Iowa’s offense comes to life in 2nd half of 40-0 rout of Illinois State

IOWA CITY — As Tim Lester walked across the Kinnick Stadium west sideline with more than an hour to go until Saturday’s Iowa football season opener, the new offensive coordinator was greeted by a small-yet-mighty group of enthusiastic students in the first few rows.

If the Iowa offense keeps playing like how it did in the second half Saturday, the Lester fan section will quickly grow.

After an iffy first half, Iowa’s offense came to life en route to the Hawkeyes’ 40-0 win over Illinois State.

“Once we were able to gain some momentum and gain some tempo, that really set us up really good for the second half,” quarterback Cade McNamara said.

Iowa’s 492 total yards of offense were the most in a game since 2019. Saturday’s victory also marked the most points scored for the Hawkeye offense since last year’s 41-10 win over Western Michigan.

True freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee was at the heart of the second-half emergence. Vander Zee, the first Hawkeye true freshman to start since 2022, had two touchdown receptions in the second half.

The first one was a 7-yard touchdown on first-and-goal to expand Iowa’s lead to two possessions. Then later in the half, McNamara threw up a prayer as he faced pressure, and Vander Zee answered with a reception for a 19-yard touchdown.

WHAT A THROW!!!! 25 POINTS FOR IOWA!! 🔥 @Cademac_12 with 3 TD passes on the day! pic.twitter.com/nAyyCiySao

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024

McNamara, after going 8-of-17 in the first half, was a much-better 13-of-14 in the second half. He completed his first eight passes of the third quarter, which included the first touchdown pass to Vander Zee.

“Moments like these and really like picturing myself having moments like this is what got me through rehab,” McNamara said after the win.

Tight end Luke Lachey — who, like McNamara, was playing for the first time since his season-ending injury last year — had an impressive six receptions on eight targets for 63 yards.

Iowa’s rushing attack also experienced a second-half rejuvenation, as evidenced by Kaleb Johnson’s two touchdown runs in the second half.

His first one was for 64 yards, with no Illinois State defenders coming anywhere close to tackling him. The second one — an 18-yarder — happened late in the fourth quarter.

“I saw a little bit of people, but I just ran through it,” Johnson said of the 64-yard touchdown.

Johnson finished with 119 yards on 11 carries, which translates to 10.8 yards per carry.

The offense’s second-half success was a sharp contrast from the first half, when Iowa had four punts and one failed fourth-down conversion on seven drives.

“In regards to the first half, we had some missed opportunities,” acting head coach Seth Wallace said. “We had some of what you would call the norms in the first game and just some things that I think we probably could have handled better a little bit. However, I think the second half is probably a better indicator as to what type of team we are.”

The defense, as usual, had a key role in the win.

Phil Parker’s unit held Illinois State to 3 yards per play. The Redbirds’ quarterback duo of Tommy Rittenhouse and Jake Rubley combined to go 12-of-27 for 126 yards.

Iowa’s defensive front, meanwhile, held the Redbirds to 1.7 yards per rushing attempt.

“I’ll go to Dunkin’ tomorrow,” linebacker Jay Higgins said. “I’ll probably give the D-line three boxes. DBs — those dudes really don’t eat much, so I might just go one box. And two boxes for the linebackers.”

The Hawkeyes also forced three turnovers, including two in the first half — a Jermari Harris interception and a T.J. Hall fumble recovery. Caden Crawford recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter. The Hall recovery set up Drew Stevens’ 41-yard field goal in the first quarter.

Stevens also had a 28-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half. His 2-for-2 day marked his first two field goal attempts since last year’s Nebraska game.

The massive fourth-quarter lead afforded Iowa an opportunity to put several second and third-team players in the game.

“I don’t know how many guys we played defensively, but seeing Jaden Harrell, Karson Sharar out there,” linebacker Jay Higgins said. “I just know how important reps like this will help them for next year. So putting those dudes in this situation any chance we get is a plus.”

Kirk Ferentz was away from the team as he served his self-imposed one-game suspension for an NCAA recruiting violation.

“I’m very proud of our team, our players specifically,” Wallace said. “What they did today under the circumstances was really pretty cool, and we’re excited to get the win.”

Saturday’s win still officially counts toward Ferentz’s overall record. Wallace believes Ferentz will be “more than satisfied” with the effort.

“I think he’d stand up here, just like I did, and tell you the same thing — we got a lot of work to do,” Wallace said. “But we got good kids, we got a great staff, got a great head coach.”

Iowa’s competition is about to get much more difficult than FCS-level Illinois State, though, as Iowa State visits Kinnick Stadium next week.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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