Iowa distances itself from Rutgers with fourth-quarter scoring barrage

IOWA CITY — Rutgers prides itself as the birthplace of college football because of playing in the first intercollegiate game in 1869 against Princeton.

The 2023 Iowa-Rutgers game initially had some shades of 1869 with three low-scoring quarters, but the 22nd-ranked Hawkeyes (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) distanced themselves with a fourth-quarter scoring barrage and a comfortable 22-0 win Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Sixteen of the Hawkeyes’ 22 points came in the fourth quarter.

The late scoring outburst began with a 4-yard Jaziun Patterson touchdown to expand Iowa’s lead to 12-0. (The two-point conversion was no good.)

Then Drew Stevens’ 24-yard field goal pushed the lead to 15-0, and wide receiver Kaleb Brown’s first career touchdown made it 22-0.

“(Brown) is a whole different guy than he was six, seven weeks ago,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Cedar Rapids native and Iowa safety Quinn Schulte’s interception, returned all the way to the Rutgers 9-yard line, set up the final touchdown drive.

Stevens, who was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award earlier this week, was 3-of-4 on field goals Saturday. His only miss was from 47 yards.

Offensive lineman Mason Richman tied the scoring outburst to the team’s long-standing “break the rock” motto.

“We’re nose to the grindstone,” Richman said. “We’re swinging the hammer, and we’re not resting until that rock breaks. And when it breaks, we know it’s not that one swing that we did, but it’s all the ones that came before.”

Iowa’s defense frequently put the offense in excellent position to succeed during the uncharacteristically high-scoring fourth quarter. All three scoring drives in the quarter followed either a Rutgers three-and-out or turnover.

Rutgers had only 127 total yards while averaging 3.1 yards per play. Not only were the Scarlet Knights scoreless, but they also never advanced past the Iowa 42-yard line.

It also was the Iowa defense’s first shutout of the game.

“Being a Mike backer, that’s a dream come true,” linebacker Jay Higgins said. “I just felt like we played a great game, top down.”

Iowa held running back Kyle Monangai, the Big Ten’s leading rusher, to 39 rushing yards at a clip of 3 yards per carry.

“He was really good,” Higgins said of Monangai. “It hurt to hit him. So, hopefully he’s feeling a little sore because I am. ... We just didn’t want to get turned out of gaps.”

Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt went 7-of-18 for 93 yards.

The defense also benefited from six Rutgers false start penalties, including three in the first quarter.

“Especially when it comes to the third-and-short situations, where third-and-2 turns into third-and-7, that completely changes the play calls,” Higgins said. “That completely changes the percentages of them converting. ... I love playing at Kinnick. That’s kind of one of those things you get for playing a home game.”

Iowa’s 402 total yards were a breath of fresh air considering the Hawkeyes’ past offensive woes. They entered play ranking dead-last in the FBS by a sizable margin with 225 yards per game.

Iowa’s rushing attack picked up 179 yards while averaging 3.9 yards per carry.

Bright spots included Leshon Williams’ 24-yard carry on the second play of the game and Brown’s 13-yard rush during the high-scoring fourth quarter. Kaleb Johnson also had a 27-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Deacon Hill went 20-of-31 for 223 yards — a career-high. He had one touchdown and one interception in the win.

Had it not been for the interception, Iowa likely would have scored at least another three points at the end of the first half.

Despite the unfortunate result of the drive, wide receiver Nico Ragaini thought the 62-yard drive leading up to the interception “gave us life.”

“A bunch of different guys were making plays,” Ragaini said. “I felt something on that drive that we almost turned the page a little bit, even with a mistake at the end. It was something we could build confidence on.”

The offensive jolt came against a Rutgers defense that kept the Scarlet Knights competitive with top-ranked Ohio State going into the second half a week earlier.

“These dudes were battling with Ohio State last week,” Higgins said. “Hats off to the (Iowa) offense.”

The Hawkeyes again received a boost in the field position battle from punter Tory Taylor, who averaged 47.7 yards on his three punts.

Taylor’s counterpart at Rutgers, Flynn Appleby, averaged only 35.4 yards on his nine punts.

Iowa’s win, coupled with Nebraska’s loss to Maryland and Minnesota’s loss to Purdue, puts the Hawkeyes in an excellent position to potentially clinch the Big Ten West title as early as next week.

“Hopefully we can build on this, and we’ll see how these next two weeks go,” Ferentz said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com