Iowa Hawkeyes vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Football Recap

Iowa 37, Eastern Illinois 7

There was no Northern Iowa scare for the Iowa Hawkeyes this season.

Last year, Iowa’s special season – which brought home an Orange Bowl championship and restored a considerable amount of prestige to the program – did not begin all that well. Coach Kirk Ferentz presided over a club that had a hard time getting out of its own way. Iowa labored through a difficult opening weekend in which it couldn’t shake the Northern Iowa Panthers. Iowa clung to a one-point lead in the final seconds, and committed a mistake which allowed Northern Iowa to re-kick a field goal that had been missed on its first attempt. Fortunately, the Hawkeyes were able to block to second try, and they held on for a 17-16 decision that allowed them to move forward.

Move ahead 12 months on the calendar, and it’s clear that the Hawkeye Nation never had to sweat bullets during the final minutes of this 2010 season opener.

Iowa’s offense dominated, piling up 435 total yards.  Ricky Stanzi completed 18 of 23 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown, and Adam Robinson carried 24 times for 109 yards and a career-high three scores.

Eastern Illinois managed just six first downs and 157 yards of total offense.  Running back Jimmy Potempa rushed for only 21 yards on 14 carries.

The Hawkeyes scored on their first two possessions, both ending on short touchdown runs by Robinson.  Iowa took a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter on Paki O’Meara’s return of a blocked punt. The fast start out of the gates was a reflection of this team’s experience, a hard-won byproduct of last year’s 11-2 campaign. Iowa knew it needed to establish a better tempo in its 2010 lid-lifter, and this performance against Eastern Illinois will give the Hawks more of a push as they prepare for Iowa State.

The visitors from the FCS were able to dent the scoreboard, at least. After a successful fake punt early in the second quarter, the Panthers scored their only touchdown on an 11-yard pass from Brandon Large to Von Wise.

Robinson’s third touchdown of the game re-established order for Iowa, though; it gave the Hawkeyes a 28-7 lead at halftime.

Stanzi’s one-yard touchdown pass to fullback Brett Morse with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter gave Iowa its final 37-7 advantage.

Stanzi appeared to be injured early in the second quarter when he slipped to the turf while rolling out, but he returned to the game.

> More 2009 College Football Previews from CollegeSports-fans.com