Iowa football bounces back from Ohio State blowout in big way with rout over Washington

IOWA CITY — Drew Stevens’ first kickoff of Saturday’s game sailed through the air, passed through the end zone and domed a fan in the first row behind Kinnick Stadium’s south end zone.

“But you popped right back up,” Iowa radio sideline reporter Rob Brooks said to the fan as he interviewed him during the first half.

“Yeah, that’s what Hawkeyes do!” the fan replied.

That’s what the Hawkeyes figuratively did on the field, too, as they bounced back from last week’s blowout loss to Ohio State with a definitive 40-16 win over Washington.

“There’s two ways you can take a loss like last week,” offensive lineman Mason Richman said. “I think we did a great job choosing the right way of responding. … It was a great win.”

The win was Kirk Ferentz’s 200th as Iowa’s head coach. He is in sole possession of second place for career wins as a member of the Big Ten, trailing only Ohio State’s Woody Hayes (who was 205 wins).

“The honest answer is I was more focused on us getting four,” Ferentz said. “I didn’t want to think about being at 3-3 right now. … A lot of people are involved in this. I’ve worked with nothing but great coaches my entire career. I’ve been lucky wherever I’ve been. And then, most importantly, the players.”

It was Iowa’s highest scoring output against a power-conference foe since its 51-14 win over Maryland in 2021. The Hawkeyes at one point had seven consecutive scoring drives.

As has consistently been the case in the Hawkeyes’ wins this year, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson had a starring role. Johnson rushed for 166 yards while averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

“I give thanks to my O-line, man,” Johnson said. “Nothing would be possible without them.”

His 53-yard carry in the final minute of the first half was paramount in setting up Stevens’ 46-yard field goal for a 20-10 halftime lead. Johnson scored touchdowns on a 6-yard carry in the first quarter, an 18-yard catch in the second and an 8-yard run on the first play of the fourth.

Johnson now has rushed for 100-plus yards in five of Iowa’s six games, with the loss to then-No. 3 Ohio State being the lone exception.

“He’s done some good things over the last couple of years,” Ferentz said of Johnson. “But the consistency right now in not only what you see on the game field, but the way he prepares, the way he practices — he’s doing a great job.”

Iowa also benefited from two turnovers — a fumble forced by Aaron Graves and an interception by Jermari Harris — which set up two drives ending in field goals.

Iowa’s special teams, meanwhile, contributed in several big ways beyond just Stevens’ fan-beaming kickoff.

Stevens made field goals from 37, 46, 25 and 51 yards. Punter Rhys Dakin had a 55-yard punt returned for only 2 yards and a 61-yard punt returned for no gain.

Yahya Black blocked a Washington 33-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, which negated the Huskies’ once-promising 14-play, 73-yard drive. That set up one of Iowa’s four touchdown drives.

The big plays on defense and special teams helped the Hawkeyes pull off the definitive blowout despite trailing the Huskies, 393-328, in total yards.

“The amount of times that we had a short field today was huge,” quarterback Cade McNamara said. “That makes our job a lot easier when we don’t have to travel 30 yards just to get into enemy territory.”

Iowa’s average starting field position was its own 45-yard line, whereas Washington’s average starting field position was its own 24-yard line.

The Hawkeyes won despite a relatively modest output in the passing game. Cade McNamara went 8-of-14 for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

That included a 33-yard completion to redshirt freshman Dayton Howard — Howard’s first ever reception — in the fourth quarter.

Richman said Saturday’s 40-16 result was a “great, complete full game.”

“And that was the first time we’ve done that, I think, all year,” Richman said.

The Hawkeyes will look to continue their momentum, and perhaps an out-of-the-end-zone kickoff or two, next week at Michigan State.

The Spartans, who had a bye this week, are coming off consecutive losses to Boston College, then-No. 3 Ohio State and then-No. 6 Oregon.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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