News and notes from week two

It was a lot easier to sleep on Saturday after Iowa put the Cyclones in their place, in their house.

And the game ball goes to...: sophomore safety Tyler Sash who had 10 tackles, a forced fumble and picked off Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud on three separate occasions.

Honestly, the entire defense could have gotten the game ball, but Sash had the best individual performance. Despite allowing ISU running back Alexander Robinson to rush for 100 yards, Iowa forced six turnovers and limited the Cyclones to 303 total yards.

Iowa's pass defense was stellar. Arnaud - when he wasn't running for his life - connected on just 10-of-22 passes for 79 yards and four interceptions. He was benched in the third quarter for back-up Jerome Tiller. Tiller struggled as well, going 3-9 for 34 yards and an interception.

Tip of the cap: to freshman running back Brandon Wegher. Wegher, who didn't get to see the field in week one, blew up for the Hawkeyes in the second half rushing for 101 yards on 15 carries. Wegher scored his first collegiate touchdown to cap a four play, 58 yard drive which started after Arnaud threw his fourth and final interception of the day with six minutes to go in the third quarter.

Wegher didn't have much trouble finding room to run as the offensive line looked in top-form, despite the absence of Brian Bulaga. The true freshman also displayed some of the elusiveness which earned him player of the game honors in last year's Iowa 3A state championship game as he dodged ISU defenders left and right.

Wag of the finger: to QB Ricky Stanzi. It was hard to find someone to pick on after such a display of domination, but Stanzi had to have had the weakest performance on Saturday. Either the junior was really, really excited to be playing the Cyclones or he was just off the mark as several passes sailed over the heads of open receivers and, on two occasions, into the arms of ISU safety David Sims.

One play that stands out came mid-way through the second quarter when Stanzi completely missed a wide open Derrell Johnson-Koulianous. Had the two connected, DJK probably would've housed it - he was that open.

Stanzi finished 18-34 for 197 yards, a career-high four touchdowns and two interceptions. The Hawkeye QB did manage to connect with 10 different targets on the day, including a pair of passes to freshman receiver Keenan Davis - who also scored his first collegiate touchdown Saturday in Ames.

Final thoughts: It was good to finally win Ames again, a place that has been nothing but headaches for the last decade. It was also good to see Iowa play with a little killer instinct. For example, Iowa didn't have to leave the first team offense in during the fourth quarter. Leading 28-3 with the Cyclones' starting quarterback on the bench, Iowa could've just sat on its lead and played scrub football. But they didn't. Very atypical for a Kirk Ferentz team.

Next week: The Hawks host Arizona (2-0). Kickoff at 2:30 on ABC. Arizona leads the all-time series, 6-5. The Wildcats also won the most recent match-up (1998), 35-11, in Tucson.