Iowa Football's Biggest Winners in Dominant Showing vs Northern Illinois

You can't argue that the Iowa Hawkeyes weren't ready for Week 1. From the opening snap, the Hawkeyes were firing on nearly all cylinders in a dominant 40-0 victory over Northern Illinois to open the 2026 campaign.

It was refreshing to see Iowa not play with its food and handle business like good teams do. There was a dominant ground game, some life to the passing attack, a defense flying around, and some special teams success and failures.

With a 33-0 score at halftime, Iowa got some depth pieces into the action while saving the starters for a Week 2 Cy-Hawk showdown.

Kamari Moulton & the Offensive Line

Kamari Moulton was always going to be Iowa's lead back, but I don't think many would have predicted a day like he had today. Moulton exploded for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, which was an average of 16.6 yards per carry.

Moulton looked explosive and fast, but the offensive line created holes that a semi-truck could have driven through. The group up front was supposed to be good entering the year, and only reconfirmed that belief, clearing the way for the ground game.

From the 50 🤩

Kamari Moulton took this one to the house for No. 22 @HawkeyeFootball's second score of the day.

Watch on BTN pic.twitter.com/WSvlJYL14h
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 5, 2026

Tony Diaz

Do the Iowa Hawkeyes have a true threat at wide receiver? It appears that may be the case. Tony Diaz had the hype before the season, but he proved that he was worthy of it today.

On the day, Diaz reeled in seven receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown, with a few targets and potential drops leaving even more on the table. What stood out was Diaz's clear athleticism and shiftiness. He brings a different level to Iowa's wide receiver room that hasn't been there in some time.

Welcome to Iowa City, Tony 😏@Tdiqz14 x #Hawkeyes

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/XmnqL3DBT8
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) September 5, 2026

The Defense

Again, like the other units, Iowa worked in backups in the second half, which leaves us with the first half to review. And, boy, was that half one to be proud of if you are Iowa's defense.

Iowa allowed Northern Illinois to gain 24 total yards in the first half. Just 16 were through the air, while holding the Huskies to less than one yard per carry on the ground. Add in an interception to put icing on the cake, and this defense showed out early.

On the day, Iowa gave up just 120 total yards, 113 of which came through the air on a 13-for-24 showing from the Huskies. The secondary was suffocating. On the ground, Iowa held Northern Illinois to seven yards on 31 carries, which is 0.2 yards per carry.

Kickoff Coverage

Iowa was simply elite on kickoff coverage in this game, which is a very telling sign of how the transition to Chris Polizzi is going as the new special teams coordinator.

On any kicks in the first half that were returned, the Hawkeyes did not let the Huskies return a kickoff past the 19-yard line. That is downright elite. Iowa pinned the Huskies back deep time and time again, making an already tough day even more impossible.

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