COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND – The University of Iowa football team defeated Maryland, 29-13 on Saturday afternoon at SECU Stadium.

The Hawkeyes pounded the rock rushing for 268 yards to Maryland’s 98.

Kaleb Johnson (35 carries, 164 yards) and Kamari Moulton (12 carries, 114 yards) both eclipsed 100 yards, with each scoring a touchdown.

Jackson Stratton was 10-for-14 passing for 76 yards. Jacob Gill led the team with 29 receiving yards.

Drew Stevens was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals connecting from 27, 54, 50, 49 and 26 yards out.

Defensively, Jay Higgins led the way with eight tackles (four solo) and an interception. Quinn Schulte had seven tackles (five solo) and Ethan Hurkett added six tackles (four solo) with two sacks.  TJ Hall added an interception for the Hawkeyes.

QUOTING KIRK FERENTZ

“Just a really good football game for us and a good win for our team. I am really proud of everybody’s efforts, not just today, but the entire week getting ready for today.

I thought our guys played really hard and put a lot of heart into it. Young guys and old guys stepped up and did a great job. Talk about next man in and we have some guys a little bit older and then some guys younger but I thought they did a really good job.

There are challenges in every football game and certainly today that wasn’t any different. Just really proud of the way the guys persevered, kept pushing and most importantly we were ready to compete today and that’s where it all starts.

A couple things to highlight, Jackson Stratton obviously on offense jumping in there with his first start as our quarterback. Then maybe just equally as significant, he’s had a week to think about it. So instead of being thrown in there like he was, he knew he was going to be playing. I thought he played with a lot of poise, a good awareness out there and made the plays we were hoping he’d make. He made good decisions most importantly and protected the football. So just a really good effort.

The entire line played a good game. Part of that tied back to Jackson. There are some subtleties in there when you have a new line and a new quarterback or an old line with a new quarterback just with cadences and all that kind of stuff. It was good to see no operational errors there. So I thought that was something that maybe goes a little under the radar.

Defensively just a really good effort all four quarters. Good job upfront putting pressure on the quarterback,. We were going to try to disrupt him, try to disrupt the receivers a little bit and not let them just run free. And then the guys in the back end did a good job with T.J. Hall stepping in, so just happy about that. Obviously having Jay in there playing, it takes a lot to keep him out, and I’ve witnessed that personally.

Special teams was tricky out there with the windy conditions. We haven’t had a lot of wind so that made it tricky. Drew Stevens, stating the obvious, was really stellar and outstanding. Rhys didn’t get a lot of opportunities but I thought he did a nice job when he did and the one punt into the wind was huge in my opinion just helping with field position. There wasn’t much in the return game but Wetjen used good judgement back there so that’s certainly good to see as well.

It was out best start on the road this year which was good to see, not that it’s going to be a factor moving forward but it was certainly an improvement. I thought the first half really played out about as well as we could outside of  the turnover with controlling the ball and keeping it on the ground and trying to keep their quarterback off of the field. Really pleased about the way that unfolded and the way our guys responded.”

