Iowa football: 3 best plays from Week 1 win against Miami

The Iowa football offense got off to a slow start on Saturday evening, but they rolled in the second half. Here were the three best plays.

Iowa football is back after what seemed like the longest offseason in school history. After beating Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl, Iowa went into the offseason receiving the news that Oliver Martin was returning to Iowa City. We found out last Wednesday that the junior wide receiver was eligible to play in Week 1 against the Miami Redhawks.

The offense got off to a really slow start in what ended up being a 10-7 Iowa lead at halftime. However, Kirk Ferentz made some nice adjustments in the second half and the Hawkeyes steamrolled to a 38-14 win. Here were the three best plays from Saturday:

3. Brandon Smith 9 yard touchdown catch

Smith didn’t haul in his first career touchdown until Week 7 last season after the all the hype he was receiving (no pun intended) coming into the 2018 season. This year, he was expected to take another step forward and be a reliable target for Nate Stanley in the absence of Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson.

On the second drive of the game, Stanley tossed a 6-yard fade pass into the endzone but Smith caught the ball well out of bounds. They settled for a field goal, but the following series the two hooked up on a beautiful 9-yard touchdown pass.

2. Amani Jones 11 yard sack

Amani Jones has had a heck of a time at Iowa. He was the starting linebacker in the opener against Northern Illinois last season but was pulled after a couple of series and lost his starting gig for good. This season, he’s been converted to more of a pass rush specialist and he, not A.J. Epenesa, had one of the best defensive plays for Iowa on Saturday.

With Miami facing a 3rd and 6 on their own 40-yard line, Redhawks’ quarterback Brett Gabbert snapped the ball and Jones essentially went untouched to take down the quarterback. Jones was extremely amped up after the play and I couldn’t be happier if he’s truly found a home on the defensive line.

3. Oliver Martin 9 yard touchdown catch

After everything Oliver Martin had been through in his attempt to return home and play for Iowa, it was an extremely gratifying feeling seeing him haul in his first touchdown catch as a Hawkeye. With Iowa holding a 17-7 lead in the 3rd quarter, Stanley threw another 9-yard pass that was perfectly placed where only Martin could bring in the pass.

Martin hauled in just 2 catches on Saturday but should see a much larger role as I am sure Kirk Ferentz was going to be careful with someone we weren’t even sure was going to be able to play this season until the middle of last week.

The Iowa football team will have another tune-up this Saturday when they host Rutgers before heading to Ames to face their in-state rival in what could potentially be a College Gameday site.