Nebraska 42, Iowa 7
Photos by Matt Mlller/DN
(clockwise from top left)
DEANGELO EVANS is tackled by a pair of Hawkeyes. Nebraska
piled up 347 rushing yards to Iowa’s 57.
MIKE BROWN, left, and Iowa tight end Zeron Flemister chase
after a fumble in the third quarter. NU’s Kyle Vanden Bosch
recovered the fumble by Iowa’s Ladell Betts.
MATT DAVISON celebrates after winning the ball from Iowa’s
Matt Bowen on a 38-yard completion in the fourth quarter.
Davison led the Huskers with four catches for 69 yards.
HUSKER QUARTERBACK Bobby Newcombe completed 7 of 10
passes, while splitting time with Eric Crouch.
TONY ORTJZ DRAGS Iowa tight end Austin Wheatley to the
ground. The Huskers held the Hawkeye offense to eight first
downs in Saturday’s 42-7 win in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa offense
struggles in
season opener
—
By John Gaskins
Staff writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Kirk
Ferentz era at Iowa didn’t exactly open
in a blaze of glory, but at least it began
with a glimmer ofhope.
The Hawkeye defense was able to
hold a potentially volatile Nebraska
offense scoreless for 22 minutes
Saturday and had the 24-point under
dogs feeling good about their chances
of upset in the locker room at halftime,
trailing just 7-0.
“We were excited. We were pumped
up,” fatigued Iowa linebacker Aaron
Kampman said after the game.
“Everyone was believing. We knew that
we could play with this team. I still
believe we can play with this team.
(But) you don’t get any prizes fra- play
ing 30 minutes.”
rtllCI U1C 1NU. U ^UllXilUSKCXS gui
their act together and schooled the
Hawkeys on both sides of die ball in
the second half, Head Coach Ferentz
and his players showed no signs of joy
over their 42-7 defeat. The last thing
they considered was calling the game a
“moral victory.”
Ferentz, who walked out of the
locker room and into the post-game
press conference stone-faced and tight
lipped, offered a rare smile and snicker
when asked lfhe got what he wanted out
of his first game.
“No, not at all,” Ferentz said. “We
wanted to win. We would’ve liked to
have moved the football better and score
some points, which we didn’t do.”
Although the defense gave up 543
total yards, 337 of them coming in the
second half, it was the Iowa offense’s
lack of productivity that Ferentz was
most disappointed with.
Some statistics that Ferentz didn’t
likely enjoy: 0 offensive points; 169
total yards; Eight first downs (to
Nebraska’s 24); 57 rushing yards on 2.2
yards per carry (to NU^ 347 on 5.5); 63
percent of passes fell incomplete (NU
was 10 of 15); 12 punts.
The first time the Hawks crossed
Husker territory, without needing an
The defensive guys
played extremely
hard and with a lot of
fight. ... When you re
on the field so much,
somethings got to
give. Something s got
to break.”
KirkFerentz
Iowa head coach
NU turnover or penalty to do so, came
in their 11* possession, with about 13
minutes remaining in the game. But
Iowa never made it past the NU 33
yaid-line.
The Hawkeyes produced their first
first down of the game at about the four
minute mafic in the second quarter -
provoking a standing ovation from die
fans - only to have tailback Ladell Betts
fumble on the very next play.
Yet, the scoreboard read 0-0 for a
majority of the first half, and Iowa was
still in it.
“That’s what you enjoy in football,”
Ferentz said. “We made some mistakes,
but we v/ere fortunate enough to go in 7
0 at half. So, from that standpoint, I
thought if we could muster something,
we could get something going. But it
wasn’t meant to be.”
The second-half Nebraska takeover
was due in large part to the physical
punishment and wearing down the
Hawkeye defenders took from having to
be on the field for 33:25 of the game.
The Iowa offense’s inability to keep the
ball moving and Nebraska’s jam-it
down-the-throat, ball-control attack
kept the undermanned Iowa defense mi
its toes.
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