Rapid Reaction: Iowa continues to roll in shutout win over Maryland
Iowa reverted back to its old-school ways in a win over Maryland on Saturday. The Hawkeyes lined up, handed the ball off and shoved it down the throat of the defense all afternoon long.
Nate Stanley was a non-factor, but it didn’t matter. The tight ends were irrelevant, at least in a passing attack. Instead, Kirk Ferentz was content on rushing the football more than 50 times and allowing the offensive line to do the talking.
Ivory Kelly-Martin rushed for 98 yards on 24 carries and Mekhi Sargent added 54 yards on 10 touches as Iowa cruised to a 23-0 win over Maryland. The victory propelled Iowa to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in B1G play.
The Hawkeyes finished the day with 224 yards on 52 carries.
Maryland dropped to 4-3 and 2-2 in conference.
The defense shouldn’t be ignored in Saturday’s effort, stifling a Maryland offense that has plenty of dynamic athletes. But Ty Johnson and Anthony McFarland were silent in the loss. The two prominent ball carries combined for 31 yards on 10 carries. The struggles also continued for Kasim Hill, who completed just 6-of-15 pass attempts for 47 yards.
Saturday’s win for the Hawkeyes might’ve been the most dominant of the season considering the circumstances. Yes, last weekend’s lopsided affair against Indiana was impressive, but it wasn’t quite as overpowering.
This was old-school Hawkeye football.
Stanley completed just 11 of 22 passes and threw for just 86 yards. That’s quite a drop-off for a quarterback who had thrown for 300-plus yards in three of his last four outings. Last week, he threw six touchdown passes against the Hoosiers.
What’s most impressive about Iowa’s victory over Maryland was that it proved it can win in just about every situation. Early in the year it was the defensive efforts. Over the last few weeks, it’s been via the passing attack. Saturday, it was thanks to a strong rushing attack.
It wasn’t pretty, but you don’t have to win pretty in Iowa City.
Every week, Iowa looks more and more like a team capable of winning the West, and potentially a team that can win the B1G. Beating teams in a variety of fashions is precisely the formula to competing for a conference title.
Next week Iowa travels to Penn State for another critical conference clash. We may find out more about the Hawkeyes in one week and whether or not they belong in the B1G title conversation.
After a shutout win over Maryland, it’s hard to ignore Iowa belongs in the discussion right now.