The Iowa football team took care of business against Maryland on Oct. 31 in Kinnick Stadium.
By Danny Payne
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The first half Iowa’s 31-15 win over Maryland Saturday started off as well as anyone on the Hawkeye sideline could have hoped. The three-headed rushing attack of Akrum Wadley, LeShun Daniels Jr., and Derrick Mitchell Jr. all found their way into the end zone, and the defense held Maryland to 68 yards and no points.
Save for a 88-yard Desmond King interception return and Jordan Lomax pick, and nearly all of the Iowa-centric highlights you’ll see will come from the first half. It turned out to be all the Hawkeyes needed.
“Good thing about football is no style points,” said Iowa, now 8-0 (4-0 Big Ten), head coach Kirk Ferentz after the contest. “Good thing about football is no style points, and when you win, it’s beautiful, and when you lose, it’s not so good.”
While the Hawkeyes were dominant all half, perhaps the most impressive sequence came just before halftime. After Dillon Kidd pinned the Terps (2-6, 0-4) at their own 3-yard line with a 38-yard punt, the Hawkeye defense forced the Terps to line up in their own end zone for a punt. Then came the best play Aaron Mends has made this season.
The redshirt freshman special-teamer got through the Maryland line and blocked Nicolas Pritchard’s attempt. The Hawks got the ball at the Terp 19, and six plays later came Mitchell’s 2-yard score.
“It was a momentum swing, we let them come through inside, and we should have got it off a little quicker,” Maryland interim head coach Mike Locksley said. “It was definitely a critical play.”
That momentum Locksley described carried over into the second half for the Iowa defense; it allowed only 1 touchdown (the other Maryland score came via a William Likely touchdown on the kickoff following King’s interception return). MOmentum did not carry over for the Hawkeye offense.
Iowa managed 240 yards before the intermission but finished the contest with 293. The Terps made adjustments, stopped the Hawkeye running game, and were able to bend the Hawkeye defense but not break it.
Maryland put up only 68 yards on 23 plays in the first half, a credit to Iowa controlling the contest, but managed 173 yards on 34 plays after the break. Iowa, conversely, had 42 offensive snaps in the first half but only 26 in the second.
“Iowa football is built around having a tradition of a great defense,” free safety Jordan Lomax said. “… We were ready, and we were prepared. We went out there, and we got the job done.”
Maryland finished the contest with 241 yards, with quarterback Perry Hills being making things go. He finished with 104 yards on the ground and scored the Terps’ lone offensive touchdown.
Wadley led the way for the Hawkeyes in the running game, with 67 yards. Daniels followed him with 60 as the Hawks finished with 110. Quarterback C.J. Beathard went 12-of-23 for 183 yards.
Defensive back Anthony Nixon paced the Terrapins with 9 tackles, and Miles Taylor led the Hawks with 8. Taylor, who had his best game in a Hawkeye uniform, also recovered a fumble and grabbed an interception.
“Anytime you get an opportunity to play and maximize an opportunity, that’s what it’s all about,” Ferentz said. “We did a good job of that.”
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