By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa –  Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson had a spectacular performance against Iowa State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, but he sure could have used some help, especially from his quarterback.

Iowa became one-dimensional in the second half and that allowed Iowa State to chip away at a 13-0 halftime deficit before ultimately prevailing 20-19 on a 54-yard field goal by freshman kicker Kyle Konrardy with one second remaining.

Johnson shredded the Cyclones for 187 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara only threw for 19 yards in the second half, including just six yards in the third quarter on one completion.

Iowa only had one completion that gained more than 11 yards, and that was a 21-yard pass to Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill in the first quarter.

Iowa star tight end Luke Lachey was also held without a reception in the game as the Iowa passing attack took a huge step in the wrong direction after having produced three touchdown passes by McNamara in the 40-0 victory over Illinois State in the season opener.

The Iowa receivers struggled to get open against the Cyclones, especially in the red zone, and the few times when they were open, McNamara usually missed his target.

It was very similar to last season when the Iowa passing attack struggled under former offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz.

“I felt like I could have done more to put our team in a better position today,” McNamara said.

Tim Lester was hired to fix the offense, and against Illinois State, the offense looked much better than it did a year ago.

But Illinois State was also a heavy underdog as an overmatched FCS team, while Iowa State from the Big 12 Conference was only a 3-point underdog heading into Saturday’s game.

And now we know why the oddsmakers felt that way about the resilient Cyclones.

They could’ve easily wilted under the pressure after trailing 13-0 at halftime, but they just kept chipping away at the deficit, while McNamara and the Iowa passing game just kept sputtering.

Iowa’s offense was basically Kaleb Johnson or bust in the third and fourth quarters, and that eventually proved costly.

“It’s a team sport, so it’s not just me,” Kaleb Johnson said. “Everybody is frustrated, and everybody is hurt by this.”

Iowa State defeated Iowa for just the second time in the last nine games.

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell also improved his record to 2-6 against Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.

The Iowa defense played up to its high standard in the first half, but it was also burned by a 75-yard scoring strike from Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht to receiver Jaylin Noel in the third quarter.

Becht completed 23-of-35 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns and finished with a 144.1 quarterback rating, while McNamara only completed four of his last 20 passes and finished with a 59.7 quarterback rating.

Kirk Ferentz was asked after the game about the status at quarterback and where McNamara stands in his competition with Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan.

“We expect him to be our quarterback,” Kirk Ferentz said of McNamara, who is recovering from his second straight season-ending knee injury. “We expect some ups and downs.

“I’ve been saying it pretty consistently. He’s still working his way back into shape as is our whole team.”

McNamara transferred to Iowa from Michigan late in 2022.

The Reno, Nevada native led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title, but then he lost the starting position to J.J. McCarthy early in the 2022 season before suffering the first of two season-ending knee injuries.

Saturday’s game marked just the third time in the last 75 games that Iowa lost after leading by at least eight points.

Iowa, with 196 yards, nearly doubled Iowa State in total yards in the first half, while Johnson had more rushing yards (105) than Iowa State had total yards (101) in the first two quarters.

The Hawkeyes took a 13-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Drew Stevens with 13:38 left in the second quarter.

It felt as if Tim Lester’s offense was in control, but then Iowa State started to stiffen on defense, holding Iowa to just three points for the rest of the second quarter on a 21-yard field goal by Stevens.

Iowa State committed five penalties in the first half, only rushed for 34 yards in the first half and ran just two plays in Iowa territory in the first half, and still only trailed by 13 points heading to the third quarter.

Iowa had the ball inside the Iowa State 5-yard line twice in the first half, but each time failed to score a touchdown.

“Missed opportunities came back and got us a little bit,” Kirk Ferentz said.

Iowa could have taken a 20-7 lead after Johnson had scored on a three-yard run with 4:47 left in the third quarter.

However, Kirk Ferentz chose to go for two points, but McNamara’s pass fell incomplete.

That one point would prove very costly in the end.

“I thought it gave us our best chance to win the football game,” Kirk Ferentz said. “To me, the bigger issue is us at least not getting one touchdown on those two field-goal opportunities when we had the ball down inside real close.

“Obviously, that’s an area we have to improve on.”

 

Iowa State 0 0 14 6 – 20

Iowa State 7 6 6 0 – 19

I – Kaleb Johnson 27 run (Drew Stevens kick)

I – Drew Stevens 23 FG

I – Stevens 21 FG

IS – Jayden Higgins 3 pass from Rocco Becht (Kyle Konrardy kick)

I – Kaleb Johnson 3 run (pass failed)

IS – Jaylin Noel 75 pass from Becht (Konrardy kick)

IS – Konrardy 46 FG

IS – Konrardy 54 FG