Game Report: Arkansas St. at Iowa

HAWK-O-METER: 3

A win's a win

GAME BALL

Wide receiver Marvin McNutt. The sophomore from St. Louis caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. The first was a 41-yard grab down the right sideline to give Iowa a 7-0 lead. The second was a similar play on a 43-yard pass along the left sideline.

McNutt, a former quarterback, nearly completed a wide-receiver option pass but it fell incomplete because of tight coverage.

“I was (disappointed it didn't work),” he said. “We work on it in practice. . . . I probably should've run the ball there, but I just wanted to throw the ball so bad. We test it out once a week, see how it looks.”

McNutt has gotten over his quarterback past, he said.

“I think right now, I'm a wide receiver. I don't think I'm adjusting anymore.”

PASS IT AROUND

Seven different Iowa receivers have caught TD passes this year. McNutt hadn't caught one until Saturday and now leads with two.

The touchdown scoring contest among Iowa's players doesn't affect quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who delivers most of them through the air.

“Those guys aren't bugging me on Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday (saying), ‘Hey I need to get six this weekend, my girlfriend is the stands' or nothing like that,'” Stanzi said. “They don't bother me, and that's a good thing because they're not thinking about it. You just go out there and play. If you're open, you're open.”

HIGH-FIVE

Iowa notched its first 5-0 start under Coach Kirk Ferentz and matched its best start since 1995.

Iowa wide receiver Trey Stross said the statistic was discussed throughout the week by all of his coaches.

“It was definitely important,” Stross said. “We're probably not going to keep saying every week, but we still want to go out and win.

“It's big history for our program, going 5-0.”

SASHING IT

Iowa safety Tyler Sash notched his 10th interception in barely one full season. Sash, a sophomore also forced a fumble in the second quarter.

At least partial credit for Sash's interception should go to Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer, who had tight coverage on the play. Angerer said his height - listed officially at 6-foot-1 - causes quarterbacks to throw on him, which led to Sash's interception.

“It's kind of crappy because they see how short I am when I've got my back to them, and they're like ‘Oh, let's throw it over the short guy,'” Angerer said. “I knew I was on the guy, and I knew he'd have to make a pretty damn good throw to complete that. Tyler is just a smart, head's-up player and made a great play.”

FLIP IT

Arkansas State linebacker Demario Davis picked off quarterback Ricky Stanzi and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Davis then showed off for the ESPN2 audience, first flipping over the goal line, then dancing in the end zone.

Davis drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, forcing the Red Wolves to kick off from their 15. It irritated Arkansas State Coach Steve Roberts to no end.

“That's not who we are, that's not what we're all about,” he said. “We'll learn from this and move forward. Obviously it's avoidable, it's not an aggressive penalty. It won't happen again.”

CHATTER

During GazetteOnline's live chat during the game, 400 different online viewers joined the conversation and we published nearly 800 comments. Here are two of the best - and suitable - comments during the game.

“I'm sick of inferior teams' quarterbacks playing with heart against us.”

“I didn't want a great game today, Marc.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Iowa hosts Michigan at 7 p.m. Saturday on KCRG-TV9/ABC. Iowa's marketing team designated the game as a “Blackout.”

“They're a great team with obviously a very exciting atmosphere at Kinnick,” Stanzi said. “They've played in big games and we've played in big games. It should be very fun to get ready for this game.”