Iowa football Game Report: Hawkeyes 24, Wyoming 3

PLAY OF THE GAME

The Setup — First, Iowa called a risky timeout with 38 seconds left before halftime. Wyoming had the ball at its 38 after linebacker Josey Jewell forced an intentional grounding call on Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen.

The Cowboys faced a third-and-28 from their 39. OK, so maybe the timeout wasn't all that risky.

The third down failed and Wyoming set up to punt. Only the punter missed the ball when he tried to punt it.

What Happened — In football, it's one strike and you're out. Or dead, in this case.

Iowa went after Wyoming punter Tim Zaleski. The rush did displace the punt shield that was in front of Zaleski.

So maybe he was rattled when he ALMOST COMPLETELY MISSED THE BALL.

Yes, the Wyoming freshman's steps were incredibly yippy and he barely grazed the ball. Wide receiver Devonte Young fell on it. Fumble recovery? Nope, it counted as a minus-5 yard punt and Young was credited with downing the ball at Wyoming's 32 with 0:27 to play.

Here is what September 2, 2017

Here is what #Wyoming's Tim Zaleski attempt at a punt looked like from my angle. @marcmorehouse @jeremiahdavis10 @Hlas pic.twitter.com/SJRnFRwwvd

— Stephen Mally (@stephenmally)

The Results — After an offsides call on Wyoming, Iowa QB Nate Stanley hit sophomore tight end Noah Fant for a 27-yard TD with 0:22 left before halftime.

Wyoming started its drive at Iowa's 43 with 50 seconds left. The botched punt handed the Hawkeyes 7 points and a 14-3 halftime lead.

One strike and you're out and/or dead in football.

-Marc Morehouse

REPORT CARD

A-

— Nine different Wyoming players caught passes, but mostly for dust instead of yardage.

-Mike Hlas

B

— Josh Allen will get paid, but Josey Jewell looked more like the NFL first rounder today.

-Marc Morehouse

B+

— If this was just a defense grade, it's an A no question. But four turnovers can't be ignored.

-Jeremiah Davis

A WHOLE LOT OF NEW

The Iowa football team saw a lot of newness on Saturday — and well beyond a new starting quarterback.

Six true freshmen saw the field for the Hawkeyes in their 24-3 win against Wyoming, with a pair of them making a noticeable impact on the game. Freshman defensive end A.J. Epenesa was in mostly on third downs in pass rush situations, and the highly-touted 18-year-old didn't disappoint. His first career tackle was a sack of Cowboys quarterback Josh Allen and he finished with a pair of tackles for the game.

Epenesa's disruptive pass rush, though, forced Allen out of the box more than once and his head coach noticed.

'Great for him to get started,' Ferentz said. 'He's still trying to figure it out totally, but boy he goes hard and has some great habits. He's fun to have on the field.'

The other true frosh to have an impact was Ihmir Smith-Marsette — and not in a way he'd have liked.

Smith-Marsette got on the field in the first half and took a jet sweep around the left side for four yards before fumbling away one of Iowa's four turnovers. Ferentz stuck up for Smith-Marsette, though, and said he's not in the doghouse.

' (Smith-Marsette) really has a good spirit to him,' Ferentz said. 'And we had every intention of getting the ball back to him if the situation had come up again. We weren't going to back off it. He'll learn. It was good to get those guys out there.

'Whether it was the first year guys or the guys in the back end like (Ojemudia), for those guys to do a good job like that and get this game experience — if we use it right — can be really helpful.'

The Hawkeyes used nine first-time starters, with six new starters on offense and three on defense. In addition to Nate Stanley, running back James Butler got the start (Akrum Wadley returned the opening kick) along with tackle Alaric Jackson, Ross Reynolds, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant on offense. Defensively, Cedrick Lattimore, Jake Gervase and Michael Ojemudia logged their first starts.

-Jeremiah Davis

BY THE NUMBERS

176 — Nate Stanley's passer rating in his first start

14 — Different quarterbacks to start a game under Kirk Ferentz

9 — First-time starters used by Iowa

7 — Tackles for loss by the Iowa defense

6 — Receiving targets for Noah Fant

5 — Number of true freshmen who saw the field for Iowa

4 — Turnovers for the Iowa offense

4 — Passes Stanley threw incomplete to start the game, including one interception

3 — Wyoming points off Iowa turnovers

3 — Touchdowns Stanley threw

2 — Touchdowns for Fant

2 — Plays of 15 yards or more allowed by the Iowa defense

Minus-50 — Stanley's passer rating after his first four throws

-Jeremiah Davis

INJURY REPORT

An offensive line very much used to dealing with injuries and rotating positions got another dose of it Saturday in Iowa's opener.

Before the game it became apparent preseason All-American James Daniels wasn't going to be available for the Hawkeyes, dealing with a knee injury. Additionally, fellow lineman Boone Myers was dealing with an ankle issue. Neither started the game and while Daniels was held out completely — Ferentz said it was more to prevent something lingering for weeks — Myers saw spot action.

Redshirt freshman Alaric Jackson started at left tackle, Ross Reynolds started at guard and normal starting left guard Keegan Render moved into center in place of Daniels. Myers wouldn't put a percentage on his health, but insisted he felt good after the game.

'I'm feeling great,' Myers said. 'Someone could go down at any minute. This is my first year starting and we haven't had the whole line stay throughout the whole season once. People go down. People get healthy and come back.'

Ferentz expects Daniels to be back for the Iowa State game, saying it was the plan all along to hold him out Saturday and have him ready to go for practice right away this week.

'I told him yesterday, I said, 'My goal is to have you Monday or Tuesday, full speed, not limited,'' Ferentz said. 'What we didn't want to do is deal with this issue five weeks from now. It's not fair to him.'

-Jeremiah Davis

UP NEXT

Next up for Iowa is the annual Cy-Hawk game against Iowa State. The Hawkeyes head to Ames for a date with the Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa and Iowa State kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday on ESPN. The Hawkeyes have back-to-back wins in the series, most recently a 42-3 victory last season at Kinnick Stadium.