By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – There is no such thing as a bad win, but Iowa’s 7-3 victory over FCS opponent South Dakota State was about as close as it gets.

The Iowa defense had its usual strong performance, holding the Jackrabbits to just 120 yards and recording two safeties, while junior punter Tory Taylor was sensational.

The Iowa offense, on the other hand, picked up where it left off last season by struggling in all areas, and that caused the boo birds to come out early at Kinnick Stadium.

Senior quarterback Spencer Petras only completed 11-of-25 passes for 109 yards and one interception, while the Iowa ground attack was held to just 57 yards on 36 attempts.

“I’ll just start out the first thing I reminded the team that we’re 1-0, so it’s good to get the win certainly,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. “It didn’t come easy. But just happy to get the win.

“I saw a lot of good things out there and a lot of things we have to get better at and work on.”

The hope was that the Iowa offense would show improvement from last season with Brian Ferentz now coaching the quarterbacks in addition to being the offensive coordinator.

But Saturday’s performance was just more of the same for an offense that finished last season ranked 121st nationally.

Receivers, the few that were healthy enough to play, struggled to get open, and when they were open, Petras often misfired.

Combine that with a sputtering running game and it was a recipe for disaster.

Taylor was without question Iowa’s most valuable player on Saturday, and that speaks volumes about the problems on offense, which was outscored 4-3 by the Iowa defense.

The Melbourne, Australia native punted 10 times for a 47.9 average.

Iowa’s average field position on offense was beyond its own 40-yard line, largely because of Taylor’s punting, and yet, the offense failed to capitalize on it.

Petras completed a 26-yard pass to sophomore receiver Arland Bruce giving Iowa a first down at its own 46 about midway through t third quarter.

But then Iowa was called for a false start on the next play and the drive ultimately stalled near midfield.

Taylor then pinned the Jackrabbits down at their own 1-yard line with yet another sensational punt.

The Iowa defense seized the opportunity as All-Big Ten senior ilnebacker Jack Campbell tackled South Dakota State running back Isaiah Davis in the end zone, giving Iowa a 5-3 lead with 4 minutes, 3 second left in the third quarter.

Bruce then made another impressive catch on Iowa’s next offensive series in the third quarter as Petras hit him in stride for a 27-yard gain to the Jackrabbit 37-yard line.

Bruce held on to the ball despite taking a vicious hit from free safety Cale Reeder, who was called for targeting on the play.

The penalty gave Iowa a first down at the Jackrabbit 22, and Reeder was also ejected from the game.

Bruce then gained 11 yards on a receiver sweep, but then Iowa running back Leshon Williams fumbled on the next play.

South Dakota State linebacker Adam Bock, who is from Solon, recovered the fumble at the Jackrabbit 7-yard line.

Iowa recorded its second safety when South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski was tackled in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

That expanded the lead to four points, which in this game, felt like 20 points.

Neither offense threatened to score again, however, as Iowa improved 20-4 in season openers under Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa was missing several key players on Saturday, including starting receivers Nico Ragaini and Keagan Johnson, and starting running back Gavin Williams.

But South Dakota State also was hit hard by injuries, including losing star tight end Tucker Kraft on its first offensive series due to an apparent leg injury.

Injuries were certainly a factor in the Iowa offense struggling, but Petras clearly has to perform better with Iowa State up next on the schedule this coming Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Petras was making his 20th career start on Saturday, and while his record as a starter improved to a respectable 14-6, the post-game narrative is that Iowa won despite its offense.

Iowa hired former Wisconsin quarterback Job Budmayr to help coach the quarterbacks, but his presence didn’t seem to help on Saturday.

“Obviously, we need to grow offensively and I think we will,” Petras said. “That wasn’t representative of our offense.”

Critics would counter that by saying Saturday’s game was representative of the  sputtering Iowa offense.

And that is reason to be concerned.

South Dakota State 0 3 0 0 – 3

Iowa 3 0 2 2 – 7

I – Alex Blom 46 FG

SDS – Hunter Dustman 44 FG

I – Safety, Isaiah Davis tackled in the end zone

I – Safety, Mark Gronowski tacked in end zone

Petras performed woefully in the first half, completing just 6-of-15 passes for 41 yards. He was also 0-for-6 on third-down plays, and he fumbled a snap.

You couldn’t have scripted a worse start for Petras, or for Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz.

Fans started booing in the second quarter and then really let Petras and the offense have it when Iowa went three-and-out on its first possession of the third quarter.