Kamari Moulton rushed for a career-best 183 yards and scored two touchdowns on just 11 carries to help No. 22 Iowa steamroll Northern Illinois 40-0 on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City in the season opener for both teams.
Hank Brown earned the start at quarterback and completed 12 of 20 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown for the Hawkeyes. Runner-up Jeremy Hecklinski was 7-of-16 passing for 76 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Evan James returned a punt for a touchdown for Iowa, which outgained Northern Illinois 507-120 and had a 27-7 edge in first downs. Tony Diaz had seven catches for 84 yards and one touchdown and Xavier Williams also had a scoring reception.
Jalen Macon started at quarterback for Northern Illinois and completed 4 of 10 passes for 17 yards. Taron Dickens also played for the Huskies and was 9-of-14 passing for 96 yards and one interception.
Yassine Falke had an interception in the end zone for NIU.
The Huskies recorded their initial first down of the contest when Iowa’s Rashad Godfrey Jr. was flagged for pass interference with 4:09 left in the third quarter.
The Hawkeyes kept the identity of their starting quarterback a mystery all week. Brown took the field for the game’s first drive and moved Iowa 75 yards on 10 plays. The touchdown came when Brown hit Diaz on a 6-yard pass.
Moulton took over for the next two scores. He ran through a big hole for a 50-yard touchdown with 6:46 left in the first and added a 37-yard scoring scamper to make it 20-0 with 4:10 left in the quarter.
Hecklinski was the quarterback when the Hawkeyes made it 27-0. He tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Williams with 7:40 left in the second quarter.
Brown was back to drive the Hawkeyes to field goals of 45 and 34 yards from Caden Buhr to make it 33-0 at the half.
Iowa had a 372-24 edge in total offense at the break.
The Hawkeyes had a chance to push the lead to 40, but Hecklinski was intercepted in the end zone by Falke with 5:17 left in the third quarter.
Less than three minutes later, Iowa got that touchdown when James fielded a punt and navigated 77 yards to the end zone.
