There was no question who was the better team in the Iowa-Northern Illinois game, as multiple players stepped up in a big way for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa put the clamps down on the Northern Illinois offense from their first possession, and the offense couldn't be stopped in the 40-0 route of the Huskies, with some new players stepping up. Both lines had many new faces in expanded roles, and the receiving corps was led by the electric Tony Diaz as the Hawkeyes put up 507 total yards of offense, the most since 2019. Now, a few days removed, there were two clear winners and one clear loser from the week one victory.
Winner: The Iowa offensive line
Excluding two returning potential All-Americans, Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck, the offensive line had some question marks heading into this season. The Joe Moore Award-winning unit from last season sent three veteran starters to the NFL (Beau Stephens, Gennings Dunker, Logan Jones), and the team had the difficult task of replacing them. Trevor Lauck told us before last week's game that they can't truly replace those players, but they have plenty of guys waiting to step up who have past experience. Lauck expressed full confidence in the guys thrust into expanded roles, and his confidence was rewarded with a dominant performance over NIU.
The line created massive holes and gave all three Iowa quarterbacks plenty of time to throw the football, which was key to success. Of the 507 total offensive yards, over half came on the ground (289), propelled by Kamari Moulton's 183 yards. It was harder to truly grade the passing game with three quarterbacks getting snaps, but it did have some success. If the offensive line can repeat that performance in week two, there is no doubt Iowa will lean on Iowa State early and run them out of Kinnick Stadium.
Winner: Hank Brown
It was difficult to evaluate the quarterbacks, with all three getting reps against NIU, but Hank Brown was the winner. Kirk Ferentz announced Brown would start against NIU on Saturday morning, and he took full advantage of his reps. Brown had some great moments in the first quarter and was clearly the better of the two going into halftime. He didn't play again in the second half, but that could show he made a solid impression during his first start with the program.
He had a great connection with Tony Diaz, getting the talented WR the ball early and often, and he even had a nice scramble for a first down when he escaped pressure and used his legs to make something happen. Brown finished the game with 129 passing yards and a touchdown pass to Diaz in his first official start for the Hawkeyes, and looked solid. Even though it was against a much weaker opponent, Brown showed some poise in the pocket, the place he prefers to be. While the starting quarterback competition wasn't settled against NIU, Brown took the first big step toward ending it.
Loser: Jeremy Hecklinski
Unfortunately for Jeremy Hecklinski, he had to be the loser of week one after a solid performance from Brown. Hecklinski and Brown are still battling for the starting quarterback role, but Hecklinski didn't do quite enough to even the competition. Hecklinski is definitely more of a gunslinger than Brown, and he had some brilliant downfield passes, including one to Jarriett Buie when he got crunched by a NIU defender. His only blemish came when he forced a pass on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line to Dayton Howard that was intercepted, but he made some solid throws during his time on the field.
Hecklinski was also hurt by some untimely false starts, forcing him to put the ball in the air on third down, and he finished by completing 7/16 passes for 76 yards. The numbers aren't great, especially against a weak NIU defense, but he made some encouraging throws and option reads. It was extremely hard to pick a loser in this game, given how well the team played all-around, but of everyone, Hecklinski didn't do enough to solidify his case as the starting quarterback.
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