North Texas' upset bid falls short against Iowa
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 16: James Butler #20 of Iowa rushes up field during the second quarter against Sid Moore #44 of North Texas on September 16, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Nate Stanley threw for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Iowa overwhelmed North Texas 31-14 on Saturday to finish the non-conference season unbeaten.
Freshman Ivory Kelly-Martin added 74 yards rushing and two TDs for the Hawkeyes (3-0), who played most of the second half without running backs Akrum Wadley and James Butler.
Iowa pulled ahead 17-14 on a 23-yard TD pass from Stanley to Noah Fant - on fourth down and 5 - late in the third quarter. Kelly-Martin added a 2-yard touchdown, the first of his career, with 8:16 left to cap a drive that covered 87 yards and burned nearly nine minutes.
Kelly-Martin also scored a 6-yard TD run with 1:47 to go.
But the Hawkeyes will be left to hope that Wadley (right leg) and Butler (right elbow) won't miss extended time. Wadley and Butler, a Nevada transfer, entered 2017 as the only duo in the country to each rush for over 1,000 yards last season.
Mason Fine threw for 167 yards for North Texas (1-2), which dropped its second straight.
THE TAKEAWAY
IOWA: Though the final score wasn't close, this wasn't how the Hawkeyes wanted to look with No. 5 Penn State coming to town next week. A fumble and a premature celebration by Wadley cost Iowa a pair of touchdowns, and a rash of penalties helped North Texas score and take the lead at halftime. Still, the Hawkeyes defense pitched a shutout in the second half and their running game showed promise even without Wadley or Butler.
NORTH TEXAS: After getting embarrassed by instate rival SMU, the Mean Green responded by scaring Iowa for about 50 minutes. Fine proved to be a handful at times for Iowa's defense, as was Jeffrey Wilson on a 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. If North Texas can play like this in Conference USA, a bowl trip isn't out of the question.
UP NEXT
Iowa hosts Penn State on Sept. 23.
North Texas hosts Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.
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