Hawkeyes stave off upset, defeat Red Wolves 24-21
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There's that saying of "a win's a win."
Fans of the No. 13 Iowa Hawkeyes may not be completely satisfied with what they saw at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. But just like the previous four weeks, there had to be some sort of gratification.
With its 24-21 victory over Arkansas State, Iowa improved to 5-0 this season. It's the first 5-0 start ever under head coach Kirk Ferentz, marking the first time since the 1995 campaign the Hawkeyes have reached this point.
"That was the goal for today," Ferentz said. "That's about as good as you can do. We're just happy with that."
Iowa couldn't have asked for a better start. On the opening possession, junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi threw the first of his three touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Trey Stross. The 33-yard score put the Hawkeyes ahead 7-0.
"We kind of ran the same formation against Arizona. I gave a little head fake to the read route on the outside, and you know, Rick just put the ball on the money," Stross said. "It was a great pass."
Then it became Marvin McNutt's time to shine. The sophomore from St. Louis followed up Stross' touchdown with his first career score from 41 yards out, giving Iowa a 14-0 lead early.
McNutt then struck again in the second half. With Iowa ahead 14-7 early in the third quarter, sophomore safety Tyler Sash recorded his fifth interception of the season. Two plays later, Stanzi connected with McNutt on a 43-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-7. McNutt finished with four receptions for 121 yards receiving, while Stanzi completed 18-of-26 for 296 yards through the air.
"I don't think I would call it a 'coming out' party, I think it was just more of an offensive party, period," McNutt said regarding the offense's performance. "We felt that we played good enough to get us a victory."
But from there, the play began to look lackluster.
The Red Wolves scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to make the game much closer than Iowa fans would've desired. The first score came off a Stanzi interception taken back 75 yards for a touchdown by Arkansas State linebacker Demario Davis.
Then after Iowa junior kicker Daniel Murray connected on a 20-yard field goal to give the Hawkeyes a 24-14 cushion, the Red Wolves pulled off a methodical 17-play drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. After a touchdown by Arkansas State tight end Trevor Gillott, the lead was cut to three points.
"We need to improve, get better, stay high," junior cornerback Amari Spievey said. "I don't think we played bad, but we could've played better."
Iowa would seal the win though when McNutt recovered an Arkansas State onside kick.
Now the stage is set for another prime time battle next week. The Hawkeyes welcome No. 22 Michigan in for their homecoming game on Oct. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Kinnick Stadium. Next week's game has been designated a "Blackout," asking for Iowa fans who plan on attending to wear black.
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