.

'It's exactly what you need at that time,' Canzeri said. 'To have a family stick with you no matter what. We stayed together.'

TROPHY SMASHERS

After going 0-for-4 in trophy games last year, Iowa used its empty trophy case as motivation in the off-season.

This week, instead of prepping the old trophy case for the Cy-Hawk Trophy, the Hawkeyes will need a new one.

'They smashed it earlier in the week,' Canzeri said. 'It was still the weight room where we were working out, lifting. It was visible so it was just a reminder that we weren't happy with what happened last year. We didn't win any of our trophy games. We don't want to dwell too much on the past, but that's exactly what we want this year, to get all those trophies.

'It's our job, it's our objective for this year, 2015 team, to get a new one. We're not going to bring in a new trophy case unless we have a trophy to put it in. We did exactly what we wanted to do. We came down here and won that trophy so we've got a new case for it.'

THE DONALD

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump was among four GOP hopefuls attending pregame festivities and meeting with prospective donors. Trump was allowed access to the Jack Trice Stadium suites before speeding off in a golf cart.

Other contenders in attendance were Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

Nearly 1,000 interested patrons crowded near a podium east of Jack Trice Stadium for Trump, about 90 minutes before kickoff. The podium banner read '2016 GOP Presidential Field of Dreams' and featured candidates coming out of cornstalks.

A few tailgaters had no idea any presidential candidates were in attendances. One man looking perplexed said, 'What's going on here?' Another one replied, 'Donald Trump,' to which the first one asked incredulously, 'Donald Trump?'

UP NEXT

Iowa (2-0) plays host to Pittsburgh (2-0) at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium (BTN). The Hawkeyes rallied for a 24-20 win last year at Pitt. It's the first night game in Iowa City since 2012.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com