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A football player in a white jersey and yellow pants runs toward the end zone, celebrating a touchdown as teammates and opponents follow behind on the field.A football player in a white jersey and yellow pants runs toward the end zone, celebrating a touchdown as teammates and opponents follow behind on the field.
Brian Ray
Football

Hawkeyes Dominate Huskies in Seattle

SEATTLE – The University of Iowa football team defeated Washington, 41-24, on a rainy Friday night at Husky Stadium.

Opens in a new window Box Score (PDF)

SEATTLE – The University of Iowa football team defeated Washington, 41-24, on a rainy Friday night at Husky Stadium.

The Hawkeyes totaled 465 yards of offense and 22 first downs while holding the Huskies to 317 yards of total offense, 24 first downs and minus-4 rushing yards. Iowa rushed for 263 yards and recorded six sacks in the victory.

Third-year quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski completed 14-of-19 pass attempts for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He posted a 215.1 passer rating and connected with DJ Vonnahme and Reece Vander Zee for scoring strikes.

Fourth-year running back Kamari Moulton led Iowa's rushing attack with a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, including a 56-yard scoring run late in the first quarter. L.J. Phillips Jr. added 42 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Vander Zee paced the Hawkeyes' receiving corps with three receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown. Vonnahme recorded two catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns, while Tony Diaz added three receptions for 23 yards.

Defensively, Xavier Styles led Iowa with nine tackles. Cam Buffington and Jayden Montgomery added eight tackles apiece. Buffington and Preston Ries each recorded two sacks, while Montgomery and Bryce Hawthorne added one sack each. The Hawkeyes finished with nine tackles for loss.

Special teams played a key role as Caden Buhr connected on field goals from 51 and 27 yards and converted all five extra-point attempts.

QUOTING KIRK FERENTZ

"Needless to say, just really happy to get the win tonight. Just really proud of our guys. Being on the road, short week, you know, all kinds of reasons maybe we wouldn't play well, but give the guys a lot of credit. They did a great job all week. It points right to our leadership, just understanding what the approach had to be, which, you know, it's a lot less physical work in a short week, but the mental work really ramps up, and I thought the guys really did a good job with that.

Then I think the guys showed a lot of resiliency on top of it. So, you know, we came out of the gate really strong, operated really well all three phases. The offense did a good job, obviously. The defense, all three-and-outs up until that last possession. And special teams mixed in there, really did some good things, too. So, you know, just really happy about that.

Tip of the hat to Jeremy, jumping in there. Next man in, and performed extremely well. Same thing with Kamari. Stating the obvious, 200-plus yards, doesn't happen every night. But in both cases, as I said last week about Jeremy, his preparation has been really good the last couple of weeks. I think that showed up last Saturday, and I think that's part of the reason. Since six weeks ago, we feel like we have two guys that have improved a lot and are good quarterbacks.

And then Kamari, talked about that earlier in the year where, with each year, if guys are doing things right, they do get better. I think he's running as decisively and strong and just seeing things at a different level than he has. So, those are all good things.

Again, really proud of our team, really happy for them and the work that they put in. Last thing, just want to salute our fans. What a great turnout that was. I wish I had a quarter for every person I met between last whenever, like May and now, that were going to Washington. So, apparently they weren't lying, because there were a lot of folks out there cheering at the end of the game. So, really appreciate that."

PHOTOS

HOW IT HAPPENED 

  • Caden Buhr opened the scoring with a 51-yard field goal with 12:30 remaining in the first quarter.
  • Buhr added a 27-yard field goal midway through the opening quarter to extend Iowa's lead to 6-0.
  • Kamari Moulton broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter, giving the Hawkeyes a 13-0 advantage.
  • Jeremy Hecklinski connected with DJ Vonnahme for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 9:05 left in the second quarter to push Iowa's lead to 20-0.
  • Hecklinski and Vonnahme hooked up again on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 5:07 remaining before halftime, extending the advantage to 27-0.
  • Washington got on the board with a 30-yard field goal late in the second quarter, sending Iowa into the locker room with a 27-3 lead.
  • The Huskies opened the second half with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Brown to Chris Lawson to trim the deficit to 27-10.
  • Iowa answered on its ensuing possession when Hecklinski found Reece Vander Zee for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 7:05 remaining in the third quarter.
  • Washington cut the lead to 34-18 on a two-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Dezmen Roebuck late in the third quarter.
  • Moulton scored his second touchdown of the game on a three-yard run with 12:06 remaining in the fourth quarter to push Iowa's lead to 38-18.
  • Washington added a touchdown on the final play of the game to account for the 38-24 final score.

