2 weeks Ago
IOWA CITY — A quarterback change ignited Iowa in a 40-14 dismantling of Northwestern in Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. The Hawkeyes improved to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play with the 26-point win while the Wildcats fell to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big Ten action. Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan (1) celebrates after scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Oct.
26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS On Iowa’s third drive of the afternoon — fresh off a Quinn Schulte interception at the Northwestern 26-yard line — Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara looked indecisive on second and 8 and dreadful on third and 4. The graduate senior attempted to force a pass to a well-covered Luke Lachey on third and 4, resulting in an interception by Wildcats defensive back Theran Johnson.
Johnson beat the Hawkeyes offense to the edge and raced 85 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown to put Northwestern ahead 7-3. On the next drive, and every drive for the remainder of the first half, Iowa turned to second-string quarterback Brendan Sullivan, a Northwestern transfer, for a spark. Sullivan delivered three consecutive three-and-outs before mounting a 5-play, 52-yard drive for a touchdown to end the half.
Despite Sullivan’s relative ineffectiveness on his first three drives, his dual threat ability allowed him to turn broken plays into gains and ignited an increasingly frustrated home crowd. After leading a 5-play, 52-yard drive to end the half with a touchdown, Sullivan cemented himself as the new starting quarterback with a 7-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to start the second half. Iowa tight end Luke Lachey (85) catches a pass over Northwestern linebacker Greyson Metz (57) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct.
26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS The well-trodden “punting is winning” slogan in Iowa City remained truthful on Saturday thanks to an impressive showing from freshman punter Rhys Dakin. The Australian product dropped all four of his punts inside of the Northwestern 10-yard line, including one at the five and three at the six, to pin the Wildcats to their own end zone.
Given the ineffectiveness of the Iowa offense outside of its first and final drives of the opening half, Dakin’s precision kept Northwestern from extending its lead. Dakin averaged 41.8 yards on his first-half punts and had a long of 49 yards.
Iowa defensive back Quinn Schulte (30) celebrates with teammates Ethan Hurkett (49) and Nick Jackson, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS Following Iowa’s 32-20 loss to Michigan State, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz highlighted the Hawkeyes inability to tackle as the key to their poor defensive showing.
“I think our biggest issue — we didn’t tackle well,” Ferentz said. “It’s going to be hard to play good defense if we don’t tackle better.” Iowa’s tackling improved in the first half and it resulted in a masterful showing on defense.
The Wildcats managed just 82 yards of total offense, including 43 on their opening drive, in the first half and produced zero points after missing a field goal on its opening drive. Iowa defensive lineman Yahya Black (94) celebrates with teammates after a safety during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa.
Charlie Neibergall - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS In what felt like the most inevitable aspect to the Hawkeyes’ season, wide receiver Kaden Wetjen fielded a third-quarter punt and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown to give Iowa a 26-7 lead. On Tuesday, Wetjen praised the entire return team’s performance after posting returns of 39, 37, 35, 28 and 26 in the previous two games. “I think our unit as a whole has been doing a great job,” Wetjen said.
“I do not know if you guys can tell from TV, but the holes I have had to run through were 10 times bigger than they have been the weeks before ...
I do not really have to do much when I see a hole that big.” Wetjen added that the first official return touchdown for him will be “electric.” “We have already had one — it got called back,” Wejten said.
“But, it will be awesome.” Northwestern running back Joseph Himon II (6) is tackled by Iowa defensive lineman Aaron Graves (95) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa.
Charlie Neibergall - staff, ASSOCIATED PRESS After Brendan Sullivan powered into the end zone to give Iowa a 19-7 lead with 11:18 remaining in the third quarter, the energy in Kinnick Stadium was palpable. The homecoming crowd bubbled with excitement after the long scoring drive ended with seven points. The last time the stadium felt the way it did on Saturday was after Iowa rolled to a win in the second half against Illinois State.
However, the uneasiness of an up-and-down second half did not cloud optimism for the future..
