Last week, the Hawkeyes dropped their first game of the season against a top-tier Ohio State team, putting on a disappointing display against their toughest opponent of the season. They dropped six spots in the AP Top 25 and faced a shortened week before traveling to the Pacific Northwest to play the Washington Huskies. Washington began ranked No. 17 in the preseason, but has had a very underwhelming season thus far, boasting a 3-2 record entering this game. Despite this, they were still the favorite to win, as the near 2,000-mile trip was believed to have an effect on Iowa. A rather fair analysis, as the Hawkeyes haven’t had a good track record when playing games on the West Coast since the Big Ten expanded in 2024. However, the distance didn’t matter to the Hawkeyes, fans included.
I got to attend this game with my family, and I was blown away by the turnout of Hawkeye fans — what I anticipated to be a sea of purple was spoiled by chunks of black and gold. I got the privilege to go sailgaiting prior to kickoff with my dad (a Huskies fan) and his friends. Even out on the water, we could hear a deafening “LET’S GO HAWKS” chant break out just 15 minutes before kickoff. I turned to the Washington fans on the boat and could see the uneasiness in their eyes; it was just the start of a sour Friday night for them, and a sweet one for the Midwesterners.
Starting quarterback Hank Brown was a question mark throughout the week before ultimately being ruled out, leading to Jeremy Hecklinski making his first collegiate start under center. But the bigger question mark entering the game wasn’t injury-related, but rather the entire running game. Iowa has had a tough time getting their run game popping like usual, and it ended up costing them big time last week. It was clear they had intentions of getting it established against Washington, as they ran the ball down their throats on their first possession, resulting in a Caden Buhr 51-yard field goal. Their next drive saw a third-and-3 conversion with a Hecklinski back shoulder pass to Reece Vander Zee, who maintained excellent concentration to spin and make the 30-yard reception, a similar looking play to his Michigan game-winner. This led to another Buhr field goal.
Defensively for Iowa, the player they had to watch out for was quarterback Demond Williams Jr. The 5’11” scrambler made a name for himself by creating plays through chaos, as he was one of the fastest players on the Huskies depth chart. Entering this game, he was responsible for 80% of Washington’s yards, the most by any player in the nation. But the Hawkeyes wouldn’t just watch out for him; they would neutralize him. Williams’ offensive line couldn’t hold up against Iowa’s front seven, and especially not in the run game, as the Huskies have one of the worst rushing offenses in the Big Ten. Williams attempted to make plays with his legs, but was unable to break off anything, as a defender was there to meet him every time. He threw 6/11 for 69 yards with his arm in the first half, and ran for -8 rushing yards on 11 attempts.
Offensively, Iowa maintained their momentum. Late in the first, after a strong punt return by Evan James, their fourth drive of the game started at their own 44. Hecklinski handed it off to Kamari Moulton, who took it up the middle and squeezed through a tight gap to get into open field for the first down and more. He shed a Husky defender and burst past the 40 toward the far sideline, before breaking down nearing the 20 and cutting back inside, causing two defenders to miss. He chugged the final 10 yards for a huge 56-yard touchdown run, giving Iowa a 13-0 lead. That would be Moulton and the team’s highlight of the night, as he finished with a career-best 208 yards on 26 carries, with Washington having no answer for the Hawkeyes’ rushing attack.
That spark carried into the second quarter, as on their next drive, Iowa drove down to the Husky 20-yard line. A third-and-1 came up, and Tim Lester called a perfectly executed play-action pass to free up a wide-open D.J. Vonnahme in the flat. He took the catch for a touchdown, but Lester wouldn’t stop there. On their next possession, Hecklinski faked an end around to Tony Diaz, catching Washington’s secondary off guard, resulting in two wide-open receivers. Hecklinski floated it to his earlier touchdown recipient, Vonnahme, for their second score of the night.
Washington finally put together a scoring drive at the end of the first half, though Iowa led 27-3. Demond Williams exited the game late in the second with a shoulder injury and didn’t return, as backup Elijah Brown finished the game at quarterback. With how much the offense revolves around Williams, their game plan and demeanor changed as a whole with Brown under center, and it resulted in more success. While the starters were out for a good deal of the latter half and a chunk of it was in garbage time, Brown looked like the better quarterback. He went 28/39 for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns.
While the Hawkeye defense bent, the offense made sure to never let it become a game. On their only drive of the third quarter, another play-action fake tricked the Huskies, as Hecklinski hit a wide-open Reece Vander Zee for the touchdown. Vander Zee was Iowa’s leading receiver with three catches for 69 yards, and Hecklinski’s third touchdown pass of the game. Kamari Moulton’s career night continued, as the next drive was capped off with his second touchdown run of the night, helping Iowa crack 40 points for the third time this season.
Over the rest of the fourth quarter, Hawkeye fans counted down the clock and finished the night with chants galore. After the Huskies scored a touchdown with no time left, it finished at 41-24 in what was the consensus best performance of the season thus far for Iowa. The run game coming back to life this game is exactly why this needs to be the standard going forward, showing how dangerous this team can be. But the defense needs its flowers too, especially for their first half. They caused relentless pressure all night, racking up six sacks against both QBs. The stat that sums up this game perfectly is the difference in team rushing yards. Iowa racked up 263, while Washington had -3.
This was the perfect rebound for Iowa, as they moved to 5-1 on the season. They now enter a bye week before they play against Minnesota on the road in two weeks in the 120th meeting between the two schools, and the Hawkeyes’ second trophy game. Looking at the halfway point of the season, Iowa is in a good spot, but some of their conference competition is looking to be more difficult than expected. Either way, morale and expectations are high right now, and a trip to the College Football Playoff is still very much in the cards.
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