POSTGAME NOTES

  • Friday’s win is Iowa’s first regular season victory on the West Coast since 1965 – 27-7 at Oregon State.
  • It was Iowa’s first game in Seattle since 1963.
  • The Hawkeyes have won four straight and 14 of their last 16 Friday contests since 2015.
  • Iowa has won five of its last six Friday night contests since 2020.
  • The Hawkeyes have won their last five games following their first loss in five straight years.
  • The loss is Washington’s second defeat in its last 12 non-Saturday home games since 2010 (10-2 record).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

  • QB Jeremy Hecklinski finished 14-of-19 for 202 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start. The three TDs are a high by an Iowa QB this season.
  • RB Kamari Moulton notched his first career 200-yard game (third career 100-yard contest), finishing with 26 carries for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns.
    • He is the first Hawkeye to go over 200 yards since Kaleb Johnson (206 vs. Minnesota) in 2024.
    • Moulton had a 56-yard touchdown run in the first quarter – his longest rush of the season and second-longest of his career.
    • He had a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. It is his fourth career two touchdown game.
    • Moulton had eight carries for 97 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter and he went over 100 yards on his first carry of the second quarter.
  • TE DJ Vonnahme had two receptions for 44 yards and two touchdowns -- a 20 and 24-yarder in the second quarter. They are Vonnahme’s first two touchdowns this season (fourth and fifth of his career).  It is his first career multi-TD game.
  • WR Reece Vander Zee had three catches for 69 yards in the game, including an 8-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter – his third of the season.
    • Vander Zee’s 69 yards are a career-high, while his three TDs this season matches a career-best.
  • LB Preston Ries and LB Cam Buffington both had a career-high two sacks.
  • DB Xavier Styles had nine tackles in his first career start as a Hawkeye to lead the team.
  • K Caden Buhr drilled a 51- and 27-yard field goal in the first quarter.
    • The 51-yarder was Buhr’s first career make from 50+ yards.  
    • Buhr has made two or more field goals in four games this season.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Iowa finished with 41 points, marking the first time in 15 years that the team has scored 40+ points three times in its first six games of the season.
  • The 41 points are the most against a Big Ten opponent since 2024 (42 vs. Wisconsin).
  • Iowa’s rushing attack churned out 263 yards – its third game with 200+ yards this season. It is a season-best against a Power 5 opponent.
    • Iowa has rushed for 200+ yards in 16 games under OC Tim Lester; the team is 15-1 in such contests.
  • The Hawkeyes finished with 465 yards – the fourth-most in a game and most in a Big Ten game under Lester.
  • The Hawkeye defense tied a season-high six sacks by four different players.
  • Iowa allowed minus-3 rushing yards, the second fewest under Kirk Ferentz and the second time the Hawkeyes have held an opponent to negative rushing yards (minus-13 vs. Kent State in 2004).
  • Iowa opened the game with a seven-play, 32-yard scoring drive. It was the third time this season the team has scored on its opening possession (NIU, UNI, Washington).
  • The Hawkeyes scored 27 points in the first half – the most in a Big Ten game since 2025 (31 vs. Minnesota).
    • It was the third time this season Iowa has scored at least 27 points in the first half.
  • Iowa outgained the Huskies, 279-109, in the first half. UW didn’t go over 100 yards of total offense until its final offensive possession of the first half.
    • The Hawkeye defense limited Washington to 14 total yards and one first down in the first quarter.
  • Washington won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Hawkeyes have played 347 games under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has opened the game on offense 256 times (166-90). The Hawkeyes have opened the game on defense 91 times (52-39).

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes are idle on Oct. 17. Iowa will return to action Oct. 24 at Minnesota.