Iowa defense grabs the spotlight in season-opening victory over Wyoming
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – All eyes were focused on the new-look Iowa offense on Saturday and Nathan Stanley and his cohorts had their moments against Wyoming.
But it was the Josey Jewell-led Iowa defense that seized the spotlight and paved the way for a 24-3 victory in the season opener at Kinnick Stadium.
Iowa held Wyoming star quarterback Josh Allen to 174 passing yards, intercepted him twice and also sacked him three times.
The Cowboys weren't any better on the ground where they gained just 59 yards on 30 rushing attempts.
The Iowa offense, on the other hand, did just enough to prevail as Kirk Ferentz improved to 16-3 in season openers as the Iowa head coach.
Sophomore Nate Stanley threw three touchdown passes, but he also lost two fumbles and threw an interception in his first start for the Hawkeyes.
"I think I'm kind of a perfectionist, so I'm a little upset with what went on with ball security," Stanley said. "But my teammates did a great job of picking me up."
.Sophomore tight end Noah Fant caught two of Stanley's touchdown passes, while junior college tranfer Nick Easley caught the other.
Senior Akrum Wadley led Iowa's ground attack with 116 yards on 24 carries, while graduate transfer James Butler contributed 47 rushing yards.
Leading 14-3 at halftime, Iowa forced Wyoming to punt on its first two possessions of the third quarter.
Iowa took over at its own 24-yard line after Wyoming’s second punt and the Hawkeyes then marched 76 yards on four plays for touchdown that came on a 45-yard pass from Stanley to Easley with 5 minutes,:34 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Hawekyes expanded the lead to 24-3 on a 44-yard field goal by Miguel Recinos with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter.
Iowa was held without a first down until Butler had a 10-yard run with 3:50 left in the first quarter. He followed that with a seven-yard run, and then Stanley gained four yards on a scramble, with 10 more yards tagged on to the play after Wyoming was called for defensive holding.
However, the drive ended when Iowa freshman receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette fumbled on a reverse late in the first quarter. Wyoming recovered at its own 33-yard line and then drove into Iowa territory.
But the Iowa defense stiffened and the Cowboys settled for a 49-yard field goal by Cooper Rothe with 11:21 left in the second quarter.
Wyoming in addition to leading 3-0 also had sucked the life out of Kinnick Stadium early in the first half.
Fans were waiting for Brian Ferentz and the Iowa offense to deliver and it finally happened when Stanley completed a two-yard touchdown pass to Fant with 5:07 left in the second quarter.
The Iowa offensive line, which played without starting center James Daniels because of an injury, finally started to get a surge late in the second quarter, and with that came a shift in momentum.
Wyoming also self-destructed late in the second quarter as punter Tim Zaleski whiffed on an attempt.
Iowa took over at the Wyoming 33-yard line with 27 seconds left in the second quarter. The Cowboys were penalized five yards for being offsides and Iowa made them pay as Stanley hit Fant over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown on the next play.
Fant slipped past his defender and then Stanley hit him in stride with a perfectly thrown pass with 22 seconds left befoe halftime.
After misfiring on his first four passes, Stanley completed his next four passes in a row, including two for touchdowns.
The best thing Stanley had going for him in the first half was the Iowa defense, which held Wyoming to just 79 yards in the first two quarters.
Iowa's three senior starting linebackers combined for 38 tackles, led by Josey Jewell with 14 stops.
Allen completed all but three of his 14 pass attempts in the first half, but it only produced 66 yards. He also spent much of the first half trying to avoid Iowa’s pressure.