PHOTOS

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• On its second possession of the game Iowa drove 59-yards down the field to set up a 27-yard field goal from Drew Stevens.
• On their next possession the Hawkeyes extended their lead with a 14 play 77-yard drive that lasted 7:26 and ended with a two-yard touchdown rush from Kaleb Johnson.
• With 1:00 left in the first half Drew Stevens connected from 53-yards out to give Iowa a 13-0 lead. The score ended a six play eight-yard drive.
• Drew Stevens converted on a 50-yard field goal on Iowa’s first possession of the second half.
• An eight-yard touchdown for the Terrapins with 5:57 left in the third broke the shutout. The score capped an 11 play 70-yard drive. The two-point try was no good.
• Drew Stevens connected on a 49-yard field goal as the clock expired on the third quarter. The Hawkeyes took a 19-6 lead into the final quarter of play.
• Maryland responded with a 12-yard touchdown to cap a 65-yard eight play drive with 11:05 remaining in the contest.
• Kamri Moulton broke open a big rush with 9:19 left scoring on a 68-yard touchdown scamper. The score came at the end of a four play 80-yard drive.
• A pair of Iowa interceptions on back-to-back possessions and a school-record tying fifth field goal for Drew Stevens (26-yards) with 2:10 remaining helped ice the game for the Hawkeyes.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• RB Kaleb Johnson had a career-high 35 carries for 164 yards and one touchdown – from 2-yards out in the second quarter.
  • He has scored a touchdown in all 11 games this season – the only player in school history to accomplish the feat.
  • Johnson rushed for 109 yards on 22 attempts in the first half.
  • He is the first Iowa tailback to have at least 30 carries since Tyler Goodson in 2020 and they are the most in a game since Jordan Canzeri’s 43 carries at Illinois in 2015.
  • His 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave him 21 rushing touchdowns this season, breaking Shonn Greene’s single season school record.
  • He now 21 rushing touchdowns and a school record 22 total TDs, extending his record to 132 points.
    • Johnson now has 30 career rushing TDs (fourth-most in program history) and 31 total touchdowns (7th-most all-time).
  • Johnson moved into third place on Iowa’s single season rushing list with 1,492 yards this season, trailing only Shonn Greene (1,850) and Tavian Banks (1,691).
• RB Kamari Moulton had a career-long 68-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter – the team’s second-longest rush of the season.
  • Moulton recorded his first career 100-yard game, finishing with 114 yards on 12 attempts.
  • He has two touchdowns this season and four in his career.
• It is the first time since 2016 that Iowa has had multiple 100-yard rushers in the same game (LeShun Daniels, Jr. (158) and Akrum Wadley (105) vs. Nebraska, 11/25/16).
• QB Jackson Stratton – Iowa’s fifth string quarterback to open the season – made his first career start.
  • He finished the game 10-of-14 for 76 yards.
  • He is the third different Hawkeye QB to start this season – a first for the program since 2016 (Drew Tate, Jason Mason, Jake Christensen).
• OL Mason Richman made his 50th career start – the most by an OL under Kirk Ferentz.
• OL Nick DeJong made his first start of the season in place of an injured OL Gennings Dunker.
  • It was Iowa’s third different starting offensive line combination this season.
• DL Ethan Hurkett had a career-high three TFL and he tied a career-high with two sacks. He finished with six tackles.
• DB T.J. Hall had his first career interception in the fourth quarter.
• LB Jay Higgins recorded his fourth interception of the season (fifth of his career) in the fourth quarter.
  • His four interceptions are tied for the most by a linebacker in FBS.
  • The four picks are the most by an Iowa linebacker since Josey Jewell (4) in 2016.
  • Higgins also had a team-high eight tackles; he has led the team in tackles in 10 of the team’s 11 games.
• K Drew Stevens made a career-high five field goals (27, 54, 50, 49 and 26 yards), tying the program’s single-game record set by Kyle Schlicher in 2004.
  • He is the first Hawkeye since Tim Douglas (at Illinois, 1998) to make multiple 50+ yard field goals (51, 58, 51) in the same game.
  • He is the first player to make two 50+ yard field goals against Maryland and first Terps’ opponent since 2002 to make five field goals in a single game.
  • His 54-yard FG tied a career long, which he initially set against Northwestern in 2022.
  • It is the second time this season (vs. Washington) and the fourth time in his career he has made at least four field goals in a game.
  • It was Stevens’ sixth and seventh career 50+ yard field goals, passing Brion Hurley for the most 50+ yarders in program history.
  • He is now 17-of-20 this season with three makes from 50+. His 50 career field goals are sixth-most in program history.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• The Hawkeyes finished with 268 rushing yards on 58 attempts – its eighth game this season with 200+ yards. It is believed to be the most 200-yard games in a single season in program history.
  • Iowa’s 268 yards are the most allowed in a game this season by the Maryland defense this season.
  • The Hawkeyes have rushed for 250+ yards in four games.
• Iowa’s defense limited the Terps’ passing attack to season-low 129 yards, snapping a streak of 17 straight games with 200+ yards passing. It was fourth-longest active streak in FBS.
• Iowa’s 14-play, 77-yard scoring drive in the second quarter was the team’s longest scoring drive by plays this season.
• The Hawkeyes dominated the first half, outgaining Maryland, 200-65, having a 15-3 advantage in first downs and a 22:52-7:08 advantage in time of possession. Iowa ran 46 plays to the Terps’ 22 in the opening 30 minutes.
• Iowa has had at least one interception in every game this season and the team has had two picks in four straight games (five games this season).
  • Iowa has forced 22 turnovers this season (16 interceptions, six fumbles). The 16 interceptions are the most since 2021.
  • The Hawkeyes’ picks came on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter.
• Maryland won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Hawkeyes have played 326 games under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has opened the game on offense 237 times (152-85). The Hawkeyes have opened the game on defense 89 times (51-38).

UP NEXT

Iowa closes out the regular season Nov. 29, hosting Nebraska in the Pioneer Heroes Game at 6:30 p.m. (CT) inside Kinnick Stadium.  The game will be televised on NBC.