The No. 18 Iowa football team scored an 85-second touchdown against No. 17 Indiana in their season-opener and held that lead for the remainder of the game in a 34–6 victory over the Hoosiers at Kinnick Stadium.
Iowa made the Hawkeye 7–0 early in the fourth offensive of the game, trailing Tyler Goodson's 56-yard run. Only 50 seconds after game time, Hawkeye cornerback Riley Moss caught a deflected pass by Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. Moss recorded the second pick six later in the second quarter.
Add in the draw, quarterback Spencer Petras for touchdowns and a 41-yard field goal (the first attempt of his career) by Caleb Shudak and the Hawkeyes led 31-3 at halftime. By then the game was over.
Iowa caught Penix, making his first start since tearing his ACL last November, passing 128 yards to 14-in-29 and intercepting him three times. Penicks was replaced by backup quarterback Jack Tuttle in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes, one of the top offenses in the Big Ten last season, pitched the Hoosiers for 233 yards, forced three turnovers, and recorded four tackles for the loss.
Goodson led the Iowa offense, rushing for 99 yards and hitting a touchdown on 19 escape attempts. Petras was 13-in-27 for 145 yards through the air. His favorite target that day was Sam Laporta. The junior tight end caught five passes for 83 yards on Saturday.
Big picture
Iowa are 1-0 to begin the 2021 season, winning their first two games against ranked opponents at the start of the schedule. The season-opener was as well Iowa could hope for. Iowa led all but a game time of 85 seconds. The Hawkeyes also have an early advantage over Big Ten West challenger Wisconsin, who lost 16-10 to Big Ten enemy Penn State on Saturday.
Riley Moss's Career Game
Moss is the third Iowa defensive comeback since 2013 to set a record for two sixes in a game, joining BJ Lowery and Josh Jackson. The senior cornerback now has eight interceptions in his Hawkeye career.
Iowa in general was troubled by secondary panics throughout the game. Several other passes were deflected and nearly blocked, along with three obstructions from Penix.
At the state of Iowa
1-0 Hockey will travel to AIIMS next week to compete against the No. 7 Cyclones. The game is scheduled for 3:30 pm. Saturday and will air on ABC.