Neither team could do much offensively. Iowa finished with 166 yards of offense, while South Dakota State had 120. The two teams combined for more punts (21) than first downs (16). The first safety came after Iowa’s Torey Taylor collapsed his glove at South Dakota’s 1-yard line in the third quarter. One play later, linebacker Jack Campbell grabbed running back Isaiah Davis after taking the handoff and brought him down a yard before getting out of the end zone. The second safety came in the fourth when Iowa’s Joe Evans sacked quarterback Mark Gronowski in the end zone on a second-and-11 play. Iowa took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter on Aaron Blom’s 46-yard field goal. The only points for South Dakota State came on Hunter Dustman’s 44-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the half. Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras completed 11 of 25 passes for 109 yards. Lesson Williams had 72 rushing yards. Gronowski was 10 of 26 passing for 87 yards. Davis had 18 carries for 50 yards. INJURY REPORT Iowa was without three offensive starters – wide receivers Keagan Johnson and Nico Ragaini, and running back Gavin Williams. All three missed time in preseason camp with undisclosed injuries. Starting linebacker Justin Jacobs left the game in the second quarter with an injury and did not return. South Dakota State tight end Tucker Craft, an Associated Press FCS second-team All-American, was injured after catching a pass in the first quarter and did not return. THE TAKEAWAY Iowa had one of the worst offenses in the nation last year, despite a 10-win season, finishing 99th in scoring and 121st in total offense. Petras’ struggles drew plenty of boos from the sellout crowd at Kinnick Stadium, and with Iowa State coming up next Saturday, there will be plenty of questions for coach Kirk Ferentz to answer about Petras, who is in its third season. as a principle. South Dakota State, which fell to 2-10 all-time against FBS teams, struggled to move the ball against an Iowa defense that was one of the best in the nation last season.
