Iowa football finds spark with Brendan Sullivan in rout over his former team Northwestern

IOWA CITY — Brendan Sullivan said last week it was going to be “super cool” to play against his former team.

That comment perhaps had more truth than anyone realized at the time as the 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 “provided a little bit different spark for us,“ offensive lineman Mason Richman said.

“On some of the plays, he's able to turn maybe an incompletion or something into five or six yards, which is huge for us,” Richman said.

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.

“In that moment, he stepped up and delivered for us,” Richman said. “So credit to him and his preparation.”

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said the team had planned during the week to rotate Sullivan in at quarterback. McNamara also was “shook up” after a big hit he took.

“It wasn’t, ‘We were benching Cade,’” Ferentz said. “We were going to give Brendan a chance, too. He’s done some good things. Gives us a chance to look at him.”

Scores of Northwestern players and staff members, including head coach David Braun, hugged Sullivan after the game. Ex-Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald — in attendance as the father of a 2025 Iowa recruit — also embraced him as he entered the tunnel.

“It was surreal,” Sullivan said. “(Fitzgerald is) the guy that believed in me out of high school and recruited me. So nothing but respect for him and his family.”

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.

“Kaleb got loose after that first-half touchdown,” Richman said. “That was awesome. … He had a great second half out there, and just got to get him going a little bit earlier.”

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.

“I knew that it was only a matter of time before the pieces came together,” Wetjen said. “The first game, we had one, but it unfortunately got called back.”

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.

“That third quarter was awesome,” Sullivan said. “It was fun being a part of that.”

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.

“It’s definitely good to get back on your feet after last week,” linebacker Nick Jackson said.

Northwestern’s lone touchdown of the first three quarters was Theran Johnson’s 85-yard return of a McNamara interception. Its other touchdown was Drew Wagner’s 72-yard punt return in fourth-quarter garbage time.

“One of the stranger shutouts that you’ll see that way,” Ferentz said.

Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch was 10-of-19 passing for 62 yards and two interceptions. Cedar Rapids native Quinn Schulte had one of the interceptions, and Jay Higgins caught the other pick off a Nick Jackson deflection.

The Phil Parker-coordinated Iowa defense stifled Northwestern’s rushing game, holding the Wildcats to 43 yards on 24 carries.

The defense contributed to Iowa’s scoring barrage as well when defensive end Max Llewellyn sacked Lausch for a safety in the second quarter. Iowa’s defense has now recorded at least one safety in four consecutive seasons.

Saturday’s win marked the first time that Iowa had at least one score in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — since its 2021 come-from-behind win against Nebraska.

“We played complementary football,” Richman said.

Iowa’s 33-point lead going into the fourth quarter afforded the Hawkeyes to give several second- and third-team players more playing time late in the game. Backup defensive lineman Will Hubert recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.

The blowout win on Saturday was despite the absence of first-team offensive lineman Beau Stephens, tight end Addison Ostrenga and Leo linebacker Kyler Fisher.

Fisher’s absence was the result of an illness, Ferentz said afterward. Wide receiver Reece Vander Zee’s injury during the game was a “lower-leg deal,” and tight end Luke Lachey was “available for emergency” after his injury.

The Hawkeyes have won their last four games against Northwestern.

Iowa will look for another win — “super cool” or otherwise — next week against Wisconsin as the Hawkeyes go for their third consecutive victory against their border-state rival to the northeast.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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