Iowa DB Riley Moss wins national Defensive Player of the Week Award for Week 1 performance
Finishing with two interceptions, both of which he returned for scores, and a tackle, Iowa senior cornerback Riley Moss made life difficult for redshirt junior quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. in the No. 18 Hawkeyes’ 34-6 beatdown of No. 17 Indiana Saturday.
Moss’ first interception came on the Hoosiers’ first drive of the game, grabbing a ricochet and running it back 30 yards to extend the Iowa lead to 14-0 less than three minutes in.
His second came with 1:41 remaining in the first half, jumping the route and taking it 55 yards to paydirt to make the score 28-3.
With this showing, Moss was recognized as the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week Sunday, with Texas Longhorns sophomore running back Bijan Robinson taking home the offensive honor.
Texas RB Bijan Robinson & Iowa DB Riley Moss are Walter Camp’s National Offensive & Defensive Players of Week
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 5, 2021
A 2021 Preseason All-B1G second-team selection by Phil Steele, Moss set an Iowa state record in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 13.85 seconds as a senior at Ankeny Centennial High School.
September 4 represented interceptions No. 7 and 8 in his collegiate career, as he picked off two passes in each of his first three seasons, as well.
While the Hawkeyes opened their season with a bang, they will need to quickly turn their focus to Saturday, as the program ventures northwest to Ames to battle No. 7 Iowa State at 4:30 p.m. ET on ABC, a game ESPN’s College GameDay will be on-location for.