Iowa entered Saturday's game with Northwestern needing a strong rebound performance after last week's wipeout against Michigan State. After a few early hiccups, Iowa found its rhythm and dominated the Wildcats to the tune of a 40-14 victory.

Four Downs looks at the key storylines from Iowa's blowout win.

Finally. The Brendan Sullivan era at Iowa has finally gotten underway as the Northwestern transfer took over at QB in the second quarter and eventually led Iowa to 37 unanswered points and a 40-14 win. Cade McNamara got the start and went 7-for-13 for 73 yards, including a 42-yard completion to Seth Anderson (Iowa's longest pass play of the season).

Several of McNamara's throws looked shaky; the ones that were caught required impressive individual efforts by the receiver and the ones that weren't caught often missed badly. He had several poor throws on Iowa's first scoring drive as the offense stalled out and needed a 24-yard Drew Stevens field goal to get on the board. His decision-making also looked poor at times, particularly in the abysmal throw that was intercepted and returned 85 yards by Theran Johnson in the second quarter.

Sullivan entered the game after that interception, but that change did not pay immediate dividends. The offense gained 23 yards on Sullivan's first three drives and Iowa went three-and-out and punted on all three drives. Things finally clicked for Sullivan on a drive that began with 1:22 to go until halftime.

Completions to Dayton Howard (8 yards) and Zach Ortwerth (6 yards) and a few scrambles for Sullivan that went for a combined 12 yards got the offense moving. Then on 3rd-and-1 from the Northwestern 26, Kaleb Johnson put together a highlight-reel touchdown run that will be replayed for the rest of this season (and beyond):

The third quarter was when things really fell into place for Sullivan and the Iowa offense. Iowa gained 167 yards in that quarter and averaged 10.4 yards per play while outscoring Northwestern 28-0 (21-0 from the offense). The running game was the big factor -- 11 carries for 104 yards -- but Sullivan was effective as a passer as well, finishing 4-of-5 for 63 yards. He used his legs effectively too, scoring a 6-yard touchdown off a zone-read action on Iowa's opening drive of the third quarter and picking up a key fourth down on a run on 4th-and-1 later in the quarter.

Sullivan's overall numbers aren't stunning -- 9-of-14 for 79 yards passing and 41 rushing yards and a score on eight carries -- but they were enough to open things up for the rest of the offense. With McNamara in the game, Northwestern flooded the box and smothered Johnson, daring McNamara to throw the ball to beat them. Sullivan's mobility adds another weapon for defenses to account for and creates more space for Johnson and Iowa's other running backs.

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There isn't much new to say about Kaleb Johnson at this point, but his remarkable 2024 season keeps rolling on. After a very quiet start -- Johnson had a net of two yards after his first five carries -- he finally looked like Kaleb Johnson again on the final drive before halftime. On 3rd-and-1, Johnson got the ball and exploded through the line and danced through and around several Northwestern defenders on his way into the end zone. It was a simply breathtaking run.

Johnson kept the pedal down in the third quarter as well. He had six carries for 79 yards in that quarter, with his last two carries both going for 25+ yard touchdowns. The first:

And the second:

Johnson finished with 14 carries for 109 yards and three touchdowns. It's the sixth time in eight games that he's had at least two rushing touchdowns and the third time that he's had a trio of touchdowns (he also ran for three against Minnesota). He has 16 touchdowns for the season now, just four behind Shonn Greene's program record of 20.

It's been The Kaleb Johnson Show for Iowa on offense all season and the change to Brendan Sullivan at quarterback seems likely to only create even more opportunities for Johnson to run over, through, and around opposing defenses.

Northwestern scored 14 points on Saturday; none of those points came with the Iowa defense on the field. The Wildcats scored on an 85-yard pick-six in the second quarter and a 72-yard punt return score in the fourth quarter when the game was already well out of reach.

The Wildcats had 14 drives in the game; eight of those drives ended in punts, including seven three-and-out possessions. The Iowa defense also forced three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble recovery), recorded a safety, and managed to force a missed 50-yard field goal try on one of Northwestern's best offensive drives of the game.

Northwestern went for 43 yards on that game-opening drive, which included several successful chunk plays that went for 10+ yards. While visions of last week's defensive meltdown against Michigan State began popping up, the Iowa defense settled down -- the Wildcats had just 62 yards on their next 10 drives. For the game, Northwestern finished with 163 yards and gained just 3.2 yards per play. The scoreboard didn't record a shutout, but this was another dominant performance for the Iowa defense overall.

Jay Higgins led Iowa with eight tackles and recorded an interception (his third of the season) in Iowa's avalanche of a third quarter. Nick Jackson had six tackles and recorded the pass deflection that led to Higgins' interception. Iowa didn't record a lot of official pass-rush stats -- just two total sacks and two quarterback hurries -- but the defense did a good job of making whichever quarterback was playing (the Wildcats used both Jack Lausch and Ryan Hilinski) was uncomfortable in the pocket.

Much stiffer tests than the Northwestern offense await, but Saturday's performance was a much-needed course correction for Iowa's defense after the struggles they endured a week ago.

Before the Iowa offense found a rhythm on a drive right before halftime, the defense and special teams did their part to keep Iowa in control of the game. The offense punted on four of its first six drives of the game and each time true freshman punter Rhys Dakin drilled a perfect, field position-flipping punt. Northwestern's starting field position after those four punts:

Northwestern 6
Northwestern 6
Northwestern 6
Northwestern 5

Credit also to the gunners and coverage units who assisted Dakin in downing those punts inside the 10-yard line or forcing fair catches from the Northwestern returner, but Dakin deserves plenty of flowers for this strong kicks that kept Northwestern pinned against the (reliably deafening) north end zone until the Iowa offense could finally get going.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses for Dakin, though -- in the fourth quarter, he launched a 45-yard punt (his first of the game since the second quarter) that was promptly returned 72 yards for a touchdown by Northwestern returner Drew Wagner, a true freshman walk-on. Unlike the booming punts in the first half that had plenty of hangtime, this punt was low and more of a line drive, which made it much more returnable. It was still a good day for Dakin on the whole, but it came with a reminder that he's still a true freshman and consistency is still something he needs to work on.

That Northwestern punt return score was actually the second of the game, coming one quarter after Iowa's Kaden Wetjen had a dazzling 85-yard punt return (see above)to fully break open the game and stake Iowa to a 26-7 lead. Wetjen has had several strong returns this season and often seemed on the verge of breaking one for a touchdown (he had one called back earlier this season, in fact), so it was gratifying to see him finally fulfill that promise on Saturday. He's proved himself to be a more than capable replacement for Cooper DeJean in the kick return department this season.