Field Level Media
Sep 28, 2019
Nate Stanley completed 17 of 25 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 14 Iowa roll to a 48-3 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday in Iowa City.
Toren Young rushed for 131 yards on 11 carries for his first career 100-yard outing as the Hawkeyes rolled up 351 yards on the ground. Tyler Goodson gained 97 yards on 12 rushes, and Mehki Sargent had 91 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries for Iowa, which is off to a 4-0 start for the fifth time in coach Kirk Ferentz's 21 seasons.
Brandon Smith caught two touchdown passes while Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brady Ross added rushing scores for the Hawkeyes. Stanley has thrown 60 career touchdown passes, one behind second-place Drew Tate (2003-06) on the school's all-time list.
Iowa racked up 644 yards of total offense, the most during Ferentz's tenure. The previous high of 613 came against Minnesota in 2005.
Asher O'Hara was 15-of-22 passing for 110 yards for Middle Tennessee (1-3). The Blue Raiders had just 216 yards of total offense.
Iowa took control with 17 first-quarter points to start its domination.
Sargent scored on a 4-yard run to cap the Hawkeyes' first drive, and Keith Duncan booted a 49-yard field goal with 4:54 left. Stanley connected with Smith on an 18-yard scoring aerial with 15 seconds left in the quarter.
Ross plunged in from the 1-yard line to cap a nine-play, 81-yard drive to make it 24-0 with 8:33 left in the first half.
Duncan's 42-yard field elevated the lead to 27 with 10:52 left in the third quarter. The Blue Raiders ended Iowa's shutout bid when Crews Holt kicked a 43-yard field goal with 5:24 left.
Smith-Marsette's 14-yard run increased the lead to 34-3 with 2:19 left in the third quarter.
Stanley and Smith hooked up for the second time -- from 10 yards -- to make it 41-3 with 10:01 remaining in the contest. Backup quarterback Spencer Petras completed the scoring on a 1-yard keeper with 47 seconds left.
The Hawkeyes controlled the ball for 35 minutes, 57 seconds and converted 10 of 16 third-down opportunities. The Blue Raiders were 3 of 12.
Middle Tennessee has been outscored 129-42 in its three losses, with the first two occurring against Michigan and Duke.
--Field Level Media