Iowa reclaims Cy-Hawk Trophy after outlasting Iowa State at home

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Coach Kirk Ferentz expected the 73rd edition of the Cy-Hawk Rivalry to be intense, and had his Hawkeyes prepared to battle it out with the opposition Saturday night.

A loud, and sold out crowd at Kinnick Stadium watched as Iowa State jumped out to a 10-point lead, but Iowa rallied back late in the fourth quarter to win 16-13, and snapped a two-game losing streak in the series.

Ferentz anticipated a battle in the trenches, and as he matched wits with Coach Jimmy Rogers, he realized the Cyclones were scrappy, and traded blows with his team like a heavyweight fight. However, kicker Caden Buhr was the hero of the night, and nailed three field goals, which included a clutch 43-yarder in the final 15 seconds of the second half that gave the Hawkeyes their first lead of the game.

Although it took nearly the entire game to accomplish that feat, Ferentz is proud of the way his players responded to early adversity, and persevered through a chippy affair.

“I thought they just made those guys work for everything they got,” Ferentz said. “We went into the game—in some ways it was like a first game, we had game tape, but we were pretty confident we were going to see some things besides what we saw last week, and everybody handled that well, too.”

Iowa State (1-1) shut down Iowa’s ground attack on offense, and that put more pressure on quarterback Hank Brown. Still, Brown never flinched, made plays with his legs and arm, and his teammates built off his energy. The officials penalized Iowa throughout the first half, and that frustrated Ferentz. Brown showed poise down the stretch though, and most importantly, didn’t turn the ball over, which Ferentz admired.

“They made it rough on him (Brown), too, but I thought he stayed in there and came up with some big plays, and certainly, the big pass play gave us a real spark there in the first half,” he said. “I thought he had good composure out there, he kept everybody in good shape and made some good plays in the running game, and just showed real toughness.”

The first quarter went scoreless, and the rest of the first half was a defensive slugfest. Iowa State’s defensive line dictated the flow of the game through the first 30 minutes, and forced Iowa to make second half adjustments. Still, Brown was able to lead the offense on a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with under six minutes left in the second quarter. Brown’s rushing score was the Hawkeyes’ only touchdown of the evening.

Although Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor had his moments, and threw a touchdown to Vince Benetti in the second quarter, Iowa’s defense held him in check for the remainder of the game. The Hawkeyes’ new and refreshed defensive line provided a good push up front, and forced Raynor to beat them with his arm.

Once the  smoke cleared, Iowa led Iowa State in total offense, passing yards, first downs, and plays, which Ferentz felt was a testament to the grit of his players.

“All in all, a tough, hard-fought game, and we have more of those coming, so I’m happy to get the win first and foremost, and then it provides a real growing and learning experience for our guys,” the 71-year old said. “We’re fairly young in a lot of areas right now, so you have to fight through one like this, it’s going to be a good thing for us, and certainly great to get a trophy back in the case there.”

Brown completed 21 of his 30 passes for 191 yards, to go along with a rushing score, and didn’t turn the ball over. The Hawkeyes only rushed for 93 yards, and running back Kamari Moulton finished with 57 on the ground.

Wideout Tony Diaz had a game-high, eight receptions for 93 yards. Ferentz thought Diaz’s 52-yard catch was tbe biggest play of the game. Moulton caught six passes out of the backfield, and tight end DJ Vonahme posted two receptions.

Defensively, Iowa (2-0) kept the game tight in a phone booth, and didn’t force sny turnovers, but finished the game with no sacks. Cam Buffington racked up a game-high, 25 tackles. Jaylen Watson, and Bryce Hawthorne each added five stops.

The Cyclones were a litmus test for the 21st-ranked Hawkeyes. Ferentz believes going down to the wire with Iowa State will only make Iowa stronger for the Big Ten gauntlet ahead. Regardless, he’s feeling more at ease knowing the Cy-Hawk Trophy is back in Iowa City, and his players, as well as the Hawkeye fans have bragging rights for the next 364 days.

“Expected this to be a tough contest, that’s kind of been the standard fair anytime we get together the last decade-plus, and that’s exactly how it played out.”