By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – From the opening kickoff of Saturday’s season opener against an overmatched Northern Illinois squad, it became abundantly clear that the Iowa football team would face little resistance on the field.

Hank Brown got the start at quarterback for Iowa and he certainly had his moments while passing for 129 yards and one touchdown in a 40-0 victory at Kinnick Stadium.

Jeremy Hecklinski also had his moments while rotating with Brown throughout the first half, completing 7-of-16 passes for 76 yards and one touchdown.

However, it could be argued that Brown from a performance standpoint had an edge over Hecklinski in Saturday’s game.

But will it be enough to name Brown the full-time starter?

Probably not.

Because given how close the competition has been throughout preseason practice, it seems unlikely that Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz would pick a starter after just one lopsided game in which Brown didn’t even play in the second half.

“I thought both quarterbacks were productive,” Kirk Ferentz said. “It was good first start for both of them. And whatever they had done prior to this really in my mind doesn’t count. Let’s all erase that from the memory bank. It’s what they’re going to do this season with our team.”

The fact that Brown didn’t play in the second half might be a good sign th, adn I thoight both of them did some good things.”

The fact that Brown didn’t play in the second half is probably a good sign at he will also start against Iowa State next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Hecklinski started the second half of Saturday’s game before being replaced by Jimmy Sullivan in the fourth quarter.

Hecklinski threw an interception in the end zone in the third quarter, which obviously didn’t help his cause. But the Wake Forest transfer also was hurt by several dropped passes.

Kirk Ferentz declined to answer when asked if either quarterback had gained an advantage moving forward. He also downplayed the decision to start Brown.

“First thing, I wouldn’t read into it too deeply,” Ferentz said. “But I think the one obvious answer there is we’ve been saying this for quite some time now that it’s back and forth. We haven’t been sitting on this for three weeks or something like that.

“It’s been really close, and I think it continues to be that way. So it’s good and it’s healthy. But you’ve got to pick somebody so that’s who we picked.”

Ferentz seems content with allowing the quarterback competition to continue, at least for another week.

“To me, it’s the only right thing to do,” Ferentz said. “When it becomes clear cut, then we’ll start; we’ve done that at most positions.”

Iowa led 20-0 after one quarter, 33-0 at halftime and had a 372-24 advantage in total yards in the first half.

Kirk Ferentz emptied his bench in the second half, and by the time the game ended, Kinnick Stadium was mostly empty as fans apparently wanted to beat the heat.

Wide receiver Tony Diaz, one of 16 players that Iowa added from the transfer portal, lived up to the hype that has surrounded him since the spring by catching seven passes for 84 yards.

Fellow receiver Evan James, another addition from the portal, also had a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Iowa finished the game with 507 yards, including 289 rushing yards, while holding the Huskies to just 120 yards.

Florida native Kamari Moulton led Iowa in rushing with a career-high 183 yards on just 11 carries. He was also the beneficiary of some huge holes to run through as the Iowa offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage.

Moulton paid tribute to his offensive line in the post-game press conference.

“The o-line was working for me today,” Moulton said. “They had a lot of grit. Today, it was a hot one out there, but those boys really showed up and let me be able to do what I can do.”

The competition at quarterback between Brown and Hecklinski has been the hot topic since practice started in August.

Hecklinski outperformed Brown in the Kids Day practice on Aug, 15, causing some to assume that Hecklinski would have the edge moving forward.

But that wasn’t the case as Kirk Ferentz said it was just one practice and that the competition still was too close to call.

Ferentz said whichever quarterback started Saturday’s game would be inconsequential because the competition was so close, and because somebody had to start.

Brown certainly didn’t hurt his cause with how he played in the first half on Saturday. The Auburn transfer didn’t commit any turnovers and he moved the offense with consistency, of course, with help from the running game.

It just felt as if Brown had the advantage when Saturday’s game ended.

Maybe not enough to make him the clear-cut starter, but enough to give Brown some momentum heading into the Iowa State game.

NI – 0 0 0 0 – 0

I 20 13 7 0 – 40

I – Tony Diaz 6 pass from Hank Brown (kick failed)

I – Kamari Moulton 50 run (Caden Buhr kick)

I – Moulton 37 run (Buhr kick)

I – Xavier Williams 8 pass from Jeremy Hecklinski (Buhr kick)

I – Buhr 45 FG

I – Buhr 34 FG

I – Evan James 77 punt return (Buhr kick)