Iowa football vs. Northwestern score updates, highlights analysis (Oct. 26, 2024)

IOWA CITY — The Brendan Sullivan-led Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3, 3-2) cruised past Northwestern (3-5, 1-4) in a 40-14 homecoming win Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

The ex-Northwestern quarterback Sullivan, after taking over Iowa’s quarterback duties early in the second quarter, went 9-of-14 for 79 passing yards. He also scrambled for 41 yards on eight attempts.

That included a 6-yard rushing touchdown and a 3-yard run to convert a fourth-and-1.

Sullivan replaced usual starter Cade McNamara after McNamara went 7-of-13 for 73 yards and a pick-6. He would have thrown a second interception, but a Northwestern roughing-the-passer penalty negated the turnover.

The Tim Lester-coordinated Iowa offense had the benefit of Kaleb Johnson’s explosive runs as well. Johnson ran for touchdowns of 25, 26 and 41 yards — his 14th, 15th and 16th rushing touchdowns of the season.

He finished with 109 rushing yards, his sixth 100-plus-yard game of the season. Iowa as a whole totaled 203 rushing yards while averaging 5.2 per carry.

The Hawkeyes got a scoring boost from the special teams unit, as Kaden Wetjen returned a Northwestern punt 85 yards for a touchdown. It was the Williamsburg native’s first touchdown as a Hawkeye.

The Hawkeyes have now scored 40-plus points in two of their last three games. After leading 12-7 at halftime, they scored 28 points in the third quarter alone — more points than they had in the last four games of the 2023 season combined.

On the other side of the ball, Iowa’s defense proved that the 468 yards it gave up a week ago in a 32-20 loss at Michigan State was an anomaly rather than the start of a trend.

The Hawkeyes held Northwestern to 163 total yards and only 3.2 per play. The Wildcats’ longest play was a 21-yard reception in the first quarter.

The Hawkeyes have won their last four games against Northwestern.

— John Steppe