Kaleb Johnson rushes 35 times for 164 yards in Iowa’s 29-13 victory over Maryland

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Once Iowa’s running game started rolling, it never really stopped.

That meant a bigger workload than ever for Kaleb Johnson.

Johnson rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 35 carries, and Kamari Moulton scored on a 68-yard run in the fourth quarter to help Iowa outlast Maryland 29-13 on Saturday.

“Doesn’t take a Knute Rockne to figure this one out,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Coming in we wanted to be able to run the football. That’s what we do best.”

Johnson scored from 2 yards out in the second quarter for his 21st rushing touchdown of the season, and the Hawkeyes (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten) rebounded from their loss to UCLA in their previous game. Maryland (4-7, 1-7) needed to win its final two regular-season games to reach six wins and bowl eligibility, but the Terrapins were dominated in the first half and eventually fell behind 16-0.

Drew Stevens made five field goals for Iowa, including kicks from 54 yards in the second quarter, then 50 and 49 in the third.

Iowa, which does not exactly push the tempo, ran 46 offensive plays in the first half. The Hawkeyes had the ball for over six minutes on each of their first three possessions, which resulted in a fumble, a field goal and then Johnson’s TD.

“I thought the first half really played out about as well as we could outside the turnover,” said Ferentz, whose son Brian is an offensive assistant at Maryland. “Controlling the ball, keeping it on the ground and trying to keep their quarterback off the field.”

Maryland replaced quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. with backup MJ Morris after two fruitless possessions, but the Terps still trailed 13-0 at halftime. Edwards went back in and led Maryland all the way to the Iowa 3 in the third quarter, but he was injured in a collision with defensive back Xavier Nwankpa.

“The kid’s a warrior. He’s been banged up all year,” Terps coach Mike Locksley said. “I very rarely come in and talk about injuries because those are excuses and I’m not about that. Billy came to me and said, ‘Coach, I want to try to go.’ And he really gave us a chance.”

Morris came in and capped that drive with an 8-yard scoring pass to Tai Felton that made it 16-6, but a 2-point conversion was unsuccessful. A 12-yard touchdown strike from Morris to Felton made it 19-13 with 11:05 to play, but Iowa answered with Moulton’s big run less than two minutes later.

The takeaway

Iowa: Quarterback Jackson Stratton, a walk-on transfer from Colorado State, wasn’t asked to do much as the Hawkeyes were able to lean on the running game. And credit Iowa’s defense for an excellent first half that helped build a big enough lead.

Maryland: No matter how obvious Iowa’s plan was, the Terps couldn’t do much to stop it. Iowa finished with 268 yards rushing on 58 attempts.

Closing in

Ferentz now has 203 career victories as Iowa’s head coach. Only Woody Hayes (205) has more in Big Ten history.

Bouncing back

Johnson looked plenty motivated after he produced just 49 yards rushing against UCLA. He also had extra time to rest since Iowa was off last weekend.

“That 49 yards. I was mad at myself a little bit,” he said. “I was being too soft. I wasn’t running as hard as I could.”

Ferentz on McNamara

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara hasn’t played since entering concussion protocol after a game late last month. Ferentz urged fans to support McNamara, who since 2022 has dealt with leg, quad and knee problems in addition to his latest issue.

“Sometimes you’ve got to step back and have some compassion for the people that are out competing,” Ferentz said. “You think about the last three years for this guy. He has had a rough go.”

Up next

Iowa: Hosts Nebraska on Friday.

Maryland: At Penn State on Saturday.

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