Easy pickings

This is the game story from Saturday. I didn't see it posted anywhere.

AMES - It was a little “Starsky and Hutch.”

Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood slid over the hood of their red sports car in their leather jackets and busted everything in the air Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

It was a little '70s detective show. It was a little of the 2004 movie with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. It was a buddy movie with each star taking a turn in front of the camera.

 “I'm probably the Ben Stiller. He's more of the Owen Wilson type,” said Greenwood as he pointed at Sash.

Starsky and Hutch. Sash and Greenwood. Interception and pick.“A little bit,” Sash said of the “Starsky and Hutch” reference. “You could say that if you want.”

The veteran safeties led the charge, picking off five passes and setting the table for the Hawkeyes (2-0) to convert six Cyclone turnovers into 21 points in Iowa's 35-3 rout before 52,089.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi brushed off two first-half interceptions and finished with a career-high four TD passes. True freshman running back Brandon Wegher wowed with 101 yards on 15 carries, a 1-yard TD and a one-handed catch of a screen pass that pumped life into a sputtering Iowa offense.

The Hawkeyes stretched their legs after running the whole race and then some last week.

“I'm just glad we won,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said simply.

Iowa took a 14-3 halftime lead when it scored after Greenwood tipped a pass to Sash, who ended up with three interceptions. Then to begin the third quarter, Iowa State tailback Alexander Robinson fumbled and quarterback Austen Arnaud was picked by Greenwood, his second.

The Hawkeyes turned both into touchdowns and that was it. The Hawkeyes retained the Cy-Hawk Trophy and won in Ames for the first time since 2003. A 7-3 struggle bloomed into a 28-3 runaway during that late-second and early-third quarter pick, fumble and pick.

“I thought our defense did a good job being aggressive to the football,” Ferentz said, expressing relief. “It was nice to see our offense take advantage of the field position. We've not always done a great job with that. It was a good thing to see.”

Ferentz was relieved because last Saturday about 3 p.m. his team had just blocked two field goals to steal one from Northern Iowa, 17-16, at Kinnick Stadium. He had no idea what was going to happen in Ames, especially after all-Big Ten left offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga was out after being hospitalized with a midweek illness. Red-shirt freshman Riley Reiff replaced Bulaga.

And his quarterback's first-half performance probably didn't do much for Ferentz's disposition. Stanzi's two picks killed drives, including one inside ISU's 20.

“Last Saturday, I was a little worried about where we'd be today,” said Ferentz, who added that Bulaga is close to being full speed. “I'm just thrilled we're 2-0.”

All Iowa did, almost literally, was sit back and watch Arnaud implode.

Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker used some nickel and dime packages and mixed in a handful of 3-4 alignments. Mostly, the Hawkeyes sat back in their zone coverage and let the ball come to them.

Arnaud was victimized by tipped passes, two that ended up in Sash's hands, and some awful throws. Both of Greenwood's picks were floaters he jumped on.

Arnaud was pulled late in the third quarter.

 “We go as I go,” said Arnaud, who finished 10 of 22 for 79 yards and four interceptions. “We played terrible.”

 Sash's hat trick of picks tied linebacker Grant Steen's three against Indiana in 2002 for the Iowa record. He is a certainty for Big Ten defensive player of the week with a stat sheet that had three interceptions, 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

“It's everybody just doing their job,” said Sash, who led the Hawkeyes to their most interceptions since a 59-0 win over Illinois in 1985. “Things happen for a reason, don't they?”

The Hawkeyes, who outgained ISU, 426 to 303, have held ISU without a TD for 14 quarters. After taking a 3-0 lead, ISU tried an onside kick that linebacker Bruce Davis recovered.

ISU then went as Arnaud went. All downhill.

“Nobody in the state of Iowa feels worse about this game than Austen Arnaud does,” first-year ISU Coach Paul Rhoads said. “He had a bad day.”

In the other locker room, it was the feel-good buddy flick of the season.