Game Report: Iowa 30, Illinois 14

OPENING SALVO

Iowa's players had foul expressions, akin to chewing gravel rocks, in the wake of last week's clubbing in Minneapolis. But they shook it off and pulled off a 30-14 win at Illinois on Saturday.

Iowa showed its power running the football, rolling up 304 yards on 55 carries. It also stopped the Illini for 88 yards on 25 carries. That was 203 fewer rushing yards than Minnesota put up last week.

'Last week we didn't come and play the way we wanted to, and we just wanted to come out and show that's not who we are and be dominant,” Iowa strong safety John Lowdermilk said.

On offense, Iowa plowed through the Illini at a 5.5-yard-per-carry clip. The Hawkeyes overcame some near-costly mistakes but controlled the ball for nearly 36 minutes.

'Our goal is to the run the ball first and be the most physical team on the field,” Iowa tackle Brandon Scherff said. 'There's some times we could have gotten Mark (Weisman) or Jordan (Canzeri) or whoever was behind us to the second level even cleaner, and we've got to come in and work off that.”

Yes, there's plenty to work on, especially in preparation for next week's game against Wisconsin. But winning in dominant fashion provided a feel-good moment for a team that needed one.

BY THE NUMBERS

587 - Iowa's total yardage, the fourth-most under Kirk Ferentz

88 - Illinois' rushing yards, 203 fewer than Minnesota's total last week

304 - Iowa's rushing total, the fourth-most under Ferentz

134 - Rushing yards for Mark Weisman, his first 100-yard game since Sept. 28, 2013 at Minnesota

1 - Iowa penalties for 10 yards

8 - Illinois penalties for 59 yards

REPORT CARD

B-plus - It really matters this week. Like really, really, really.

- Marc Morehouse

B-plus - Now it's time for 'The Real World: Wisconsin.”

- Mike Hlas

B - Iowa might be an underdog next week, but it was Best of Show in Champaign.

- Scott Dochterman

GAME BALL

Iowa RB Mark Weisman. Seventeen games have passed since Weisman's last 100-yard effort, but the bullish senior battled for 134 yards on 23 carries, a 5.8-yard average. He spearheaded a ground attack that gained 304 yards, the fourth-most in Coach Kirk Ferentz's tenure.

'He has a lot of fire and emotion, but you don't see that,” Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock said. 'He keeps it very centered. He understands what we're doing as an offense. Most of the time he knows the checks that are coming before I make the check and that's just a testament of his game planning.

'Mark comes in and he's like, ‘Why are they interviewing me?' That's the kind of guy he is. He really gives all that credit to the offensive line.”

It was Weisman's ninth career 100-yard game.

HANGING TIGHT

Iowa tight ends Ray Hamilton and Jake Duzey put up a pair of strong performances. Hamilton caught four passes - two of which were for touchdowns - for 20 yards. Duzey hauled in three catches for 110 yards.

Hamilton, a senior, was the first Iowa tight end since Tony Moeaki in 2009 with two touchdown receptions. They also were his first two in his career. The first one gave Iowa a 9-7 lead. The second increased it to 16-7.

'When I did get that touchdown it felt good because it felt like I was getting it for all of the guys up front,” Hamilton said. 'It was only right that I scored on a hard play-action because those guys of how hard they were blocking and I was able to be wide open. It felt good, I felt like I was able to get one for the group. I love those guys up front.”

Duzey hauled in a 53-yard pass from C.J. Beathard on Iowa's final scoring drive.

'It was just a go route and it just happened to be me that got called on and I got past him and made a nice catch and that's it,” Duzey said.

On Iowa's first scoring drive, he caught passes of 44 and 13 yards, respectively, on consecutive plays.

NEAR-CRITICAL MISTAKES

Iowa controlled the game from start-to-finish but it cost itself a style-points victory with several offensive mishaps and squandered opportunities in the first half.

Iowa failed to score on fourth-and-goal at the Illinois 1-yard line on its first possession. The Hawkeyes punted from the Illini 35. Rudock fumbled a snap that led to Illinois' first touchdown. Iowa fullback Macon Plewa came up one foot shy of a first down on a fourth-and-two pass at Illinois' 22. Then kicker Marshall Koehn's 46-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the right upright. Those botched chances led to only a 9-7 halftime advantage for Iowa.

'We were moving the ball; we just couldn't finish things,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'That was frustrating to all of us, certainly a couple of fourth downs that we came up short on. The turnover down inside the 30, the 35, whatever it was, those things, you start getting concerned because you don't want to waste opportunities when you're playing.”

OH SNAP

Rudock and Iowa center Tommy Gaul had a pair of rough exchanges that led to fumbles. Rudock lost one, and he recovered the other.

'I have my opinions on it and Tom ... we'll talk about it,” Rudock said. 'More than anything, that's not really your guys' business so we'll just move on from there. It's fixable.”

QUOTABLE

'That's what it's all about. I've just grown to love the ground game. I don't care about any of that other stuff. I love getting down and dirty with another grown man against you and there's no better feeling than going one-on-one with somebody and seeing Mark (Weisman) run for a lot of yards and breaking one off.” - Hamilton talking about his passion for blocking in the run game

UP NEXT

Iowa (7-3, 4-2 Big Ten) plays host to Wisconsin (8-2, 5-1) next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. It's the third consecutive time Wisconsin has traveled to Iowa City (2010, 2013), and the West Division-leading Badgers lead the all-time series 43-42-2.

'They want to do what we want to do,” Scherff said. 'They want to be the most physical team on the field - offensive and defensive line - and they're going to be a heck of an opponent for us.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com