#5 Iowa 51, Maryland 14: Seventh Heaven

OK, first things first... uh, this was obviously an extremely intentional and incredibly effective reverse jinx? (Mea culpa on that prediction; I have rarely been so happy to be so very very very wrong about a game like that.)

Iowa's first road test this season came against a buzz-y team wearing black at home and led by a much-hyped quarterback; the Hawkeyes prevailed behind in that one behind an incredibly stingy and ball-hawking defense.

Iowa's second road test this season also came against a buzz-y team wearing black at home and led by a much-hyped quarterback; the Hawkeyes prevailed in this one behind an even stingier and ball-hawkier (is that a word? who cares there are no rules when you're flying this high) defense. Oh, and this time the offense decided to join the fun as well and produce its best outing of the season. Behind not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, but seven turnovers, Iowa crushed the previously 4-0 Maryland Terrapins in a 51-14 shellacking that was every bit as lopsided as that score indicates.

It's hard to pick a favorite stat with a game like this, but let's start with the interceptions. The glorious, wonderful, never-ending bounty of interceptions.

Iowa entered the game with six interceptions on the season and with none in their last two games. They now have 12 interceptions, three more than any other team in FBS.
The six interceptions set a new single-game record for the Ferentz Era; the previous record was five, set against Iowa State in 2009.
The Iowa school record for most interceptions in a game is seven, set against Wisconsin in 1982. I don't know if this is the most interceptions Iowa has forced in a single game since then... but I haven't found any information that indicates otherwise yet.
The six interceptions thrown tied a Maryland school record.
Not only did Iowa intercept six passes, but six different Iowa players intercepted a pass. Every starting Iowa defensive back except Matt Hankins record an interception, including "cash" Dane Belton. Two Iowa reserve defensive backs (Terry Roberts and Quinn Schulte) also snared errant Terrapin passes. Iowa last had five different players intercept a pass back in 1988:

The last time Iowa had five different players intercept a pass was 1988 versus Kansas State. #Hawkeyes
— IowaFBLive (@IowaFBLive) October 2, 2021
I have no idea when (if ever) they last had six different players record an interception in a game.

Seriously, this is absolutely obscene:

Five of the six interceptions came via the arm of Maryland starting QB Taulia Tagovailoa. He had thrown one interception before this game. He has now thrown... a lot more than that.

When Fridays game started, 105 FBS players had more interceptions than Taulia Tagovailoa (1).

With 12:20 left in the fourth quarter, no FBS players have more interceptions than Taulia Tagovailoa (6).
— Jason Starrett (@starrettjason) October 2, 2021

The game turned on a second quarter that, frankly, defied belief. Iowa outscored the Terps 31-0 in the quarter and at one point had more touchdowns (4) than Maryland had plays from scrimmage (3) in the quarter. It was easily the best quarter of football Iowa has played this year and in the running for the best quarter of football that they've played in years. Just look at this:

Or this:

That graphic actually undersells the second quarter, too, because it doesn't give Iowa credit for a fumble recovery on a kickoff and the Maryland fumble it lists was actually another interception instead (it was a weird play where Iowa intercepted the ball, but Riley Moss fumbled the ball on the return, only for Iowa to recover that fumble, too.

Maryland actually put together a promising drive halfway through the first quarter; the Terps zipped 69 yards in 8 plays and 3:32 of action to take a 7-3 lead. They had the Iowa defense on their heels a bit at that point and Tagovailoa seemed to have found a promising rhythm against Iowa.

That promising rhythm did not last. Iowa responded with a strong drive of their own, going 59 yards on eight plays in 3:34 to retake the lead at 10-7. That drive was kickstarted by a thrilling kickoff return by Charie Jones, who weaved through Maryland defenders for 38 yards and set Iowa up at their own 41-yard line to start the drive. That drive actually finished on the first play of the second quarter, on -- what else? -- a Spencer Petras QB sneak from the 1-yard line.

And then all hell broke loose.

On the ensuing kickoff return, Dontay Demus, who led the Terps with four receptions for 61 yards, was injured in an awkward collision and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Jay Higgins at the Maryland 10. Two plays later: Petras-to-Bruce IV, TOUCHDOWN IOWA.

