Ranked third in the AP poll and sixth in the College Football Playoff race, the Ohio State Buckeyes came to Kinnick Stadium for the first time since 2010. Having won each of the last five games over Iowa and 13 of the last 14, they had to feel good about being a 20.5point favorite.

The final score? 55-24.

The winner? Not the Buckeyes.

Donning alternate uniforms for the blackout, the Hawkeyes played a complete game in every capacity – offense, defense, and special teams – as they not only knocked the Buckeyes down, but knocked them out cold.

From the game’s first play, you knew something was up. Amani Hooker picked off Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett and took it back 30 yard for a pick six.

Seven seconds gone. Seven Hawkeye points.

“It certainly helped and got our fans even more juiced up,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “They were ready to go.”

Barrett responded, and led the Buckeyes down the field on the next possession, hitting Terry McLaurin for a 29-yard touchdown pass.

The teams traded field goals and were tied at 10 after one quarter.

From that moment on, a switch was flipped, a switch nobody knew the Hawkeyes had.

Iowa outscored Ohio State 21-7 in the second quarter and took at 31-17 lead to the locker room. Nate Stanley through three touchdown passes in the quarter, one to T.J. Hockenson and two to Noah Fant.

The second pass to Fant came with less than a minute before halftime and was set up by an interception from Josh Jackson.

Ohio State, who boasts one of the most productive and efficient offenses in the country would get going though, right? Surely the second half would be better.

Not the case. In fact, it was worse.

“You’d better be playing with your foot on the gas because these guys can close the gap pretty quickly, and I think our players understood that,” Ferentz said. “It’s one of those things that if you’re not going full speed, this thing could change quick.”

The Buckeyes failed to score in the third quarter, as Barrett and the offense couldn’t crack the code that was the Iowa defense. Each team punted twice before the Hawkeyes marched into Buckeye territory half way through the period.

On fourth and three at the Ohio State 20, the Hawkeyes trotted out the field goal unit. With an audible, kicker Miguel Recinos was split out wide with the offensive line. Only long snapper Tyler Kluver and holder Colten Rastetter were left in the middle of the field.

Rastetter took the snap and immediate fired it right back to Kluver, who had raced straight up field past a defender. The “pole cat” play gained 18 yards and set up Iowa at the 2.

On the next play, Stanley found Hockenson in the end zone for six, pushing the lead to 38-17 with just under seven minutes to play in the quarter.

On the play, an Ohio State defender had fallen at Stanley’s feet and latched on to his left leg. Stanley settled, and fired across his body to Hockenson, showcasing the arm strength.

“That’s just part of being a quarterback, sometimes you have to make plays when they’re necessary,” Stanley said. “T.J. made a great adjustment. He saw it, he put his arm back inside, and I trusted that he would be able to wall off that defender and make a play.”

There was no looking back at that point. Iowa’s defense forced four Buckeye punts in the third quarter and allowed just 22 yards of offense.

The rout that nobody saw coming was on.

Showing no signs of letting up, the Hawkeyes scored on the first play of the fourth quarter. Stanley hit Drake Kulick with a two-yard pass for the fullback’s first career touchdown.

So Iowa. Five touchdown passes, four to tight ends, one to a fullback.

Stanley finished the day completing 20 of his 31 passes for 226 yards and five scores.

The Iowa defense was no kinder to the Buckeyes than the offense. Jackson intercepted Barrett twice more in the quarter. First Jackson ripped a ball away from Buckeye receiver Austin Mack, then with just under 10 minutes to play, Jackson made an acrobatic one-handed catch that you’ll be seeing on highlight reels for the rest of the season.

At the start of this week, Jackson was being talked about as a potential first round NFL draft pick. His performance against a stout Ohio State team may have solidified that. Jackson leads the FBS with 20 passes defended and leads the Big Ten with five interceptions.

Barrett entered the game with a 25-1 touchdown-interception ratio, the best in the nation. He was picked off four times Saturday.

Recinos added a field goal, and Toren Young scored his first career touchdown to put the finishing touches on the 55-24 blowout victory.

