Tag: Hawkeyes Football

Best photos of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ road win over the Maryland Terrapins

Iowa found the road recipe.

The Iowa Hawkeyes finally found their recipe for the road and saw success in a 29-13 road win over the Maryland Terrapins that was in typical Iowa fashion.

With Jackson Stratton under center, Iowa committed to running the ball and did so the entire day with great success. Iowa and the offensive line paved the way to 268 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.

Kaleb Johnson was a workhorse carrying the rock 35 times for 164 yards and a score while Kamari Moulton added 114 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Drew Stevens tied the Iowa single-game field goal record converting all five of his field goal attempts in one of, if not the best game of his career.

Defensively, Iowa held Maryland to just 227 yards of offense and forced two turnovers. Phil Parker’s unit was stifling and stood up on a day they knew they needed to be at their best.

As Iowa moves to 7-4 overall heading into their season finale against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, take a look at the best photos from their road win over Maryland.

Kirk Ferentz comments on Iowa’s big bounce back since Michigan State loss

Iowa has bounced back in a big way since its loss at Michigan State.

During his Tuesday media availability, Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke on the many lessons the team has learned since their Week 8 32-20 loss vs. Michigan State from East Lansing, Michigan.

Ferentz mentioned that losses like the one against the Spartans are all about learning and becoming a better team as a whole through exploited flaws.

“Yeah, it’s all about learning, and every season — every moment teaches you something typically,” Ferentz said. “The bottom line is the week wasn’t good enough prior to Michigan State in retrospect, and certainly what we did in that game — you’re not going to win a lot of Big Ten games playing the way we played. It is what it is. We own that film. Your film is your resume.”

For the Hawkeyes, the 39 missed tackles were a major factor in the Spartans’ ability to accrue 468 yards of offense against a typically sound Iowa defense.

Dale Young-Imagn Images

Ferentz continued by stating the loss to Michigan State allowed the team to ‘look at the mirror’ and praised his group for responding positively the following week.

“The question is was that one of those nights, was that one of those learning experiences, or is it going to be a tendency or a trend. Everybody has got a choice there,” Ferentz said.

“I give our guys credit. They got back on their feet. I think we were better focused and came up with a win the next week and then came back to work following that and had the right focus and moved forward.”

Ferentz finished by explaining that every season is different and team success is ultimately determined by how players can persevere through the ups and downs of a season.

“But the season is full of twists and turns,” Ferentz added. “I say it every year; you just never know what they’re going to be or when they’re going to happen. It’s really a matter of how can you navigate through the ups and the downs. The downs are hard, but it’s part of what we do, so you’ve got to be able to deal with it.”

Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) will look to maintain its momentum on Friday when the team travels to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, to take on UCLA (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten). Game time is set for 8:05 p.m. CT and will air on Fox.

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Best photos from the Iowa Hawkeyes’ win over the Wisconsin Badgers

Iowa ran all over Wisconsin on the way to a 42-10 win. Here are the best photos from the Hawkeyes’ dominant performance.

Unlike other years, this year’s rivalry matchup for the Heartland Trophy did not come down to the fourth quarter or stay tight throughout.

The Iowa Hawkeyes got up early in this one and never looked back on their way to a 42-10 victory that was fueled by a ground game that was unstoppable no matter who was carrying the ball.

Kaleb Johnson scored three more touchdowns to go with 135 yards. Brendan Sullivan, Kamari Moulton, and Jaziun Patterson all ran for at least 50 yards. Zach Ortweth added 66 receiving yards in his first action starting as he showed he is ready to be Iowa’s next great tight end.

The defense saw Nick Jackson and Deshaun Lee reel in impressive interceptions while the rest of the defense limited Wisconsin to just 10 points and only 261 total yards of offense.

With the win, Iowa moves to 6-3 (4-2 Big Ten) and is preparing to head out west to take on the UCLA Bruins. In the meantime, take a look at some of the best photos from the Hawkeyes’ Heartland Trophy win.

Kickoff time announced for Iowa football vs. Wisconsin Badgers

Kickoff time has been announced for the Big Ten showdown and rivalry matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Wisconsin Badgers.

While the dominant win over the Northwestern Wildcats was fun and a strong second half for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the page quickly turns to a more formidable opponent in a rivalry matchup.

Next for the Iowa Hawkeyes is another Big Ten showdown in Kinnick Stadium. This time they usher in a big rival, the Wisconsin Badgers as the two teams square off for the Heartland Trophy.

The game is also getting the prime-time treatment. Soon after this week’s games ended, kickoff was announced, and the Badgers and Hawkeyes will play at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC.

Iowa is sitting at 5-3 (3-2 Big Ten) after their win over Northwestern. Wisconsin matches the Hawkeyes in both records as they are 5-3 overall with a 3-2 mark in Big Ten play following the most recent loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

These two teams last met for the Heartland on October 14, 2023, when Iowa won a slugfest in Madison, Wisconsin 15-6. That followed another Hawkeyes’ win in 2022 when Iowa won 24-10 in Iowa, City.

