Never doubt Phil Parker.

A lot of the talk about Saturday’s Top 25 showdown between No. 17 Indiana and No. 18 Iowa circulated around the Hawkeyes’ defense being able to slow down Michael Penix Jr. and the Hoosiers. That “highly-touted” offense Tom Allen brought to Iowa City looked like it belonged in the FCS by the time Parker’s defense was finished with it.

Iowa cruised to a 34-6 victory in front of a packed house at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. It was lopsided on the scoreboard but it seemed even worse consuming it through the eyeballs.

Tyler Goodson got the Hawkeyes off to a hot start, racing to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown less than 2 minutes into the game. A mere 45 seconds later, defensive back Riley Moss picked off Penix and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to put Iowa ahead 14-0.

Ballgame.

Moss made another big play in the second quarter, intercepting another Penix pass and taking it back 55 yards for another touchdown. His play in the first half alone is enough to warrant B1G Defensive Player of the Week honors.

When the first half came to a close, Iowa owned a 31-3 lead. Indiana looked defeated and put up little fight in the second half while Kirk Ferentz’s team milked the clock and extended its win streak to 7 games.

Perhaps even more impressively, the Hawkeyes’ defense extended another streak Saturday. In 23 straight games, Iowa’s defense has held opponents to 25 points or less.

Again, that’s the genius of Parker.

Iowa’s defense was a nightmare for the Hoosiers. Penix ended his day completing just 14-of-31 pass attempts for 156 yards with 3 interceptions and no touchdowns. IU rushed for a paltry 76 yards on 31 carries.

Basically, nothing Indiana attempted to do offensively worked against Iowa’s defense. One of the B1G’s top secondary units, paired with a solid linebacker corps and defensive line, posed way too many problems for the Hoosiers.

Offensively, Iowa didn’t do anything special. The Hawkeyes finished the game with 303 yards and scored just 2 touchdowns. Spencer Petras was 13-of-27 for 145 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

But when the defense plays as well as it did on Saturday, the offense doesn’t have to do much in order to win.

Goodson was a bright spot, rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Tight end Sam LaPorta had a big day in the passing attack, hauling in 5 receptions for 83 yards. The Hawkeyes definitely located some playmakers.

There’s no question what the biggest storyline was out of Iowa City this weekend, though. Parker is still really damn good at his job.

So is Iowa’s defense.