Ohio State did find the end zone once in the second half. Barrett found Johnnie Dixon for a 22-yard score that was set up by a failed fake punt run from Rastetter.

When it was all over, the swarm was on. Fans piled onto the new Kinnick turf for a party at the tigerhawk.

“Last time I experienced that was Michigan, it was a similar feeling,” Jackson said. “It’s always good to have those feelings for later on in life, that’s something I’ll probably always remember.”

More importantly, no gear was lost.

“I kept my helmet on and strapped it up super tight,” Stanley said.

In last season’s upset win over Michigan, Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard had his helmet stolen during the swarm. It was paraded downtown for pictures, a tradition that Stanley would not allow to continue this season.

To see Iowa play that well against Ohio State is nearly inconceivable. The Hawkeyes have been known to play well at Kinnick – they’ve won four of their last five home games versus top five teams – but blowing out Ohio State?

“I didn’t think it was going to be a blowout,” Hooker said. “We knew we could win, we just wanted to come out and fight.”

While the team knew they could compete and play well, even they didn’t think they would have such a dominating performance.

“I definitely thought it was going to be a close game not matter what, whether we won or lost,” Josey Jewell said.

The Hawkeyes outgained the Buckeyes 487-371, holding Ohio State 200.3 yards below its season average.

Fifty-five points is the most Iowa has ever scored against Ohio State, and the 31-point victory is largest margin for Iowa against Ohio State. It’s the most points Iowa has scored versus a ranked opponent since beating No.19 Texas 55-17 in the 1984 Freedom Bowl.

A night no one in Iowa City will soon forger further cements the legend that is Kinnick Stadium in October and November.

Do you have title hopes? Don’t bring them to Kinnick. They won’t make it out alive.

Iowa (6-3, 3-3) travels to Madison next week to take on a top-10 and undefeated Wisconsin (9-0, 6-0) team on ABC/ESPN.

The post Iowa Dominates No.3 Ohio State on Unforgettable Night appeared first on KRUI Radio.

There were many ideas and suggestions from all over the place. Could we see Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels on the field at the same time? Would Desmond King see the field on the offensive side of the ball (i.e. Jabrill Peppers at Michigan)? Could C.J. Beathard develop more chemistry with the wide receivers during the bye week?

All of the eyes were on the potential changes that offensive coordinator Greg Davis and company as Iowa stepped onto Beaver Stadium on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, the Hawkeye offense went from anemic to floundering like the catch of the day ready to be deep-fried.

There were subtle changes to the system. Daniels and Wadley did see the field together, and Wadley did score a touchdown late in the second quarter after lining up in the slot. As a whole, it was much of the same we have seen sans the Purdue game.

The 41-14 loss at Beaver Stadium all but makes Iowa path to a repeat B1G West title basically nonexistent as they still have showdowns with ranked Michigan and Nebraska teams on the horizon.

The offense managed a measly 234 yards of total offense compared to 599 total yards for the Nittany Lions.

Coach Kirk Ferentz called this loss and the season so far “unacceptable.”

Ferentz said in his opening statement that his team “capable of responding.”

“Where do you want to start?” he said after being asked to clarify.

There are a lot of different possibilities where one could start.

For a team that prides itself on running the ball effectively, Iowa had a total of 30 rushing yards on 26 carries. That is an average of 1.2 per carry. Let that sink in.

Quarterback C.J. Beathard said that the team had a good two weeks of practice and he felt the team was prepared for coming into a tough road environment.

“I just think we did not play as hard as were expecting,” Beathard said.

Things are going to have to get figured out in a hurry, as Iowa will have the tall task of trying to beat a Michigan Wolverine squad that is coming off a drubbing of Maryland and will be without a doubt the toughest opponent they have played all year.

Whether people have a glass half full or glass half empty philosophy, the only thing to do is move on, fix what you can control, and get ready for the next challenge that lies ahead.

Kickoff for the Hawkeyes and Wolverines will be at 7:00 P.M. from Kinnick Stadium next Saturday night.

The post Iowa Offense Goes From Bad To Worse appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills California is home of the annual Beef Bowl, a night of competition between the two Rose Bowl teams where the team that eats the most wins.