Wisconsin leads the all-time series 49-46-2. Since 2000, Wisconsin holds a 12-10 advantage. Looking at just the last decade, the Badgers still hold an advantage of six wins to Iowa’s four.

With this game set for prime time under the lights, the rivalry and added atmosphere is sure to deliver in another Big Ten showdown featuring the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Iowa Hawkeyes crack Joel Klatt’s post-spring college football top 25 rankings

Joel Klatt has the Iowa Hawkeyes just inside his post-spring college football top 25.

Coming off of one of the most curious 10-win seasons in recent memory, the Iowa Hawkeyes certainly have some questions ahead of this fall. Just how good can this team be? Can they get to double-digit wins for the fourth time in six seasons?

The questions swirl around this team’s offense. It has to improve to be a true threat in the Big Ten, especially with the changing landscape of four newcomers in Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA.

Despite the questions, Iowa is finding themselves floating around the cut line of top 25 rankings rankings across many outlets. Some have them just in, others have them on the outside looking in. Joel Klatt, Fox Sports’ college football analyst, slots the Hawkeyes just inside at No. 24 in his post-spring college football top 25 rankings.

Klatt’s rankings give the Big Ten seven teams in his top 25 starting with the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 1. Following them, Klatt slots Oregon at No. 4, Michigan at No. 8, Penn State at No. 9, USC at No. 15, and Nebraska leapfrogs Iowa to slide in at No. 22.

The path for Iowa to climb the rankings is there. In what appears to be another favorable schedule on paper, the Hawkeyes have just two matchups with teams in Klatt’s rankings. Those are the date at Ohio State in Week 6 and the season finale hosting Nebraska.

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Iowa Football has something better than the transfer portal

Iowa football has not been very active in the transfer portal this year. But make no mistake, the Hawkeyes are making some serious moves.

The transfer portal has been bonkers this offseason, not that it should be a surprise. We saw last year a massive influx of players trying their hand at the portal, searching for greener pastures.

It wasn’t just intriguing bench players looking for a starting spot, or aging players looking to keep playing the sport they love at another school. Over the past two years, we’ve seen real, legitimate, top-tier talent entering the transfer portal in almost a new-age version of free agency for college football. This is just how it is now.

A criticism levied on the Hawkeyes entering the 2022 season was just straight up not using the transfer portal. While they saw players such as Charlie Jones and Tyrone Tracey departing, they only opted to bring in a veteran backup tight end. Shoutout to Steven Stillianos for stepping up when he was needed thoughout this year.

In 2023, Iowa took a much different approach and everyone loved it. They brought in a new quarterback, a highly-rated wide receiver, and a starting-caliber linebacker amongst other additions. They brought in eight players in total, all of whom played a role in this past season for the Hawkeyes.

Now, entering the nitty-gritty of this offseason, Iowa has not added a single player through the portal. At first glance, you might think this reverting back to old ways would be cause for complaints by the Hawkeyes fan base. But, in truth, Iowa’s lack of activity this offseason makes a ton of sense.

This offseason they’ve had a much bigger plan, utilizing a talent pool superior to what they can bring in. The focus has been on retaining the top-notch talent that they already possess coming off a 10-win campaign. The results have been extremely fruitful so far.

Kirk Ferentz received a monumental bit of news on Friday when starting tight end Luke Lachey committed to another year in black and gold. Despite missing most of the season due to a right ankle injury that required surgery, everyone knew just how talented Lachey was. He was the lone bright spot on offense early in the season for the Hawkeyes after being one of the few bright spots the season prior.

Lachey has NFL talent, and still would have received a lot of interest in this 2024 NFL draft. Instead, he wants to return to Iowa City one last time to help leave his mark on program history.

Lachey is not the only returnee, joining All-American linebacker Jay Higgins. Higgins was the breakout star on defense for the Hawkeyes, filling the shoes of departing Butkus Award winner Jack Campbell remarkably well. Higgins was named one of 12 semifinalists for that same award.

Soon to be 22 and coming off an incredible season, most would be preparing for the draft. They already would have opted out for this bowl game. Not Jay Higgins, though, he’s already committed to another year.

Opting out of bowl games is the new norm for soon-to-be NFL draft prospects. Not for the Iowa Hawkeyes, though. Even Brian Ferentz, for as much criticism as this publication and most of the Iowa fan base have given him over the years, is giving this last game his full attention.

There are a few players speculated to join Lachey and Higgins for one more run at Kinnick Stadium. Linebacker Nick Jackson, who was recently granted another year by the NCAA, joins Hawkeye defensive backs Sebastian Castro, Quinn Schulte, and even Cooper DeJean among a group still deciding whether or not to declare for the NFL draft. Save for DeJean who is physically unable to step on the field without crutches, each had no doubts about playing in this bowl game.

