Lang
8/31/24
It took a full half, but the Hawkeye offense showed significant improvement in Tim Lester’s debut as offensive coordinator, as #25 Iowa defeated #19 FCS Illinois State 40-0 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
Iowa only led the Redbirds 6-0 at halftime on a pair of Drew Stevens field goals. But the Iowa offense woke up in the second half, as Cade McNamara led the Hawkeyes on a 75 yard opening drive, going 4-for-4 for 57 yards through the air including a seven-yard touchdown pass to freshman Reece Vander Zee, giving Iowa a 12-0 lead. A two-point conversion attempt was no good.
On the next drive, McNamara hit Jacob Gill with a 31-yard touchdown pass to give the Hawkeyes a 19-0 lead, and Iowa didn’t look back.
McNamara ended the day connecting on 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
Kaleb Johnson had 119 yards on the ground with two 4th quarter touchdowns, including a 64 yarder.
The Iowa defense forced three turnovers, including two fumble recoveries and an interception, and held Illinois State to 189 total yards in the shutout.
Up next Iowa hosts Iowa State next Saturday at 2:30 on CBS.