Iowa vs. Iowa State Game Report: Turning point, numbers and notes

Iowa builds a 17-0 lead and holds on to win the Cy-Hawk Trophy, 20-13

AMES — A look at Iowa’s 20-13 win Saturday afternoon over Iowa State at Jack Trice Stadium.

Turning point

You could go with Iowa’s Logan Lee blocking a field goal after Iowa State went on a 15-play drive to open the game. You could say a third-down pass interference penalty on Iowa State that extended an Iowa drive that ended with a 4-yard Jaziun Patterson touchdown run for a 10-0 Hawkeyes lead was the turning point.

Definitely you could argue that Iowa defensive tackle Ethan Hurkett bursting into the backfield to stuff Iowa State running back Cartevious Norton for a game-clinching 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the Iowa State 40 with 1:16 to go was it.

But as it all turned out, Sebastian Castro made the biggest play of the game. The defensive back stepped in front of a pass in the flat from Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 Iowa lead with 4:29 left in the first half.

The Cyclones could never quite climb all the way back. By the way, Castro’s play made it 16 straight seasons for Iowa with a pick-6.

By the numbers

0 — Iowa had no penalties in the game. Iowa State had just two for 24 yards.

2 — Lee got his second career blocked field goal when he got Chase Contrerez’s 36-yard try on Iowa State’s first possession.

6 — The win extended Iowa’s winning streak in Ames to six games. Iowa is 22-8 all time on the road in this series.

16 — Castro’s interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter made it 16 straight seasons with a pick-6 for Iowa.

35 — Hawkeye tight end Luke Lachey had a career-long 35-yard catch on the final play of the first quarter.

59 — Patterson’s 59-yard first-quarter run for Iowa was the redshirt freshman’s career-long, topping his 17-yarder against Kentucky last season. He got his first career touchdown in the second quarter.

200 — Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz got his 200th career victory as a head coach.

Notebook

* The Iowa band did not attend the game.

* Several Republican presidential candidates were in the Trice parking lots before the game. But this is about football, so we’ll not dwell on them here.

* Hayden Large made his first tangible contribution to the Iowa team by catching a 3-yard checkdown pass in the first quarter. The fullback is a walk-on graduate transfer from NAIA Dordt College in Sioux Center.

* Iowa did not have a catch from a wide receiver in the first half. Nico Ragaini had the Hawkeyes’ first one for no gain on the opening possession of the second half.

* Iowa State had seven pass drops offensively in the game.

* Iowa State began the game with a 15-yard drive that moved the football from its 25 to the Iowa 18. But the Iowa defense held and got the blocked field goal from Lee.

* Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel each had eight catches for Iowa State. Higgins’ receptions totaled 95 yards, including a fourth-quarter, 16-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-down fade. Iowa State had seven pass drops offensively in the game. Noel’s receptions totaled just 50 yards.

* Iowa’s tackles leaders were defensive backs Cooper DeJean (10) and Deshaun Lee (9). Interestingly, Iowa State’s top four tacklers also were DBs: Beau Freyler (10), Jeremiah Cooper (6), T.J. Tampa (5) and Myles Purchase (5). Linebacker Jacob Ellis also had five tackles for the Cyclones.

Injury report

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara (quad) played.

“Looked OK during the week,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He was limited a little bit, and we have to be very, very careful about how we use him and what we ask him to do during the week. But the encouraging news is that he got through the game without major issue.”

Offensive lineman Beau Stephens, who was unavailable for Iowa’s win over Utah State, took second-team reps during warmups and played in the game.

At first glance, both teams seemed to come out of this game relatively unscathed from a health standpoint.

Next games

The Hawkeyes host Western Michigan Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (BTN). Iowa State is at Ohio Saturday at 11 a.m. (either ESPN2 or ESPNU). Western Michigan lost Saturday at Syracuse, 48-7, to even its record at 1-1. Ohio (1-1) played Saturday night at Florida Atlantic.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com