A win is a win no matter how ugly it is, right? That is the mantra they will tell you after Iowa downed South Dakota State, 7-3, in its season opener.
What, you wonder is, so strange about a team winning by this score in a game that offenses stumbled and bumbled and went absolutely nowhere?
Well, the way Iowa got to 7 points is the story.
How about a field goal in the first quarter and a safety in each of the third and fourth quarters?
I can’t find a two-safety, seven-point team score in CFB since at least 2000
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) September 3, 2022
How ugly was it? The teams combined for 288 total yards, or about what happens in one-quarter of a Big 12 game.
The quarterbacks were a combined 21-of-51 for a grand total of 196 yards. Oof.
Hunter Dustman of South Dakota State and Tory Taylor of Iowa combined for 21 punts that totaled 936 yards.
Incredibly, Dustman did not have a punt inside the Iowa 20 and the Hawkeyes still could not score on offense after the first quarter.