Iowa football: Top three performances from Week 3 against the Panthers

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 15: Runningback Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field during the first half against defensive backs Marcus Weymiller #8 and Xavior Williams #9of the Northern Iowa Panthers on September 15, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 15: Runningback Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field during the first half against defensive backs Marcus Weymiller #8 and Xavior Williams #9of the Northern Iowa Panthers on September 15, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
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IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 15: Runningback Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field during the first half against defensive backs Marcus Weymiller #8 and Xavior Williams #9of the Northern Iowa Panthers on September 15, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 15: Runningback Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field during the first half against defensive backs Marcus Weymiller #8 and Xavior Williams #9of the Northern Iowa Panthers on September 15, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

The Iowa football program easily won Saturday’s contest against UNI thanks to an offensive explosion. Which three players stood out the most in this win?

A big win like this usually means there are more than a few candidates for standout performer of the week. This was certainly the case after the Iowa football program went 2-0 against the state of Iowa with their dominating victory over the Northern Iowa Panthers. Needless to say, picking just three players can be difficult.

Coming into the Hawkeye’s third consecutive home game to start the season, the Iowa football program had failed to score a touchdown in the first half of either game. In fact, they have only put up six points total in the first half. While the Hawks finally pulled it together and put some points on the board in the week one victory over Northern Illinois, they failed to get much going in the second half against the Cyclones. That means that out of four halves of football, the Hawks have scored 30 of their 46 points in one half.

Thankfully, the defense has been lights out allowing

For the Hawks to compete for a Big Ten West title, the offense needed to pick it up. Specifically, the passing attack needed to get going. Kirk and the rest of the coaching staff emphasized the passing attack throughout this week, and it paid dividends.

In week three, the Iowa football team put up 545 total yards of offense which is just slightly less than the previous two weeks combined.

Although the defense had another very strong performance effectively shutting down the Panthers for three quarters (until the starters started resting), we’ll be focusing on three offensive players who stood out the most.