There are few more played-out cliches than describing a football game as "a tale of two halves," but it's hard to think of a more accurate summary of #25 Iowa's 40-0 season-opening win over Illinois State. Iowa opened the game with punts in three of its first four drives and could only manage two field goals in the first half to grab a slim 6-0 halftime lead.

Then Iowa exploded for 34 points in the second half, highlighted by a trio of touchdown passes in the third quarter. That turned a tight game into a one-sided rout and made the fourth quarter a mere formality as the Hawkeyes rolled to an an easy win for interim head coach Seth Wallace, filling in for the suspended Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa fans tuning in to get a first look at new offensive coordinator Tim Lester's offense got a lot of deja vu in the first quarter. Iowa's offense picked up right where it left off in 2023, opening the game with back-to-back three-and-outs and punting on three of the first drives of the game. Overall, Iowa had just 34 yards in the first quarter, averaging only 2.1 yards per play. The running game could find no room (2.1 yards per carry) and starting quarterback Cade McNamara looked very rusty, throwing for just 3-for-8 for 17 yards.

The offense did start finding more success in the second quarter -- they gained 113 yards (5.4 yards per play) in that quarter, though Iowa still couldn't crack the end zone, adding only another field goal. The ground game began finding more room to work, averaging 4.7 yards per carry and picking up 56 yards.

Everything finally clicked in the third quarter, especially for McNamara. Iowa had 180 yards in the third quarter alone (8.6 yards per play), with McNamara finishing 10-of-11 for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the quarter. McNamara's throws looked far more comfortable, which paid off with touchdown passes to true freshman Reece Vander Zee (above) and transfer Jacob Gill (below).

The running game took the baton in the fourth quarter and put the finishing touches on the blowout. Iowa ran for 135 yards on 10 carries in the final quarter, highlighted by two highlight-reel touchdown runs by Kaleb Johnson.

Johnson did not play in the first half, but he made the most of his opportunities in the second half, finishing with 119 yards and two scores on 11 carries (10.8 yards per carry).

After that 34-yard first quarter, the Iowa offense gained 458 yards in the final three quarters and 492 for the game. That's the most Iowa has had in a game since amassing 644 yards against Middle Tennessee State in 2019. Cade McNamara finished 21-of-31 for 251 yards and three touchdowns. That's the most passing yards and touchdowns for an Iowa quarterback since Spencer Petras threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns against Maryland in 2021.

The three touchdowns caught by Iowa receivers today ties the season total for Iowa receivers in 2023. Suffice to say, there were a lot of positives for the Iowa offense in the second half of this game.

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Expectations were high for the Iowa defense ahead of the 2024 season after returning eight starters from last season's lockdown defense. The defense lived up to those high expectations on Saturday, smothering Illinois State for 60 minutes and posting their first shutout since a 22-0 blanking of Rutgers last November.

The Redbirds gained just 189 yards and averaged a mere 3.0 yards per play. They finished 14-of-29 for 133 yards and an interception through the air and had just 56 yards and 1.7 yards per carry on the ground. Illinois State ran only nine plays in Iowa territory and never got closer to the end zone than the Iowa 38-yard line.

The disruption from Iowa's defensive line started at the defensive tackle position, where Aaron Graves and Yahya Black were a menace from the opening snap. They had four tackles for loss, including three first-half sacks by Graves, who spent almost as much time in the ISU backfield as Tommy Rittenhouse, one of two quarterbacks the Redbirds played in the game.

In addition to the damage up front, Iowa's secondary regained its turnover-forcing mojo in the game. The Doughboyz got an interception from Jermari Harris and a fumble recovery by TJ Hall (forced by Sebastian Castro) on consecutive plays in the first half.

The last time Iowa fans saw Drew Stevens he was in the midst of a late-season swoon, making just one of his last four field goal attempts and getting passed over in favor of Marshall Meeder for the game-winning kick against Nebraska. He spent the offseason regaining his kicking form -- and his confidence -- which paid off with a pair of field goals (from 28 and 41 yards) in the first half. Those boots took on added importance with Iowa's inability to find the end zone in the first half.

Saturday was also the college debut for Rhys Dakin, the Aussie true freshman who has the unenviable task of replacing Ray Guy Award-winner Tory Taylor at punter. Dakin finished with five punts for 196 yards, an average of 39.2 yards per kick. He got better as the game progressed -- after three shorter punts to start, Dakin's final two punts went for 44 and 46 yards, with no returns. Punts like that will keep Iowa's strong punting legacy secure.

Iowa also got some positive work from Kaden Wetjen in the punt return department; he finished with five returns for 100 yards and showed some strong hands and good wiggle on returns. His best return of the game -- a 65-yard scoot for a touchdown in the first quarter -- was nullified by a block in the back penalty on the return.

Outside of the offense's sluggish start, the most concerning aspect of Iowa's performance on Saturday was probably in the penalty department. The Hawkeyes have historically been one of the least-penalized teams in the country under Ferentz, but they were dinged seven times for 50 yards against Illinois State.

A few of those penalties were especially costly -- a block in the back call erased Wetjen's 65-yard punt return touchdown, a holding penalty on Jacob Gill took away a 22-yard run by Kamari Moulton, and a strip-sack by Ethan Hurkett was nullified by an (incorrect) defensive holding call on Jay Higgins. The last flag was one that should earn an "oops" from the Big Ten league office, but penalties still contributed to Iowa's slow start.

Not coincidentally, Iowa was flagged just once (for five yards) in the second half as the game turned firmly in the Hawkeyes' favor.