Iowa Football Season Review Part I: Games One through Four

Iowa 44 Iowa State 41 (OT)

These in-state rivals played a tight game against one another, and it was a good one. It came down to overtime which saw the Hawkeyes get a five-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Ihmir Smith-Marsette to win the game. Little did we know; Iowa State would turn out to be a spoiler for some ranked teams and was ranked for a time. Simply put, the Hawkeyes ended up beating a much better Iowa State team than anyone thought when it was all said and done.

The Hawkeyes were led by Nate Staley and Akrum Wadley both of whom helped give Iowa a balanced offensive attack. Stanley threw for five touchdowns while Wadley racked up 127 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Both Stanley and Wadley were the best offensive players of the game.

Iowa’s best defender of the game was Joshua Jackson. Jackson not only had six tackles but recorded three pass breakups. Iowa’s defense had to fight hard but in the end, they kept it close. The Hawks would head into their game the next week against North Texas with some momentum and would keep tuning up for the Big Ten slate of games. Iowa continued to play well though and looked like they would go in and cruise past North Texas at home the next Saturday.