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Iowa put an emphatic end to its three-game losing streak with an easy 63-0 victory at Illinois on Saturday. It was the largest margin of victory in the 20 years of Kirk Ferentz football at Iowa, and it was the seventh win of the season heading into the season finale against Nebraska.
These two schools have been playing football for a century, and never once has Iowa beaten Illinois by such a large margin. The shutout was nice, too, the Hawkeyes’ second of the season. It was the 150th career victory for Ferentz, which just keeps adding on to his school record.
“Wish it would’ve come a little sooner,” Ferentz joked Saturday after the three-game losing streak ended. “The common denominator (through the years) has been the kind of players we get to work with and the quality of coaches is the best part of football.”
Here’s what I liked — and didn’t like (sort of) — about the Hawkeyes’ victory over Illinois:
What I liked
1. A.J. Epenesa has a monstrous day
A.J. Epenesa has always been an important recruit for Iowa, because he has the ability to disrupt games on his own. He sure did that Saturday. The defensive end was all over the field, and played a big part in Iowa’s second shutout of the season. He had 8 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a blocked punt a forced fumble and a defensive touchdown. That’s a good day’s work. “Nobody likes losing,” he said “And we were tired of losing.” It showed.
2. Running game
Iowa has struggled to run the ball all year, so it was nice to see them break out with a strong game against the Illini. They gained 203 yards on 37 carries, good for a 5.5-yard average. Mehki Stewart led the way with 121 yards, the first 100-yard game at Iowa for the junior college transfer. Stewart, who started the season as a third-stringer on the depth chart, is now the team’s leading rusher with 575 yards.
3. Leadership matters with this team
No one expected 63-0, but it was clear that the Hawkeyes were ready for this game and they were sick of losing. Finishing off this season on a high note really does matter. “Obviously things haven’t gone the last three weeks how we wanted,” defensive end Parker Hesse said Saturday. “But we still believed in each other, we believed in ourselves. We kind of came out today and we just really had to let it rip. Be ourselves, and play hard. And that’s what we did today, kind of exorcised some demons.”
What I didn’t like
1. It was 63-0 …
… So I’ll see you next week
Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.