Iowa Was No field of Dreams for Huskies, Just a Nightmare

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- As has been the case for nearly a month now, the University of Washington football team just can't seem to get out of the way of its own feet. In Middle America, the Huskies tripped hard and did a face-plant.

After Grady Gross missed yet another kick, with this one swatted down at the line of scrimmage at the end of a strong opening first drive, the Huskies were never really the same again against Iowa and lost 40-16 on Saturday at a sold-out Kinnnick Stadium.

This one-sided road setback took considerable gloss off a UW team (4-3 overall, 2-2) coming off a big home win over Michigan but showing its inability for the second time to travel across multiple time zones and bring back a Big Ten win.

Things got so bad the Huskies suffered their worst loss since the 2021 Apple Cup, three coaches ago, when WSU took a 40-13 decision in Seattle.

"I feel like we didn't play our brand of football, of what we're used to, that we're capable of," linebacker Carson Bruener said of the big margin of defeat. "It really just starts with doing our job. But, yeah, it felt a little weird."

The UW now takes a bye week to try and get Gross straightened out -- his first kick wasn't the only one that was questionable -- as well as the rest of his teammates. They still need two wins out of their last five outings to become bowl eligible.

For Iowa (4-2, 2-1), Kaleb Johnson's feet worked just fine as the nation's second-leading rusher coming in by running 21 times for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown -- giving him 13 scores on the season.

In this hostile environment, the purple-and-white-clad Huskies seemingly came out ready for the challenge of a double whammy of a road game with a late morning kickoff. They stiffened on defense and forced their hosts into a 3-and-out, with cornerback Thaddeus Dixon knocking down a third-down pass for his sixth break-up of the season.

Looking equally prepared on offense, the UW moved down the field on its initial series without much difficulty, picking up first downs on a 17-yard pass to Cam Davis, a 14-yard pass to Keleki Latu and a 14-yard run by Jonah Coleman.

Yet the drive stalled once the Huskies reached the Iowa 11, where offensive guard Enokk Vimahi was guilty of a false start, and Gross came out to attempt a 32-yard field goal. His kicking difficulties have not been corrected. Iowa defensive tackle Yahya Black brought this one down with a emphatic block.

The Huskies get set for a snap on a warm day in Iowa City at during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

All of the sudden, Fisch's team looked a little shook by it all, after making so much happen and having nothing to show for it.

"To many missed opportunities in the game," Fisch said. "We had plenty of opportunities for the game to be a different score at halftime. We had plenty of opportunities for this to be a different score to start the third quarter, and we just didn't capitalize on any of those opportunities. Some of it had to do with Iowa. Some of it had to do with Washington."

The Hawkeyes moved 80 yards in eight plays, with five of them covering 11 yards or more. Johnson went over the left side and scored standing up from 6 yards out. With 1:33 left in the opening quarter, Iowa was up 7-0.

The Huskies went to their go-to receiver to try to bounce back. They moved 75 yards in 14 plays for Denzel Boston's 5-yard touchdown catch from Will Rogers on a fade route, beating cornerback Deshaun Lee in the back of the end zone. Boston's ninth TD reception of the season, among the nation's leaders, made it 7-7 with 9:19 left in the second quarter.

The Huskies, however, got real sloppy for the rest of the half, They forced another punt, aided by Isaiah Ward's sack of Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara, but gave it right back.

Iowa’s Aaron Graves (95) tackles Husky running back Jonah Coleman (1) at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rogers fumbled and the home team took possession at the UW 19. Drew Stevens' 37-yard field goal put the the Hawkeyes back in front at 10-7 with 4:43 left in the half.

The Huskies couldn't do anything with the football on its next possession and punted, but poor special-teams coverage enabled Iowa's Kaden Wetjen to return the kick 37 yards to the UW 35. Five plays later, Johnson caught a swing pass and scored his second TD, with this one covering 18 yards and the multi-purpse back eluding Bruener's diving tackle at the goal line. With 1:28 left before intermission, the Hawkeyes had a 17-7 cushion.

There was still plenty of time for these teams to trade field goals, though the home crowd was certain Gross missed yet another kick. With 29 seconds left in the half, the officials waved the Husky kicker's 35-yarder through to pull his team within 17-10, but the replay seemed to indicate otherwise and Iowa challenged the call.

After taking a look, the officials announced that Gross' kick sailed over an upright, thus making it not reviewable for them, a call met by loud jeers in the stadium.

Iowa still got its comeuppance and the 10-point lead it felt it deserved all along. Johnson, on first down, broke a 53-yard run to the UW 28 and Iowa settled for Stevens' 45-yard field goal as time ran out and held a 20-10 advantage at intermission.

The Huskies had almost nothing to offer in the second half, giving up the ball on an interception to Iowa cornerback Jemari Harris on the opening drive that led to another Iowa field goal, a 25-yarder from Stevens.

After running out of downs on the Hawkeyes 39, the Huskies couldn't prevent Johnson from scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter, going 8 yards for a 30-10 lead.

The UW ran out of downs once more and by now Fisch's guys had rolled over. Dayton Howard caught a 33-yard TD pass for the home team and the Hawkeyes went up 37-10 with 12:51 remaining.

Stevens put an exclamation mark on this one for Iowa with his fourth and longest field goal of the day, a 51-yarder with 9:45 left.

Freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. found redshirt freshman Rashid Williams with a 2-yard TD pass for the Huskies in the closing minutes.

By then, the team's chartered busses were idling, ready to get these guys out of town.

The UW outgained Iowa in total offense 393 to 328 yards, and had 23 first downs to the other guy's 20, but the end result was a 24-point loss that was embarrassing.

"I think I know what are team is and I think I know who are team is," Fisch said. "But our team is a work in progress."

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