The Iowa Hawkeyes took the victory Monday night in the 60th Beef Bowl after eating over 600 lb of meat.

Webster City native, Boone Myers thinks he had a big part in downing 600 pounds of meat. “I ate two platefuls and then somepie,” said the 300 pound offensive lineman.

Myers roomed with 180 pound wide receiver Matt VandeBerg last year and the two developed a brother-like relationship. Brothers are nothing but trouble. Well.. that’s what I’ve been told.

VandeBerg dished out smack talk to Myers when he said, “He thinks he can eat a lot but I think I can go toe to toe.”

Myers was quick with his rebuttal stating, “He might think he can but he can’t.”

The confidence and cockiness against one another resembled the relationship of two brothers bickering. The two laughed at one another but each stood his ground.

Iowa Quarterback C.J. Beathard got his two cents in on the matter. “I’d take Boone for sure in that one,” said Beathard. After a chuckle he added, “I don’t really know what Meer(nickname for Matt VandeBerg) eats.”

“I had a pretty hefty piece of prime rib. It was delicious,”responded VandeBerg.

There were a number of other laughable moments over the course of the day including C.J. Beathard and his teammates taking curious pictures in front of a green screen.

For Iowa, media day provided the opportunity for outsiders to see the camaraderie and brotherhood of the hungry team. It’s safe to assume both Iowa and Stanford are enjoying their time in Los Angeles.

Both teams will enter Friday’s game with upmost confidence and will hope to take the cherry on top for the trip.

The post “Taste” of SoCal appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Unfortunately for the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-1), their road to a perfect season and a playoff berth came to a screeching halt courtesy of a 22 play, 82-yard touchdown drive punctuated by an L.J. Scott 1-yard touchdown run that took 9:04 off the clock and gave Michigan State (12-1) their second Big Ten championship in three years with a 16-13 win over the Hawkeyes.

The first saw early mistakes on both sides turned into points. On Iowa’s third play from scrimmage, a connection from quarterback C.J. Beathard to tight end Henry Kreiger Coble went from an eight yard completion to a fumble recovery by the Michigan State defense deep in Iowa territory. The Spartans turned that turnover into a 23-yard field goal from Michael Geiger to give Michigan State a 3-0 lead.

On Michigan State’s next possession, quarterback Connor Cook saw a pass go awry and Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell intercepted the senior quarterback deep in Michigan State territory. The Hawkeyes, like their counterparts, turned their turnover into a Marshall Koehn 24-yard field goal and a tie game after a quarter.

Iowa added another field goal from the Solon, IA, native in Koehn to give Iowa a 6-3 lead at recess.

The common themes for Iowa were missed opportunities in the red zone and settling for field goals, as well as poor success on third down conversions keeping the defense on the field for nearly eighty percent of the second half. Michigan State had possession of the football for nearly 23 of the 30 minutes in the second half, and they took full advantage of an exhausted Iowa defense down the stretch.

The one big play on offense from Iowa came on an 85-yard touchdown connection from C.J. Beathard to senior wide receiver Tevaun Smith 11 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Iowa back a lead they eventually relinquish at 13-9.

After the teams traded off punts, it was Michigan State’s drive that will live in infamy in East Lansing that ripped the hearts out of nearly 40,000 Hawkeye fans who made the trip and left to pick up the pieces after a heartbreaking defeat.

The drive ultimately gave the Spartans and head coach Mark Dantonio the conference championship they coveted, and the playoff spot that comes with it.

In Iowa’s case, there are multiple options as to where they be playing a bowl game in either late December or early January. It is likely to come down to either the Rose Bowl against Stanford, the Fiesta Bowl, or the Peach Bowl. We will know for sure later today when all the bowls will be announced to the public and the planning and preparation will begin in earnest for wherever Iowa will close out their outstanding season.

The post Iowa Falters Late in Close B1G Title Game appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowans second drive of the game, Beathard executed a play-action to perfection  finding George Kittle streaking behind the defenders towards the end zone for a 21 yard score, but Marshall Koehn missed the PAT.

