McLean County Times

IOWA CITY – It was a tight contest between No. 19 Illinois State and No. 25 Iowa on Saturday, with the host Hawkeyes holding a slight 6-0 lead at halftime. However, Iowa (1-0) pulled away in the second half and picked up a 40-0 win over the Redbirds (0-1) in the season opener at Kinnick Stadium.

How It Happened:

• The Hawkeyes took advantage of a Redbird turnover to put the first points of the game on the scoreboard, as the ISU defense held and forced Iowa to kick a 41-yard field goal which Drew Stevens booted through the uprights for a 3-0 lead with 5:35 left in the first quarter.

• With one minute left before halftime, the Hawkeyes extended their lead to 6-0 on a 28-yard field goal by Stevens, as the game headed into the locker room at the break.

• After receiving the kickoff to start the second half, Iowa drove 75 yards in seven plays and scored the game's first touchdown on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Cade McNamara to Reece Vander Zee to make the score 12-0 with 11:32 left to play in the third quarter. The Hawkeyes went for two, but McNamara's pass to the end zone was batted down.

• Iowa extended its lead to 19-0 on an Iowa 31-yard touchdown pass from McNamara to Jacob Gill with 7:46 remaining in remaining in the third quarter.

• On the first play of the fourth quarter, McNamara and Vander Zee connected for their second touchdown of the game as McNamara threw off his back foot and Vander Zee leaped up to haul in a 19-yard score which widened Iowa's advantage to 26-0 just six seconds into the final quarter of play.

• A 64-yard touchdown run by Kaleb Johnson with 11:09 left in the contest then made it 33-0 in favor of Iowa.

• Johnson scored again with under six minutes to play, tiptoeing inside for an 18-yard score that finalized Iowa's victory at 40-0.

Game Notes:

• Senior captain Keondre Jackson led Illinois State's defense with eleven total tackles (seven solo) and was credited with a pass breakup against Iowa.

• Defensive tackle Jake Anderson tied his career high with eight stops, while Lavoise-Deontae McCoy tallied seven tackles, including one tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.

• Offensively, transfer Xavier Loyd led Illinois State with four receptions for fifty-three yards, including a long grab of thirty-seven yards from quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse. True freshman Dylan Lord hauled in three passes for twenty-nine yards in his first collegiate start.

• Running back Wenkers Wright carried nine times for thirty-six yards leading Illinois State’s rushing efforts.

• Punter Hayden Futch punted eight times averaging forty-one point one yards per punt, including two punts inside twenty.

Next Up:

Illinois State continues its season next Saturday with another road trip to Florence, Alabama, where they will face North Alabama at six p.m.

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