Hawkeyes have a Ball: Deflated Ball State no match

IOWA CITY -

Let's face it. If this were a marathon, the Hawkeyes had a 25-mile lead going in. Then Friday night, Ball State lost its shoes.

And let's face it, the 13 Ball State players suspended for Saturday's season opener at Kinnick Stadium probably wouldn't have mattered in the No. 11 Hawkeyes' 56-0 romp.

A record crowd of 70,585 watched Jovon Johnson return a punt 90 yards for a touchdown when a punt return wasn't even called. They watched five freshmen break the seal on their college careers. They watched the biggest blowout in Coach Kirk Ferentz's seven-plus years at Iowa and the Hawkeyes' first shutout since a 51-0 stroll against Kent State in the 2001 season opener.

They watched quarterback Drew Tate get a sunburn after taking his helmet off for good in the second quarter. Running back Marcus Schnoor also could have used some sun screen.

"Yeah, I got a little bit (of a sunburn)," Schnoor said. "I had a lot of time with my helmet off."

It was open mike night in the huddle, with center Brian Ferentz leading the way with the jokes. The field crew replacing the numerous divots on the Kinnick turf broke more of a sweat than some of Iowa's first-string defense.

"There were a lot of divots," Tate said. "I don't really know anything about it other than there were a lot of divots."

Ball State Coach Brady Hoke might have wanted to crawl under a divot when he learned Friday afternoon that 13 Cardinals players would be suspended Saturday because of a continuing NCAA investigation into improper use of a textbook loan program.

Forty-three Ball State athletes in six sports were suspended.

"It's about this game today," Hoke said. "I'm not going to talk about that (the investigation). It's not my job."

The Hawkeyes probably didn't learn a whole lot about themselvesbe improved after one of the worst seasons for rushing the ball in school history. Iowa gained 241 yards on 47 carries, a 5.1-yard average.

Freshman Shonn Greene led with 18 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown, the first freshman since Tony Stewart to rush for 100 yards in a game, according to Iowa sports information.

Sophomore Albert Young gained 61 yards on five carries. The Hawkeyes had five rushing TDs, half of the 10 they had last season. Junior Sam Brownlee, last season's fifth-string savior, scored the first two touchdowns of his career.

"Offensively, we've been really scattershot all through preseason camp," Ferentz said. "This was one day where it looked like we were playing together. It's something to start with at least."

Tate completed 9 of 10 for 99 yards and two TDs before leaving with more than 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Tate's incompletion was Iowa's only one. Second-stringer Jason Manson completed 9 of 9 for 92 yards, and No. 3 Cy Phillips completed his only pass.

"It wasn't `easy' easy," Tate said. "We stuck to our game plan. They didn't quit. We did what we needed to do on offense."

Iowa's quarterbacks spread the ball to 10 receivers. Freshman tight end Tony Moeaki led with three catches for 28 yards. Sophomore Herb Grigsby's first career catch was a 33-yard TD from Tate that gave Iowa a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Senior wideout Clinton Solomon twisted his right knee on his first catch of the season but returned to catch a 7-yard TD from Tate.

The Hawkeyes outgained Ball State, 441-144, scoring on six of their first seven possessions.

The one they didn't score on - a Tate fumble - ended in Johnson's 90-yard punt return, the fourth longest in Iowa history. Ball State quarterback Joey Lynch tried a quick kick on fourth-and-13 from Iowa's 39.

In taking a 49-0 halftime lead, Iowa outgained Ball State, 302-22. The Cardinals didn't cross the 50-yard line on their own until 6:40 was left in the third quarter. And then they made it only to Iowa's 41.

The punt bounced and Johnson snagged it. He spun and darted to his left. The Hawkeyes walled off the Cardinals (0-1) as if they'd called a punt return.

"Nothing was called, that's just how it turned out," linebacker Chad Greenway said. "It was tough on them. They had five O-linemen in there. O-linemen don't cover too many punts."

Iowa's defensive line - the obvious question mark going into the season - picked up two of Iowa's three sacks and had four tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

But, really, all Iowa can take from Saturday is 1-0, no injuries and a little game film.

Ball State gave little or no insight into what to expect when the Hawkeyes travel to Iowa State next week.

The Hawkeyes will have a lot more on their minds than sunburn and huddle humor.

"They don't share the jokes with me," Ferentz said. "There won't be a lot of jokes next week, I know that."