The fighting Illini answer right back with a TD on the ensuing drive by Keshaun Vaughn to put them up 7-6.

About the next 15 minutes remained scoreless until Beathard found Jordan Canzeri on a screen pass to the left and with a row a blockers, he took it up the sideline for the 17 yard score. Putting the Hawks back on top 13-7.

Iowa added a late Field Goal to lead at half 16-7.

The Fighting Illini scored the first 6 points of the 2nd half on a pair of Field-Goals of 37 and 40 yards by Taylor Zalewski to pull within 3 at 16-13.

Momentum was swinging a bit in Illini favor as Iowa offense hadn’t been able to move much offensively after putting up 298 yards in the first half. The first play from the line of scrimmage for Iowa after Illinois 2nd Field-Goal, C.J. Beathard audibled into a HB counter for Canzeri with a pulling Right Guard. Canzeri found a nice cutback lane and found a couple extra gears going untouched on his way to the 75 yard Touchdown. To increase Iowa’s lead 23-13 Ferentz said ” CJ has his head in the game, doing well physically but really doing a good job mentality too.  He gives us another option with great communication with the staff.”

To read more on Jordan Canzeri’s career day, check out an article by my colleague Dylan Anderson, http://krui.fm/2015/10/10/canzeris-record-breaking-performance-propels-iowa-to-victory/

Another player that stepped up today was true Freshman Jerminic Smith who caught his first pass as a Hawkeye and really seemed to be on the same page with Beathard, easily breaking free from defenders. He also  made a couple nice blocks on runs by Canzeri, which Ferentz pointed out in his post game report.

The Fighting Illini ran multiple tricks plays with a couple flea flickers which had been marginally successful. It was a 3rd and 1 for them at Iowa’s 40 to start the fourth quarter, they took a chance and tried a reverse pass with their best player Wide Receiver  Geronimo Allison and the Hawks defense wasn’t fooled, Allison throwing it right to Greg Maybin who easily intercepted it.

Illinois did add a touchdown on their next possession to cut the deficit 23-20 but that’s as close as it would get as Iowa added two more Field-Goals by Koehn to seal the game 29-20.

Enough can’t be said about Iowa’s 4th quarter defense after last week in Wisconsin and then this week forcing 3 turnovers( 1 on downs) in 4 possessions.

Stars of the game

-Jordan Canzeri 43 rushing attempts 256 yards with a receiving and rushing TD

-C.J. Beathard 15-31 200 yards 2 TDs to go with 33 rushing yards

-Josey Jewell lead the way with 12 tackles and 1 huge fumble recovery on defense

Jerminic Smith had 4 receptions for 118 yards.

Injury Report

The victory was somewhat dampened by the news that broke about Senior DT Drew Ott tearing his ACL in his right knee on a punt rush, but Ott will continue to be a leader on the sidelines like he did after coming out on crutches.

HB Leshun Daniels is still “treading water” but is starting to climb the latter to his return, same thing with  OL Brandon Myers

OL Jordan Walsh hurt his shoulder in the first half but returned in the 2nd half.

Tevaun Smith didn’t play today, doubt he’ll be back before the bye week Oct. 24th.

Tune in next week as Iowa travels to Northwestern right here on KRUI 89.7 FM at 11 AM!

The post Defense bends but does not break, as Hawks win 29-20 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Canzeri carried the ball a school record 43 times for 256 yards and a touchdown. The previous school record for carries in a game was 42, which was set by Sedrick Shaw against Michigan State on October 7, 1995. The 256 rushing yards are the third most in program history. The all time single game rushing record was set by Tavian Banks when he rushed for 314 yards against Tulsa on September 13, 1997.

He was also the only running back to take a handoff from quarterback C.J. Beathard. LeShun Daniels was held out of the game due to his lingering injury issues.

“You never really know what you’re capable of until you push through the barriers that you have set up for yourself,” Canzeri said after the game.

The biggest play of the game from Iowa came on Canzeri’s 75-yard touchdown run where he went untouched into the end zone and gave Iowa a lead they would not relinquish. That was Iowa’s longest run for a touchdown since Shonn Greene achieved the same feat back in 2008 against Purdue.

