Iowa downs Eastern Illinois, 37-7
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| David Scrivner/The Daily Iowan Iowa running back Paki O'Meara blocks a punt during the first quarter of the Hawkeyes' game against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 in Kinnick Stadium. |
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| David Scrivner/The Daily Iowan Iowa linemen Adrian Clayborn (94) and Mike Daniels (93) take down Eastern Illinois quarterback Brandon Large during the Hawkeyes' game against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 in Kinnick Stadium. |
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| Rob Johnson/The Daily Iowan Iowa players stretch before the season opener against Eastern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sep. 4, 2010. At halftime, the Hawkeyes are up 28-7. |
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Click here to view an exclusive photo slideshow from the game. |
The game began in a flash. Six plays. Sixty-five yards. Touchdown.
Next drive: Eight plays, 56 yards, touchdown. Next drive: Blocked punt, 42-yard return, touchdown.
And that was before the end of the first quarter.
From there, the contest between No. 9 Iowa and Eastern Illinois was seemingly over — the final three quarters more of a formality than anything. It ended up being a bit more arduous than that, but the Hawkeyes flattened the Panthers Saturday inside Kinnick Stadium, 37-7, in the most anticipated season-opener in recent memory.
“That was definitely an emphasis to get out and get a head start on them early,” said sophomore running back Adam Robinson, who had a career-high three touchdowns Saturday.
It only took the Hawkeyes 2:40 to get on the board, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi found tight end Brad Herman wide-open down the seam for a 35-yard gain on the game’s fifth play to set up Robinson’s first touchdown.
Running behind the Hawkeyes’ new-look offensive line, Robinson jaunted into the endzone on the team’s first two drives. He finished with 109 rushing yards — the third 100-yard game of his career.
Senior Paki O’Meara scored his third career touchdown after he blitzed through the Panthers’ punt-protection unit to block a kick, returning it for a score.
“I watch a lot of film,” O’Meara said. “That’s kind of my role on [the punt-block] team — to force the punt from the right side with a right-footed punter.”
The Hawkeyes were up three touchdowns before the first quarter ended.
In fact, an Iowa quarterback didn’t throw an incompletion until nearly halfway through the game, and punter Ryan Donahue wasn’t called into service until the first play of the fourth quarter.
“I’ve spent most of the past week thinking about all the things that can go wrong,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said after the game. “And it did dawn on me at some point that we have some good players, too. Maybe something will go right. Fortunately, more went right than wrong.”
One of the Hawkeyes’ only scares of the game came on their first possession of the second quarter, when Stanzi’s left knee appeared to buckle underneath him.
The third-year starter limped off the field and watched from the sidelines as Robinson went on to score another touchdown, giving the Hawkeyes a 28-7 lead.
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Stanzi — who completed his first 11 passes of the day and finished 18-of-23 for 229 yards and one touchdown — returned to the game on the next series. After the game, Stanzi said team doctors called the injury “a little sprain,” adding that his knee is score but “it’s all stable.”
“Watching from the sidelines, it looked like it could’ve been a little bit more serious than it turned out to be,” Ferentz said.
After forcing an Eastern Illinois three-and-out for the second time in three possessions, the Iowa defense allowed Cody Bruns to run for 36 yards on a fake punt at the beginning of the second quarter. Panther quarterback Brandon Large connected with Chris Wright on a 37-yard pass on the next play.
Eastern Illinois punctuated the drive with a touchdown — the Panthers’ only score of the game. Eighty-six of the team’s 157 total yards came on that drive.
The second half featured far less fireworks and a few more mistakes for Ferentz’s squad.
Iowa fumbled a quarterback-center exchange on the Panthers’ 3-yard line — its first turnover of the season. After the defense forced an Eastern Illinois’ safety, the Hawkeyes fumbled for the second consecutive possession. This time, wide receiver Colin Sandeman let the ball get loose after getting hit over the middle.
Also, Stanzi missed a wide-open Marvin McNutt after a double-move put Iowa wide receiver beyond Eastern Illinois’ last line of defense.
“It broke my heart when I didn’t get to [that pass],” McNutt said.
Stanzi added, “We dipped a little bit in the middle [of the game]. We’re not very happy about that. That’s kind of what’s on our minds right now. … We need to be more consistent throughout the whole ballgame.”
Iowa finished the game off strong, holding the Panthers to 13 fourth-quarter yards and scoring another touchdown on a Brett Morse catch.
The Hawkeyes host Iowa State in Kinnick Stadium next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.
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