Likes, dislikes from Iowa football's offensive clinic vs. Washington

Iowa football has arrived at the halfway point of the regular season in style.

Coming off a disappointing performance against Ohio State, Iowa responded with a commanding 41-24 road win over Washington. The Hawkeyes never trailed in the contest.

Here are (mostly) likes and dislikes from Iowa’s promising performance in Seattle.

Fast start: Iowa came out on the road and threw an absolute haymaker, setting the tone early. Iowa scored 27 points before Washington finally even got on the board. At that point, a Washington comeback already seemed highly unlikely.

Running game: This was the ground game we expected to see this season. Iowa struggled mightily in its first three power conference matchups of the season, but finally broke through against Washington. The Hawkeyes totaled 263 rushing yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. The performance was a decisive step in the right direction for Iowa’s running game and offensive line.

Kamari Moulton: Moulton was at the forefront of Iowa’s success on the ground. He had 26 carries for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns. In the first half, Moulton powered his way through for an impressive 56-yard touchdown. Outside of a sensational season-opener, Moulton had been quiet in 2026. But it was a different story against Washington. That was the physical, decisive runner that Iowa needs moving forward. 

Jeremy Hecklinski: The moment wasn’t too big for Hecklinski, whose first college start came on the road. Hecklinski finished 14-of-19 passing for 202 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers. It was reminiscent of Hecklinski’s sizzling performance at Kids’ Day at Kinnick in August. But this was on a bigger stage with bigger implications. Credit to Hecklinski for sticking with it after losing the starting job to Hank Brown. With Brown injured, Iowa needed Hecklinski to step up, and he did just that. 

Offense: Iowa got contributions from a variety of players: Jeremy Hecklinski, Kamari Moulton, DJ Vonnahme, Reece Vander Zee, L.J. Phillips Jr. and the offensive line. The Hawkeyes put up 465 yards of offense, well-balanced between 202 passing yards and 263 rushing yards. This was easily Iowa’s best offensive showing against a power conference opponent this season after previously failing to score more than 20 points.

Getting pressure on Washington quarterbacks: The Hawkeyes made life difficult for the Washington starter Demond Williams Jr. and backup Elijah Brown, consistently getting pressure in their faces. Iowa finished the game with six sacks.

Run defense: Iowa didn’t give Washington’s poor running game much room to operate. The Huskies had -3 rushing yards against the Hawkeyes defense.

Preson Ries: Ries is not even a starter for Iowa’s defense, but he had a huge game. Ries, a third-year linebacker out of Monticello, totaled four tackles, including including sacks. He also saved the Hawkeyes on special teams by recovered a muffed punt. For Ries to be this impactful in a reserve role speaks to the depth of Iowa’s linebacker room.

DJ Vonnahme: The Iowa tight end had a two-touchdown day before the end of the first half. He finished the day with two catches, but both were touchdowns. This was the first multi-touchdown game of Vonnahme’s Hawkeye career.

Caden Buhr: The second game in a row that Buhr has been perfect. He was 2-of-2 on field goals against Washington, including a career-long 51-yarder in the first half. Buhr has now made each of his last four field goals.

Navigating scheduling challenges: Playing on a short week and traveling two times away were both topics of conversation entering this matchup. But neither seemed to affect Iowa in a negative way. In fact, Washington was the team that looked a step slow.

Momentum into bye week: Iowa goes into the bye week 5-1 overall. The Hawkeyes were able to go 2-1 in this crucial three-game block, beating Michigan and Washington on the road. The Hawkeyes are still capable of accomplishing so much this season.

Road warriors: The Hawkeyes improve to 2-0 on the road this season. That’s a good sign, considering Iowa still has three more road games during the regular season.

Iowa’s secondary: This was clearly the weakest spot on Iowa’s defense. Washington’s backup quarterback Elijah Brown entered the game after starter Demond Williams Jr. exited with an injury. Interestingly, Iowa did a fantastic job bottling up Williams, but was picked apart by Brown. Brown exposed Iowa’s secondary, finishing 28-of-39 passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns. The Hawkeyes’ secondary was also flagged for too many penalties. Between Williams and Brown, Washington had 320 passing yards.

2nd half defense: Washington’s offense got off to a very slow start, failing to score on its first five drives of the game. But they picked it up with Brown leading the offense. The Huskies put 21 points on the board in the second half after scoring just three points before the break. Granted, the final touchdown came in garbage time. But still, it wasn’t a great defensive performance in the second half by the Hawkeyes.

Muffed punt: Iowa was fortunate on this one. Evan James muffed a punt in the second quarter. Luckily for Iowa, the Hawkeyes were able to recover it. With Iowa leading 20-0 at the time, that could’ve given Washington a much-needed sign of life.

Penalties: Iowa was undisciplined at times with its penalties. The Hawkeyes committed eight penalties for 73 yards. That’s probably too sloppy for head coach Kirk Ferentz’s liking. Washington wasn’t much better, committing seven penalties for 50 yards.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at TTachman@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: Likes, dislikes from Iowa football’s offensive clinic vs. Washington