(Iowa City, IA) — The 22nd-ranked University of Iowa football team defeated Northern Illinois, 40-0, in its season opener on Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium.
The Hawkeyes racked up 507 yards of total offense while holding Northern Illinois to 120.
Kamari Moulton led the Hawkeyes on the ground, rushing for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. At quarterback, Hank Brown completed 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, while Jeremy Hecklinski completed 7 of 16 attempts for 76 yards and a touchdown. Jimmy Sullivan closed out the game, going 2-for-4 for 13 yards.
Tony Diaz and DJ Vonnahme paced the receiving corps. Diaz caught seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown, while Vonnahme hauled in four receptions for 42 yards.
Defensively, Cam Buffington led Iowa with six tackles. The Hawkeyes limited the Huskies to 120 yards of total offense and recorded six sacks, including 1.5 by Joseph Anderson and one each from Julian Manson and Chima Chineke. Deshaun Lee added an interception, while Ty Hudkins recovered a fumble.
Special teams also contributed heavily. Caden Buhr converted field goals from 45 and 34 yards, and Evan James returned a third-quarter punt 77 yards for a touchdown.
Kirk Ferentz Quotes
“Just, you know, to start out, just really pleased and proud of the team. Pleased about the outcome and then certainly proud of the team. I think they really did a good job today. They showed up, played hard, they competed and they handled the heat. It was pretty intense out there, just like you guys had to deal with it as well.
But the bigger picture, I thought they did a good job with the preparation all week, and that showed up today. And we had heat to deal with all week, too. It wasn’t so good on Tuesday, but they bounced back, came back Wednesday and put a good day out there, and I think that showed up today. So happy about that.
Obviously, good to get the win. Every game, that’s the goal. We don’t talk a lot about it, but why would you put the work in if you’re not trying to do that? And it’s just really an overall very positive first step for us, considering our team right now, the makeup of our team.
So really, I think for me going into it, the biggest curiosity and biggest interest was just how the new guys were going to handle things. And you look at our four captains, all are guys that have experience that, you know, feel pretty good about. We know what they’re going to do, how they’re going to show up, know they’re giving leadership and doing things right. But boy, we had a lot of guys that really haven’t been out there in conditions where they’re starting and being counted on to be a productive force.
I thought that was a really positive thing, and that’s basically all three phases: offense, defense, special teams. A lot of new faces, some a little bit more prominent than others. So thought that was a really positive thing.
I thought both quarterbacks were productive. It was a good first start for both of them. And like I said earlier, whatever they’ve done prior to this really, in my mind, doesn’t count. That’s all erased from the memory bank. It’s what they’re going to do this season with our team. And I thought both of them did some good things, so really pleased for both of those guys.
And then just, you know, think about offensively, I think our overall execution for a first game was pretty decent. And I’ll make special mention for Kamari. He just looked faster, quicker, more confident than I’ve seen him. And he’s an experienced football player, one of the guys we’re definitely counting on, but I thought he really looked good. That’s the best we’ve seen him. So that’s part of maturity and development, I think, and really good to see that.
Then defensively, where we’ve got a lot of new faces, I thought they responded really well today, too. Played hard, you know, didn’t have any major issues until we got in that fourth quarter. We had a few things that were a little bit interesting. But for the most part, guys were doing what they were supposed to do and doing it pretty hard. Happy about that.
And then on special teams, had a few bumps early. Missed an opportunity on a plus-50 punt, missed a field goal. Yeah, that was kind of a bad sequence in there. We missed the thing, but Deshaun got the pick, and then couldn’t do anything with that field position, which was kind of disappointing, not to get any points out of it.
But, you know, a lot of good things there, too. I thought our kickoff coverage was excellent, and it was good to see the specialists. Boston did a good job with the punting, I thought, for the most part there. The plus-50 one was a close miss.
A lot of positives there, but the guys were playing hard and they were going hard. So feel good about that. And just again, good to get off to a positive start. Happy about that.
And then last, just want to thank the fans. If it’s hot on the field, it’s hotter in the stands, I know that. And so really give them credit for, A, showing up, and then B, supporting us throughout the game. It’s always good to be on the field. And again, all these new guys are going to figure that out, that it’s a pretty good environment down there.”
Box Score: Iowa v. Northern Illinois