The Troy, NY, native has had numerous injury issues over his time in Iowa City, but this season he has put everything together.

He now has 697 rushing yards through six games, and he is well on his way to becoming Iowa’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Marcus Coker in 2011.

Canzeri’s teammates were amazed at the record-breaking performance.

“He does the little things right, and he’s one of the hardest workers on our team,” tight end George Kittle said.

“As offensive linemen, that is what we talk about paving the way for our running backs,” center Austin Blythe said in regards to Canzeri’s performance.

Perhaps the most important drive of the game for Iowa came in the fourth quarter was after Illinois scored a touchdown to get themselves within three points of the Hawkeyes. Iowa gave him the ball on the first twelve plays of the drive and melting almost four minutes off the clock.

“I knew my team needed me and I was tired, but I knew I needed to step up and finish strong and hold onto the ball,” Canzeri said.

Coach Kirk Ferentz was not concerned with the number of reps Canzeri was getting throughout the afternoon.

“We all saw something special with Jordan,” Ferentz said after the game.

“There was no pitch count. In a game like this, you have to roll with your best players. We had to,” Ferentz added.

Iowa cannot expect to have Canzeri carry the ball 43 times a game the rest of the way and stay fresh, but for today it worked.

The Hawkeyes will face a tougher test next Saturday when they travel to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats. Kickoff is set for just after 11:00 A.M. from Ryan Field in Evanston.

The post Canzeri’s Record Breaking Performance Propels Iowa to Victory appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The defense was the bread and butter for the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes forced four turnovers while allowing just 86 rushing yards and only 6 points to Badgers.

Wisconsin appeared to have the early momentum as they scored on their first series of the game. Wisconsin took just over five minutes to drive 56 yards and convert a 46-yard field goal. Iowa had a chance to tie the game at the end of the first quarter but turned the ball over when they elected to go for it on a 4^th and 2 on the Wisconsin eight yard-line.

The Hawkeyes dominated the second quarter of the game. Iowa forced Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave to turn the ball over twice. One came on an wild throw that led to a Desmond King interception and the Ottmonster (Drew Ott), forced a fumble that led to an Iowa recovery.

Iowa took advantage of the field position after the turnovers. C.J. Beathard threw a 1-yard touchdown to George Kittle for the Hawkeye’s first score of the game.

Iowa tacked on 3 more points after the fumble recovery with a 33-yard field goal from Marshall Koehn.

Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri helped take advantage of the turnovers by rushing the Haweyes down the field. He was held to just 15 yard in the first quarter, but tacked on 64 rushing yards. The Hawkeyes ended the half with a 10-3 lead.

When asked about Canzeri, wide receiver Matt VandeBerg said, “He’s a patient runner. He’s big time.”

Canzeri finished the day with 125 rushing yards on 26 carries and one reception for 14 yards.

Wisconsin regained momentum in the third after putting pressure on C.J. Beathard that resulted in an interception. The Badgers managed to get themselves in field goal range where Rafael Gaglianone converted his second 46-yard field goal of the day making cutting the Iowa lead down to 10-6.

The fourth quarter was sloppy on both sides. Each team turned the ball over including a devastating fumble on an exchange by Wisconsin at the Iowa 1-yard line. Iowa managed to stop the Badgers on a 4^th and 2 with 40 seconds remaining. The final score was 10-6 with Iowa on top.

C.J. Beathard was never able to get the offense rolling. He was without offense tackle Boone Myers and top receiver TeVaun Smith, both of which watched the game back in Iowa City due to injury.

Beathard backed the offensive replacements after the game saying, “I trust those guys to step up. I overthrew a few balls today that I need to hit.”

When asked about the two stars not traveling with the team, light-hearted Kirk Ferenz said, “Not big on traveling cheerleaders. We already got a group of those.”

It was a milestone victory for Kirk Ferentz. It was his 120^th win as a member of the Big Ten Conference, passing Wisconsin great Barry Alvarez (119) for ninth in conference history.

