No. 25 Hawkeyes Run Away From No. 19 Redbirds In Second Half, Win Opener 40-0

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 the try was no good as McNamara's pass to the endzone was batted down.
•    Iowa extended the 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 the Iowa 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 the score 33-0 in favor of the Hawkeyes.
•    Johnson was at it again with under six minutes to play, as he tiptoed inside the pilon for an 18-yard score to make the score 40-0 in favor of Iowa … that is where the score would say as the Hawkeyes picked up the win in the season opener at home over the Redbirds.

Game Notes:    
•    Senior captain Keondre Jackson led the way for the Redbird defense with 11 total tackles (7 solo) and was also credited with a pass breakup against the Hawkeyes. 
•    Defensive tackle Jake Anderson tied a career high with eight stops, while Lavoise-Deontae McCoy tallied seven tackles, with a tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.
•    Offensively, transfer Xavier Loyd led the way with four receptions for 53 yards, with a long grab of 37 yards from quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse … true freshman Dylan Lord hauled in three passes for 29 yards in his first collegiate start.
•    Running back Wenkers Wright carried the ball nine times for 36 yards to lead the way for the Redbirds.
•    Punter Hayden Futch was busy on the day, as he punted eight times for an average of 41.1 yards with a long of 51 and two punts inside the 20.

Next Up:
Illinois State continues its start to the season with another road trip next Saturday, as the Redbirds fly to Florence, Alabama, to square off against North Alabama with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.

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