For obvious reasons, the transfer portal was not going to be an area of focus for the Hawkeyes this offseason. It’s kind of hard to bring in players on offense without an offensive coordinator to hang your hat on. This isn’t to say that Iowa won’t bring in any players either, it just hasn’t been their top priority. That doesn’t mean that Iowa is ignoring the new age of college football and NIL. Name, image and likeness is not only a tool to bring in players, it can be used to keep guys in school another year.

Instead of dwelling on lack of transfer activity, remember that Iowa and their strong culture has brought back arguably the best linebacker and tight end in the conference with possibly more names to come. Alongside the young talent they’ve been preparing for the spotlight, things are going right according to plan for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.

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Cardiac Hawkeyes: Takeaways from Iowa’s thrilling win over Nebraska

It took every bit of 60 minutes, but the Iowa Hawkeyes did it. They hit the 10-win mark. Takeaways from the thrilling win over Nebraska.

The 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes have an uncanny knack for puling out the most improbable wins in ways that seem unbelievable. Each week seems to be a new way to win a football game and it has Iowa sitting at a 10-2 record.

This week’s 13-10 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers came on a game-winning field goal as time expired off of the foot of backup kicker Marshall Meeder. Iowa was set up for success due to an interception from an unlikely candidate, defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett.

The Hawkeyes spoiled Nebraska’s day by cementing their record at 5-7 and putting a big damper on any thoughts of a bowl game. Iowa also is taking the Heroes Trophy back home to Iowa City.

It was unlikely and might just be the Hawkeyes’ most improbable win yet, but a win is a win and no one can take away 10-2. Here are the takeaways from the exhilirating win.

Cooper DeJean to one of NFL’s most storied franchises in recent CBS Sports mock draft

It is a matter of when and where Cooper DeJean gets drafted. CBS Sports has him joining an Iowa Hawkeyes legend on a storied NFL franchise.

If Cooper DeJean declares for the 2024 NFL draft, which he should to the dismay of some Iowa Hawkeyes’ fans, he is putting together an incredibly strong case to be the next Hawkeye drafted in the first round.

His coverage is elite, his ability to make plays on the ball in the air is highly instinctual, and his electric playmaking when the ball gets in his hands is something you can’t teach. It doesn’t hurt that he is freakishly athletic as well.

All of those traits paired with his film are building for Cooper DeJean to be taken in the first round next April. CBS Sports’ most recent mock draft has DeJean headed to a storied NFL franchise, the San Francisco 49ers.

The ball-hawking DeJean can line up just about anywhere (and he’s an asset in the return game, too), and that versatility and rare athleticism are what make him such an enticing prospect. – Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports

The pipeline from Iowa City to San Francisco is already paved as well. It is a road that has been traveled and done so with great success. Should this move come to fruition, DeJean would join 49ers tight end and Iowa legend George Kittle, who would surely welcome the young playmaker with open arms.

DeJean would be joining a secondary room that currently features five cornerbacks with three or more years of experience. This would allow DeJean the opportunity to come in and learn as he transitions to the NFL.

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Iowa dominance! Takeaways as the Hawkeyes topple Rutgers to move to 8-2

The Iowa Hawkeyes have moved to 8-2 and are on the cusp of clinching the Big Ten West outright. Takeaways as they toppled Rutgers 22-0.

Oh, how sweet it is to be 8-2!

The Iowa Hawkeyes showed out today against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and poured on a dominant 22-0 victory inside Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes suffocated Rutgers defensively and had arguably their best offensive showing of the season against a defense that had been stout in 2023. The Iowa Hawkeyes topped the 400-yard mark offensively while holding Rutgers to just 127 yards.

Brian Ferentz called a good game. Deacon Hill played well. The defense continued to be dominant. And things broke Iowa’s way around the rest of the conference. This was an all-around showing for the Hawkeyes and if it is a sign of things to come, it is the perfect time to have things start coming together for this team.

As Iowa moves to 8-2 with a two-handed grasp on the drive to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game, here are the biggest takeaways from their win over Rutgers.

The rightful heir: Tory Taylor named a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist

America’s favorite punter is up for the most important award in America. Tory Taylor has been named a Ray Guy Award Semifinalist

Some awards and decisions make themselves. There is no need for overthinking or questioning the final outcome.

It isn’t often we face that easy of a decision but when it involves the punter of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Tory Taylor, it becomes a clear-cut decision. The best punter in America deserves the recognition and it is clear the impact that he has on games.

After being snubbed in the eyes of many last year, Tory Taylor is among the finalists for the Ray Guy Award this year. The award is given out annually to the nation’s best collegiate punter.

Taylor hasn’t just been a great punter for the Hawkeyes, there is an argument that he has been the MVP for this team. His ability to not only boom long punts but also land them with precision has helped the Hawkeyes get out to a 7-2 record.

On the year, Taylor has punted 60 times for an average of 47.5 yards, almost a full yard and a half better than his previous best which came during the 2021-22 season. He has a long of 62 yards and has landed a whopping 23 punts (38.3% of all punts) inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

Tory Taylor is Iowa’s MVP. Tory Taylor is the future Ray Guy Award winner. Tory Taylor should be the next Heisman.

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