The No. 22 Iowa football team downed Illinois Oct. 10, 29-20.

By Danny Payne
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Jordan Canzeri needs an ice bath. It’s no surprise, considering the running back set an Iowa record with 43 carries in No. 22 Iowa’s 29-20 win over Illinois on Oct. 10.

The senior accounted for 256 yards on the ground and added another 15 in the air. Overall, he finished with 2 touchdowns.

“I knew it was a good amount,” Canzeri said. “It was something I was ready to do; I knew my team needed me. And especially when I ran the ball seven times in a row, I was really tired.”

However, in the instance Canzeri referred to, he actually carried the ball 11 times in a row on a fourth-quarter drive that led to an Iowa field goal.

“Oof,” he said after a reporter told him the real number.

While Iowa’s defense should be given some of the credit in the win that moved the Hawks to 6-0, 2-0 in Big Ten play, make no mistake, the game was about Canzeri. His vision was superb all day, and he made the a mediocre performance from the Hawkeye offensive line look like a spectacular one on the stat sheet.

The biggest of Canzeri’s 43 attempts came in the form of a 75-yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter. The Illini had moved within 3 points of the Hawks after a field goal, and the offense had nothing going. The defense didn’t have an answer for Illinois’ up-tempo style of play, either.

A sense of worry was palpable in Kinnick Stadium. However, on the first play of the drive, Canzeri hit the hole hard on a power run off-tackle and went untouched on his way to the end zone. Sure, Illinois pulled back within 3 a few drives later, but there was no more worry following that score.

“I knew he was gone,” said quarterback C.J. Beathard, who finished 15-of-31 for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns and also rushed for 29 yards. “From my vantage point, it looked like he was gone, and I knew the guy chasing him wasn’t going to catch him.”

In all, the Hawkeyes racked up 478 yards of offense while allowing the Illini to finish with 363. Henry Krieger Coble led the Hawks with 5 catches, but true freshman Jerminic Smith — making his second-consecutive start in place of injured Tevaun Smith — went for 118 yards on 4 grabs.

“I think we all saw something really special there with Jordan Canzeri,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “That was just a tremendous performance, and I had no idea he had 43 carries — a school record.”

Josey Jewell led the Hawks with 12 tackles, and T.J. Neal Jr. led head coach Bill Cubit’s squad with 14. Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt went 25-of-42 with 317 yards and a touchdown; 228 of those yards came in the second half.

Iowa is scheduled to play in Evanston, Illinois, next week against undefeated Northwestern, which lost to Michigan, 38-0.

“We’re all so confident in each other for it,” Canzeri said. “When these situations come, when it’s another nail biter and down to the last minute, we’re going to finish.”

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