Maryland successfully fielded the next kickoff after that score, but disaster struck on their first play from scrimmage: another Tagovailoa interception. The Iowa drive that followed took six plays and 2:57 to cover 26 yards, but the end result was the same: TOUCHDOWN IOWA.

On the next Maryland drive, they again successfully fielded the kickoff and the first play from scrimmage avoided danger... only for danger to catch them on the second play from scrimmage with -- what else? -- another interception. Eight plays, 45 yards, and 4:37 later, another familiar result: TOUCHDOWN IOWA.

In the span of just over 10 minutes of game time, Iowa turned a 7-3 deficit into a 31-7 lead. The Hawkeyes even tacked on another field goal before half to make it 34-7 at the break to fully cement that quarter as an absolute thrashing. Everyone associated with Maryland -- the players, the coaches, and the fans in the stadium -- were completely shell-shocked.

When Iowa opened the third quarter with a four-play scoring drive capped off by 67-yard catch-and-run by Tyler Goodson, that just put the final nails in the coffin of the game as a competitive fixture. The remaining two quarters featured Iowa on cruise control -- though they did still manage to score 10 more points and force two more interceptions.

There's no doubt that this game hinged on defense and special teams, but the Iowa offense actually did its part as well. Iowa finished with 428 yards of offense (a new season-high) and, even more than that, just managed to look the part of a competent, effective offense -- which had been a rare sight through the season's first four games. The offensive line got a good push for much of the game and also managed to keep Petras' pocket clean, minus a few late sacks or pressures. And speaking of Petras... if you had looked at these QB stat lines before the game, who would you have guessed for each one?

QB A: 21/30, 259 yards, 8.6 ypa, 3 TD, 0 INT
QB B: 16/29, 157 yards, 5.4 ypa, 2 TD, 5 INT

The five-interception stat sticks out there because it's hard to imagine Petras throwing that many picks in a game (his errant throws tend to be put in places where no one can catch them, not just an Iowa player)... but everything else about that stat line looks a lot like the Petras we've see this season. But the actual Petras was in fact QB A and he had an absolutely dynamite game. While he had a few missed throws early in the game, he settled down and produced his finest game as a starting QB for Iowa. In addition to a very convincing passing display, Petras also scored two rushing touchdowns via the greatest play in the Iowa playbook: QB SNEAK.

Those FIVE touchdowns put Petras in some pretty elite company:

Most career games with 5+ TD responsible for under Ferentz

Nate Stanley - 3
Brad Banks - 1
Spencer Petras - 1 (tonight)
— Matt Benson (@mbenson6) October 2, 2021

We've directed ample criticism at Petras this year and last, so it's only fair to praise him when he deserves it, too -- and he was very sharp for most of this game. In addition to avoiding crippling turnovers (unlike his counterpart tonight), Petras did an excellent job of placing the ball on a lot of his passes, giving his receiver multiple opportunities to secure YAC after making the catch. That Petras did all this in a hostile environment that was extremely amped up from the jump tonight only makes it even more impressive.

In addition to Petras, the offense also featured strong performances from Tyler Goodson (151 total yards and a touchdown on 21 touches), Sam LaPorta (five catches, 49 yards), and Arland Bruce IV (who turned his most action of the year into six receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown). The defense was also very good (again: SEVEN TURNOVERS, plus just 14 points conceded); and even though the Iowa defense did not record any official sacks or QB hurries (per ESPN), they still harassed Tagovailoa into plenty of bad decisions and smothered the meager remnants of the Terrapin running game.

And the special teams? Also good. Tory Taylor had a quiet day at the office (turns out you don't need a punter much when the defense forces SEVEN TURNOVERS and the offense scores on nine straight possessions), but Charlie Jones' daredevil returns again yielded excellent production and a special shout-out to Terry Roberts, a true special teams superstar. Roberts makes so many intelligent and useful plays in kick and punt coverage every single game and this game was another great example of how good he is in that role.

There's more to dig into after an emphatic and euphoric win like that -- and we'll try our best to do just that over the next few games -- but I think there's just one thing left to do for now... MOVE OUR FEET.