Recap: Iowa Hawkeyes Down Miami (OH) 45-21

The Iowa Hawkeyes kicked off their season with a win over the Miami (OH) Redhawks

It wasn’t pretty the whole way, but the Iowa Hawkeyes came away with a win. Miami (OH) put up a better fight than many expected, however, behind a loud Kinnick Stadium crowd, Iowa was able to hold on despite a second half push from the Redhawks. The Hawkeyes extended their regular season winning streak to 13 games and start the season 1-0 with a 45-21 win over Miami.

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Iowa has been a ground and pound team since Kirk Ferentz took over, and they did just that against the Redhawks. The Hawkeyes ran for five touchdowns and 212 yards. The two back punch of Akrum Wadley (12 carries, 121 yards, two touchdowns) and LeShun Daniels Jr (10 carries, 83 yards, two touchdowns) was too much for the Redhawks defense.

After Iowa forced Miami (OH) to punt to start the game, it only took the Hawkeyes six plays to drive 80 yards. Their Hawkeyes capped of theopening drive of the season with a one-yard touchdown run by Daniels.

Miami’s next two drives each resulted in a fumble, with Iowa recovering and eventually driving down the field for a touchdown. Jack Hockaday forced the first fumble of the game, with Parker Hesse recovering. Akrum Wadley ran it in for an 11-yard touchdown just two plays later for the Hawkeyes.

On the Redhawks next drive, Anthony Nelson, a redshirt freshman, sacked quarterback Billy Bahl, forcing a fumble. C.J. Beathard fired a 38 yard pass to Jerminic Smith with LeShun Daniels scoring on a 43-yard touchdown on the next play. It was two of the biggest plays on the afternoon for the Hawkeyes, and one of the few times Beathard took a chance downfield. Most of the game consisted of Iowa running the ball or swing passes to Smith and Matt VandeBerg.

Alonzo Smith did get in the end zone for the Redhawks in the first half, however Akrum Wadley answered on the next drive. The Redhawks missed a 53-yard field goal later in the half, which allowed Iowa to take a 28-7 lead into halftime.

The Hawkeyes dominated the first half. Billy Bahl had a couple of nice throws but their running game was nonexistent for most of the half and Bahl struggled when Iowa got pressure on him. With Josey Jewell being ejected early in the first half for targeting, Iowa’s pass rush was inconsistent.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes stuck to the run game for most of the half. Beathard got a couple of chances to throw, however the Hawkeyes were more concerned with establishing a run game early. The Redhawks were eventually able to slow down Daniels and Wadley some, but it wasn’t before they combined to score four touchdowns.

The second half was not as pretty. After driving the field to start the second half, C.J. Beathard connected with Riley McCarron in the red zone, seemingly for a touchdown. McCarron ended up losing the ball after a big hit, resulting it to roll to the back of the end zone and out of bounds. The call on the field was that McCarron had possession and it was a touchback. After reviewing the play, the booth decided that McCarron didn’t catch the ball and ruled it incomplete.

It was a questionable call, to say the least. It seemed fairly obvious that McCarron caught the ball, however Iowa took advantage of their luck. Three plays later, Beathard connected with Jerminic Smith for a 12-yard touchdown.

The Redhawks answered on their next two drives. They drove 75 yards in nearly seven minutes, resulting in a touchdown reception for James Gardner. On their next drive, the Redhawks held the ball for over seven minutes, with Gardner catching his second touchdown of the night. Gardner burned the Hawkeyes for six catches, 95 yards and two touchdowns, highlighting Greg Mabin‘s tough day.

The Hawkeyes nearly answered with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, however senior tight end George Kittle dropped an easy pass in the end zone. The Hawkeyes settled for a field goal.

Although, on the next drive, Anthony Nelson forced his second fumble of the game. It was the third lost fumble of the game for Miami, this time being recovered by Sam Brincks.