By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – There was so much to like about the Iowa football team’s 37-0 beat-down at Wisconsin this past Saturday that it’s easy to overlook the roots to this thrashing, or in other words, the performance of the Iowa offensive line.

Because that’s where this win started.

Of course, having two defensive linemen intercept passes on two straight possessions in the first half certainly helped to propel Iowa to a much-needed win at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

But this win started with the Iowa offensive line asserting its will from the very first snap, and in a stadium where the home team usually has the best offensive line.

Iowa rushed 36 times for 210 yards, averaged 5.8 rushing yards per carry as a team and had four rushing touchdowns.

Wisconsin also rushed 36 times, but for just 127 yards and 3.5 yards per carry.

Following Saturday’s game, the Iowa football team’s X account posted a photo of Iowa’s five starting offensive linemen – right guard Kade Pieper, right tackle Gennings Dunker, center Logan Jones, left guard Beau Stephens and left tackle Trevor Lauck – all sitting side by side on the bench, each flashing a game-winning smile.

Wisconsin is obviously a team with multiple flaws and deficiencies, but opponents were only averaging 75.0 rushing yards per game against Badgers heading into the Iowa game.

There was certainly reason to believe that Iowa might struggle to stay ahead of the chains, at least until the game started.

Then it became obvious that the Badgers were no match for Iowa in the trenches.

The challenge now for the Iowa offensive line will be to sustain this level of play with a struggling Penn State squad up next Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium.

The Nittany Lions are the talk of college football right now, but for all the wrong reasons as an inexplicable three-game losing streak has led to the firing of head coach James Franklin on Sunday

Long-time Penn State assistant coach Terry Smith will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the season.

And though the Nittany Lions are struggling with consecutive losses to Oregon, UCLA an Northwestern, the Penn State roster still is loaded with talented players that might use this adversity as a rally cry.

And with stopping the run the best way to beat a Kirk Ferentz-coached Iowa team, the performance of the Iowa offensive line will go a long way in determining the winner on Saturday.

The Iowa offensive line has more than held its own this season, but it hasn’t always been spectacular as Iowa only rushed 92 yards in the 20-15 loss to Indiana on Sept. 27 at Kinnick Stadium and for 131 yards in the 16-13 loss at Iowa State in Week 2.

If Penn State were to hold Iowa to fewer than 100 rushing yards, which is not out of the question, then more pressure would be put on Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski to deliver as a passer.

The problem is that Iowa quarterbacks have had a history of under-performing when the running game isn’t staying ahead of the chains.

Gronowski also suffered a knee sprain in the fourth quarter against Indiana, so if ever there were a time for the running game to protect him, that time is now.

That challenge will fall mostly on an Iowa offensive line that includes three experienced veterans that have combined for 102 career starts in Jones (44), Dunker (31) and Stephens (27).

If the Wisconsin game was a sign of things to come from the Iowa offensive line, then this season still has a chance to maybe even be special, though it won’t be easy since Iowa already has two losses.

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Hidden gem from Florida: The more you watch Iowa true freshman running back Nathan McNeil, the more you wonder why he wasn’t more heavily recruited in high school.

The Tampa, Florida native said it’s because he didn’t have a very good junior season in high school and that’s one of the reason that he transferred to a different school for his senior year.

The decision to transfer would pay huge dividends as McNeil had a breakout season as a senior, and that eventually led to him getting a scholarship offer from Iowa.

The Iowa coaches apparently saw what other Power 4 coaches didn’t see in McNeil and now they’re being rewarded for their vision and instincts as McNeil continues to show huge potential.

He rushed for 40 yards against Wisconsin and 24 came on a run in which McNeil showed tremendous elusiveness and vision.

In fact, McNeil has been so impressive in limited duty that former Iowa offensive coordinator Don Patterson said recently that McNeil sort of reminds him of former Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon, which is the ultimate compliment.

Harmon was a star receiver-turned running back at Iowa from 1982 to 1985, and was known for his versatility and for his elusiveness.

He would go ono to be selected in the first round of the 1986 NFL draft and then played for 13 seasons in the NFL as a running back.

McNeil hadn’t heard of Harmon when told last week what Don Patterson had said about the comparison between McNeil and Harmon.

McNeil said he planned to do some research on Harmon.

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Welcome back: Sophomore receiver Reece Vander Zee saw his first action of the season against Wisconsin this past Saturday and showed why his presence on the field is so important to the Iowa offense.

Vander Zee finished with three catches for 29 yards, tying running back Kamari Moulton for team highs in both categories.

The 6-foot-3 Vander Zee, who missed the first five games due to a foot injury, gives Iowa a much-needed bigger receiving target. Three of his 14 catches last season resulted in touchdowns.