Iowa Offense Finds 2nd-Half Spark

Hawkeye Running Game Breaks Out Saturday Against Western Michigan

Iowa’s Leshon Williams (4) carries the ball during a game against Western Michigan on Sept. 16, 2023 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Iowa needed an offensive breakout.

But for the first half of Saturday’s game against Western Michigan at Kinnick Stadium, it felt like the same struggles that have plagued this offense for so long.

Then came the second half.

The Hawkeyes’ running game showed a life that it hadn’t shown for a while, and with a combination of special teams plays and a defense that seemed to thrive on the help it was getting, rolled to a 41-10 win over the Broncos.

Iowa, ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, finished the nonconference season at 3-0, and takes a newfound confidence into next Saturday’s Big Ten opener at No. 7 Penn State.

“We handled business today,” said running back Leshon Williams, who rushed for a career-high 145 yards on just 12 carries. “Now, it’s time to get back to work and move on to next week. We’ve got a big challenge.”

The challenge in this game was getting something going. Iowa trailed 7-0 and 10-7 before Williams scored on a 25-yard screen pass from Cade McNamara that gave the Hawkeyes a 14-10 halftime lead.

The 27-point second half was built on a running game that finished with 254 rushing yards, the most since a 206-yard game against Kent State in 2021.

Iowa had just 200 rushing yards total through the first two wins over Utah State and Iowa State.

“Happy to see the run game get started a little bit,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “That's a good thing.”

It is a good thing, especially because it took what left tackle Mason Richman described as “an army of guys” to get there.

Starting running back Kaleb Johnson was out with an ankle injury. Jaziun Patterson, who has emerged as another speed option, rushed for 20 first-half yards before leaving with his own injury.

That gave the bulk of the early carries to Williams, who showed on a 53-yard run in the first half as well as on the screen pass that he is still a vital part of this running game.

It was good to see Leshon looked like Leshon again. He was cramping up in that first week. He's been practicing well, including this spring. So good to see him back and have some success. He certainly did a good job getting in the end zone. It was a good lift for us, for sure.”

But Williams needed help, and he got it from a variety of players.

True freshman Kamari Moulton had eight carries for 50 yards, scoring twice in the second half of his debut. Terrell Washington Jr., had six carries for 31 yards. Max White scored Iowa’s final touchdown on a 2-yard run.

Throw in the eight yards on two carries by wide receiver Kaleb Brown, the 30-yard run by receiver Seth Anderson, and even the 8-yard scramble by McNamara for a first down that had everyone checking to see if that injured quadricep from the start of the season would hold up, and it was a day when the Hawkeyes found of a lot of open turf.

“We have a lot of backs in the room, as you all can see,” Williams said. “We have a real stable, and we are stacked in there with a lot of talent. With the next man up, anything can happen at any moment, so we have to take advantage of the opportunity.”

“At least we have some depth there,” Ferentz said. “We do. The thing about injuries is just, as I've said a million times, it's just guys work so hard to get out there in the field like that. Everything is focused on these 12 games, and the guys put a lot into it.”

Moulton was the surprise, taking over for Williams in the second half.

“I have been working so hard for this. It felt good to get out there. I did this for my mom and my grandma, since they’ve passed, and I know they’re looking down and are happy for me, and proud of me. We’re always told by our coaches to stay prepared, so when my name was called, I was just excited to get out there and be there for my team. There were a few jitters going out there, but at the end of the day, it’s football. Nothing new.”

“The guy's a stud,” Williams said. “That's quite the introduction — two touchdowns. That's not regular for a freshman.”

McNamara was just 9-of-19 passing for 103 yards, throwing two touchdowns but also two interceptions.

But he didn’t mind seeing all of the running men.

“Even though they were going to bring a lot of stuff in the passing game, with some of that stuff they had to leave a lot of gaps,” McNamara said. “We were able to kind of control the tempo, and honestly the offensive line did a reliable job again.”

The sluggishness of the first half was quickly forgotten in Iowa’s second-half fury.

Now, it’s a new reality — Big Ten, Penn State, and all that.

“I do not think it is going to be a difficult task to get ready for this game,” McNamara said. “I think everyone is going to be extremely motivated for this one.”