IOWA CITY — Were you not entertained? For two possessions, anyway.
And then, well, hey. Iowa got the win. It was easy to feel indifferent from Saturday’s heat, so maybe Iowa’s 24-14 season-opening football victory over Utah State at the Kinnick Stadium caldron couldn’t help but cause yawns.
But years from now, or even before this Labor Day weekend is over, this one won’t be remembered.
The Hawkeyes’ first two drives, though, were anything but sluggish. Cade McNamara, touchdown pass. Cade McNamara, another touchdown pass. Halfway through the first quarter, the Hawkeyes had a 14-0 lead and looked ready to slay giants and mid-pack Mountain West Conference teams alike.
The Stat of the Day was Iowa finishing a game-opening drive with a touchdown pass for the first time since 1991.
It wasn’t just a scoring play, but it was a 36-yard dime that McNamara dropped into Seth Anderson’s hands. Anderson faked out Aggies defensive back Michael Anyanwu and left him sprawling, and was open a good 12 yards when he caught the ball. Seconds later, he blew a kiss to his new fans.
Glory be! An offense that goes for the gold on the game’s second play and gets it?
Then McNamara hooked up with fellow former Michigan Wolverine Erick All for a 3-yard score on fourth-and-goal. It was 14-0, and some in the crowd may have wondered when Iowa would put tickets to the Big Ten championship game on sale.
Alas, it was serving dessert before bringing out a bowl of white rice. The rest of the contest looked a lot like a 2022 Iowa game. Ten points in the final 53 minutes, a run game that didn’t get revved, an offensive line that made too many penalties — it was enough to make the Hawkeyes remember the recent past without trembling about it.
McNamara was happy afterward. The two TD throws was one reason. Getting through the game intact was another. His quad ailment may be one of those things that has people on pins and needles from week to week, even quarter to quarter. But he’s 1-0.
“I think we left a lot out there, to be honest,” McNamara said.
“We started out hot and then we had a pretty long stall. This is still like the first time that all of us are in a game situation. There’s so many new guys on this team that this is our first game playing together.
“I’m kind of excited that we were able to see some adversity for the first time. I didn’t want it just a cakewalk and for us to just see a bunch of success.”
That wish was granted. Iowa had 284 yards, not a championship level or Deion Sanders-coached Colorado number. But it was progress. The Hawkeyes got their second touchdown of the season on their second drive, not their third game.
The Hawkeyes scored 24 points, one under the bizarre 25-point bar former Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta set for offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz to average this season. The Brian-O-Meter went from spinning wildly for eight minutes to looking like a windmill during a light breeze.
Still, the win’s the thing. Utah State got no closer than 11 points once Iowa staked itself to that 14-0 edge. Iowa got some good offensive taste back in its mouth with a 68-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that featured a leaping 31-yard catch by incumbent tight end Luke Lachey.
“I feel great,” said Cool Hands Luke. “I thought we had a great start and I feel we can continue to learn off that.”
Utah State Coach Blake Anderson was ticked off about what he called “self-inflicted mistakes.”
“We felt that we had a plan in place that, if we executed it well, it would give us a chance to win,” he said. “Keeping it close and beating the spread doesn’t fire me up a lot.”
Meanwhile, playing well enough to win was plenty for his counterpart, and Ferentz doesn’t have to fear his players getting fat and sassy.
“The most critical thing is going to be a lot of good teaching things from this ballgame,” Ferentz said.
For those who successfully blotted it from their memories, Iowa beat South Dakota State in Week 1 last year, 7-3, via a field goal, two safeties, and 10 Tory Taylor punts. This wasn’t that.
Of course, the Hawkeyes will need more and know it. Twenty-four isn’t 25.
Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
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