The victory also brings the Heartland trophy back to Iowa City, the Hawkeye’s second trophy win of the season.

The Hawkeyes (5-0) return to Kinnick Stadium next Saturday to take on the Fighting Illini (4-1). Kickoff is set for 11:00 A.M. Both teams are coming off big wins. Catch the coverage here at KRUI next Saturday at 10:45.

The post Iowa Survives a Trip to Camp Randall appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa’s first drive was three and out and Pittsburgh took over deep in their own territory and on a 1st and 10, Desmond King made an excellent stretching interception to give Iowa great field position.

Iowa with the short field position had a Field-Goal to give them the early 3-0 lead. Pittsburgh drove into the Red-zone on their next possession but Desmond King was there again to intercept in the End-zone giving him his 2nd INT of the quarter.

A few drives later after a 51 yard completion to Tevaun Smith, C.,J. Beathard scrambled for a 9 yard Touchdown to make it 10-0.

On the next drive Beathard threw a interception at Iowa’s 33 yard line which lead to a 1 play Play-action pass touchdown for Pitt to make it 10-7.

On Iowa’s last drive of the half Jordan Canzeri scored on a 4-yard Touchdown to make it 17-7 at the half. Iowa wasn’t able to do much rushing the ball in the first half but that didn’t faze the offense.

Pitt came out in the third quarter with guns firing, getting a field-goal and then blocking a punt for a Touchdown to tie the game at 17 just like that. Special Teams have been an issue from time to time for Iowa.

Iowa scored a go ahead Touchdown on a 1-yard run by Canzeri to make it 24-17 with 6 minutes left. Pitt answered back to tie it on a pass to Tyler Boyd to tie it at 24 with just under 1 minute left.

There was some question whether Iowa would just play for overtime like they have in the past but the decision worked great! Iowa started with the ball at their own 30. A couple scrambles by Beathard and a pass to the tight end Coble for 4 yards, Marshall Koehn was given a shot at a 57-yard field-goal. Pitt called a timeout to attempt to ice him but it didn’t work. As Koehn nailed the field-goal, the celebration began!

The offensive star of the game goes to C.J. Beathard although he threw his first INT of the year, a near flawless performance.

The defensive star of the game goes to Desmond King with the 2 INT’s.

Stats–

Offense-

C.J. Beathard 27-40 with 258 passing yards, 1 INT, and adding 50 yards and a TD on the ground

Jordan Canzeri added 49 yards on the ground with 2 TD’s

Tevaun Smith lead the receivers with 73 yards on 3 catches

Tyler Boyd lead the way for Pittsburgh with 10 catches for 131 yards and a Touchdown

Defense–

Desmond King had 8 tackles and two huge INT’s in the first quarter

Cole Fisher  lead the team in tackles with 12, followed by Jordan Lomax with 11.

Be sure to tune in next Saturday as Iowa takes on North Texas lead by former Iowa State rival coach Dan McCarney at 2:30 PM, here on KRUI 89.7 FM

Related articles

• Office and residence of U-I president getting an upgrade

The post Koehn is King, Iowa wins 27-24 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa scored on their first possession capped off with a 6-yard run by quarterback C.J. Beathard. The plan early was obvious. Get the ground game with Leshun Daniels  and pass as needed to keep the ball moving.

In that first touchdown drive, Iowa went for it on 4th and 2 deep in enemy territory and converted on a pass to Tevaun Smith, their clear cut go to receiver. Ferentz said after the game, ” We’ve developed a comfort level with fourth downs going back to last season.”  Expect to see chances taken again often in 4th and short situations.

After a punt, Iowa put together their best drive of the day marching 99 yards, set up nicely with a couple of medium passes for roughly 20 yards a piece. Jordan Canzeri caught a pass out of the backfield, with blocking and speed turned it into a 21 yard gain. Canzeri then scored later in the drive on a 5 yard run to make it 14-0.

The favorite play for the fans  was a fake field goal run by the kicker Marshall Koehn, he ended up coming two yards short of the first down, giving the ball back to Illinois State. That play while unsuccessful, created a lot of buzz in Kinnick and on the Hawkeyes sideline.

