Wide receivers produce in clutch for Iowa

IOWA CITY - Iowa's offense found a mismatch later in the game, and wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley exploited it.

Twice inside the 25-yard line, Martin-Manley, a red-shirt freshman, lined up in the slot on quarterback James Vandenberg's right side. Twice Martin-Manley ran seam routes and burned a different outside linebacker for touchdowns to lift Iowa past Pittsburgh 31-27 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

On first down from Pittsburgh's 25, Martin-Manley got an outside release and found the soft spot between linebacker Greg Williams and safety Jarred Holley. Vandenberg passed to Martin-Manley before Holley could close the gap for a touchdown to cut Iowa's deficit to 27-24.

On Iowa's next possession, Martin-Manley was in the same position and streaked past Pittsburgh linebacker Todd Thomas. Vandenberg's pass sailed over a stretching Thomas, who jumped, and into Martin-Manley's arms for the game-winning touchdown.

"Vandy saw that the linebacker was over me, sort of like man-to-man, and he told me to get a good release," Martin-Manley said. "I got a good release, he hit me, I scored. It was a good play."

"It was something we kind of had seen earlier and something I'd specifically told him that we've got it again," Vandenberg said. "It all was going to be about his release. They were kind of leaving a linebacker on an island with him, coming down on our tight end. We had the same call both times, and it gave us that same kind of coverage. He did a great job of winning and making plays at the end."

Martin-Manley fought through a foot injury in training camp but rallied to contribute this year. He lines up primarily in the slot as Iowa's third wide receiver in three-receiver sets. 

Martin-Manley, who stands 6-foot and weighs 205 pounds, caught four passes for 76 yards Saturday. All but one went for first downs. He now has eight catches for 99 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Two plays before his first touchdown catch, Martin-Manley kept a drive alive when he was tangled up with Pittsburgh defensive back Buddy Jackson on a third-and-3. Jackson interfered with Martin-Manley when he tried to catch the ball, which gave Iowa a first down.

"He wasn't running very well in August," Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. "He had a foot injury. He was out there. Certainly didn't look like he was going to able to help us a lot. That was huge for him."

Iowa's other wide receivers also produced huge numbers. Junior Keenan Davis produced career highs in catches (10) and yards (129).  Senior Marvin McNutt caught eight passes for 112 yards. McNutt shook off a twisted ankle midway through the fourth quarter and came up with a seven-yard catch on Iowa's final scoring drive.

"As far as us, we just knew we had to make plays," McNutt said. "We kind of knew you saw some things we knew do to change as receivers to help ourselves get more open."

"We were trying to throw our whole passing game at them and keep coming from different angles," Vandenberg said. "The guys did a great job of catching the ball and making plays."