Iowa's offense comes alive in the second half of win against Illinois State

Iowa walked onto the field in the second half of their Week 1 matchup against the Illinois State Redbirds only up 6-0. By the time the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, the Hawkeyes were up 40-0 and walking away with a win.

In the first half of the game, Iowa fans were wondering if the offense would ever show up and clearly something was said at halftime that lit a fire under them because they came out firing in the second half.

The difference maker in the second half for the Hawkeyes surprisingly for Iowa was the play of quarterback Cade McNamara who went 10-for-11 in the third quarter with one touchdown but quickly added his second touchdown of the day just seconds into the fourth quarter.

McNamara came out of halftime looking like an entirely new player, hitting not just open receivers, but hitting them in stride. He also not just ran the ball well, but he threw a couple of darts on the run adn was able to evade pressure very well. This was exactly who Iowa was hoping to get when they brought McNamara into the program.

McNamara finished the day going 21-for-31 with 251 yards and three touchdowns averaging 8.1 yards per pass.

The good quarterback play seemed to be infectious for the rest of the offense as the receivers and running backs looked elite. With receiver Kaleb Brown out due to suspension, other receivers stepped up including freshman Reece Vander Zee who finished the day with the most receiving yards with 66 yards on five receptions and two touchdowns.

Vander Zee's most impressive catch of the day was when McNamara was falling back from the pressure of the defense and aired it out to the endzone. Vander Zee climbed the latter and went up to reel in the pass adding to his highlight reel day.

The offense was the star of the show in the second half, but the biggest storyline of the day was Iowa's defense who pitched a shutout against Illinois State. This was expected for the Hawkeye defense coming in as one of the best in the Big Ten and even one of the best in the country.

The defense as a whole finished with four sacks, seven tackles for loss, four passes defended, two fumbles, and one interception. The defense did not even allow the Redbirds to get into field goal range keeping their shutout alive.

The second half was the type of Iowa football fans were hoping to see this season, but we can't forget the first half. Iowa can't afford to come out that flat on offense in the first half of every game because they will play from behind a lot this season against FBS teams.