Iowa added a late field goal to lead 17-0 at the half.

The first three possessions resulted in punts for both sides. Playing the field position game, Iowa started their next touchdown drive at Illinois State 43 yard line. This was another balanced attack between run and pass while converting on another 4th down to keep the drive alive. Beathard found Matt Vandeburg on a bubble screen who dove into the end-zone for a 9 yard touchdown making it 24-0.

Iowa scored  again on the following possession, primarily running the ball with LeShun Daniels. That drive was capped off with Beathard’s 2nd rushing touchdown of the day from 1 yard out to make it 31-0.

The 2nd string was brought in mid-way through the 4th quarter and gave up two touchdowns to make the final score 31-14.

I really didn’t real speak much about the Hawkeyes defense but it was outstanding creating pressure on the quarterback all day, recording 5 sacks and even blocking a field goal attempt. The defensive stars of the game were Cole Fisher with 8 total tackles, Nate Meier 6 total tackles with one sack, and Drew Ott with a couple of sacks.

The offensive stars of the game were: Beathard with 211 passing yards and 3 total touchdowns (1 passing, 2 running), LeShun Daniels being the workhorse carrying 26 times for 124 yards, Jordan Canzeri  who had 118 total yards, and Matt Vandeburg who had 59 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Game notes

Drew Ott suffered a bloody nose but did return with no issues

Jay Scheel and Derrick Mitchell are still recovering from their injuries but expect them back soon

The post Hawks speed by Redbirds 31-14 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

With 1:44 left in the first quarter, Dillon Kidd shanked a punt that set Tennessee up on the Iowa 49 yard line. On the ensuing play, Marlin Lane found Vic Wharton on a trick play that put Tennessee up 21-0 and the Volunteers never looked back en route to a blowout much bigger than the scoreboard indicated.

Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz stated in the weeks leading up to the game that both Jake Rudock and C.J. Beathard would see game time in the first half and that promise was delivered. The two quarterbacks alternated series in the first half and each saw time in the second half.

“I think they both did some good things,” Ferentz said. “They both had some down play, too. The way the game got away early, it’s tough to evaluate anything in a real great fashion.”

Iowa finished the first half with the quarterbacks going a combined 6-15. Left tackle Brandon Scherff stated that the back and forth at the position seemed to give the team an advantage.

“C.J. is more of a runner and he is not afraid to sling the ball, so they had to prepare for that as well.” Scherff said.

Tennessee’s offense completely stymied the Hawkeye defense as Jalen Hurd rushed for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns and quarterback Joshua Dobbs ended his night with 129 passing yards and a touchdown. He also added 84 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Tennessee scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions.

“We weren’t wrapping up like usual but [give] credit to them, they broke the tackles,” linebacker Josey Jewell said. “We knew they were going to be fast. [We] need to be able to fill holes and pursue the ball better.”

Jewell was named Iowa’s MVP for the game after amassing seven solo tackles and 10.5 total tackles.

One of the surprising positives for the Hawkeyes was the 122-yard evening for running back Jordan Canzeri. After the game, Canzeri admitted he still wasn’t 100 percent healthy in this game but will work to get there.

“I made the statement that he hasn’t really been right this whole season dating back to August,” Ferentz said. “It was a positive he ran as well as he did. We’ve got to keep him healthy and moving

him forward.”

Receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley came into the game three receptions short of breaking Derrell Johnson-Koulianos’s career reception record. He got  all that he needed in order to establish the new record of 174.

“When we got down by so much, I thought about the positive that could come from it,” Martin-Manley said. “I was just fortunate, but it was a long time coming. All the games before [led to this]. I am very happy I was able to accomplish this.”

For Iowa, this loss is the culmination of what should be deemed a failed season. Iowa started the season with talks of an easy schedule and a potential berth in the Big Ten Championship game. After dropping four of its final five games, there are a lot of questions to answer before Iowa hosts the Illinois State Redbirds on September 5.

The post Iowa Falls to Tennessee to end forgettable 2014 appeared first on KRUI Radio.