Iowa 38, No. 20 Washington 18: Sun shines on Iowa

EL PASO, Texas — The sun finally shone on the Iowa Hawkeyes in a bowl game.

The Hawkeyes gave a dazzling performance in the 62nd Sun Bowl Friday and dominated 20th-ranked Washington, 38-18, before 49,116 fans in El Paso.

The Hawks won their first bowl game since 1987, and they did it in style.

'That was a fine effort by a group of fine young men,' Iowa Coach Hayden Fry said, 'and they whipped — and I put that in capital letters — a very, very fine Washington team that was co-champs of the Pac-10.'

Fry had been 0-4 against Pac-10 teams in bowl games, including a pair of losses to Washington in the 1982 and '91 Rose Bowls, but he declined publicly to revel in getting that monkey off his back.

Don Patterson, his offensive coordinator, did the speaking on that topic.

'The Pac-10's kind of had our number,' Patterson said. 'It's nice to even it up. Not just even it up, but do it in a decisive way.'

Iowa (8-4) jumped all over the mistake-prone Huskies from the start.

It was 10-0 after one quarter, 21-0 at halftime and 38-6 early in the fourth period.

'They came out and royally kicked our butts,' said Washington Coach Jim Lambright.

The Hawkeyes did everything right.

• Sedrick Shaw and Tavian Banks gave Iowa a pair of 100-yard rushers with big games.

• Kickers Brion Hurley and Zach Bromert broke school and bowl records by going 5-for-5 on field goals.

• The defense stuffed Washington and collected three turnovers in the first half. The offense turned those gifts into 13 points.

'I can't believe we just dominated the ballgame the way we did,' said Fry, who got a victory ride from his players and a victory salute from the fans, who chanted 'Hayden, Hayden, Hayden' as the seconds ticked away at Sun Bowl Stadium.

Iowa had an awful experience on its last trip to Texas, losing 37-3 to California in the 1993 Alamo Bowl, but this was a completely different story.

This day, the sixth-place team from the Big Ten was clearly superior to the co-champs from the Pac-10 who managed just three first downs and 90 yards of offense while the game was being decided in the first half.

Shaw, one of 17 Texans on the U of I roster, gave Iowa a 7-0 lead with a 58-yard burst less than two minutes into the game after Washington fumbled a punt.

Hurley made it 10-0 shortly after with a 49-yard field goal, the first of three long boots by the junior from Iowa City. That came after the Huskies (7-4-1) fumbled their first play from scrimmage.

'It was eight minutes into the game and we only had one play,' moaned Washington quarterback Damon Huard, who was harassed by the Hawkeye defense all day until Lambright yanked him in the second half.

The game snowballed from there. Washington snapped the ball out of the end zone in punt formation for a safety, making it 12-nothing.

Bromert nailed a 33-yard field goal, making it 15-zip. Bromert hit again from 34 yards, then Hurley drilled another from 47 and it was 21-0 at the half.

There was more to come. Hurley hit a 50-yard field goal that would have been good from 70. Banks turned a simple pitch into a 74-yard scamper, the longest of his career. Fullback Mike Burger plowed into the end zone for a pair of TDs.

'We got crushed,' said Washington linebacker Jason Chorak. 'I don't think anyone thought we'd lose this game.'

The Hawkeyes thoroughly enjoyed their day in the sun.

'That was the best game of my life,' Hurley said. 'I thought we had a good chance to win, but I never thought we'd win so decisively.'

Bill Ennis-Inge, a force at defensive end, spent the latter stages of the game singing with the Hawkeye fans and band as it celebrated the victory.

'We were almost flawless,' he said. 'We took advantage of their mistakes.'

Washington played without injured All-American safety Lawyer Milloy and defensive lineman David Richie, which obviously hindered its efforts. 'Replacing an All-American is impossible,' said Hawkeye center Casey Wiegmann.

Lambright made no excuses. 'We hurt ourselves, but they were good enough to take advantage,' he said.

Shaw won the game MVP award after rushing for 135 yards on 21 attempts, giving the junior 1,477 yards for the year. He was happy to share the backfield with Banks, who missed half the season with a broken wrist but made up for lost time with 122 yards on 13 tries.

'It's fun having Tavian back,' Shaw said. 'You can switch in and out and nobody can concentrate on one back.'

Banks broke three tackles on his 74-yard run, which carried to the Washington 6. Burger scored two plays later for a 31-6 bulge midway through the third.

'It felt good,' Banks said of his 74-yard jaunt, the longest of his career. 'I got my opportunity.'

Iowa rushed for 286 yards, with Shaw and Banks combining for 257.

'Tavian's as quick as a cat,' Patterson said. 'His feet don't stay in one place too long.'

Some of the Hawkeyes felt the Huskies looked down on them this week in El Paso. That made the victory taste twice as sweet.

'A lot of those Washington guys didn't respect us,' cornerback Plez Atkins said. 'The Big Ten was tough this year.

'We whipped their butts, just like they deserved.'

Hurley won the MVP award for special teams players, and freshman defensive tackle Jared DeVries got the MVP award as best lineman in the ballgame.

DeVries recovered one fumble and forced another, collected one of Iowa's four sacks and spent considerable time in the Husky backfield.

'I'm just happy,' DeVries said about being named one of the MVPs. 'I give that award to the entire team. The whole defense did a fine job with the scheme the coaches gave us.'

Iowa broke an 11-game losing streak against ranked teams and snapped an 0-3-1 string in bowl games since a 20-19 victory over Wyoming in the 1987 Holiday Bowl.