<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1m0bv9_0wPXAzFA00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1m0bv9_0wPXAzFA00" width="1687" height="1228" ><figcaption>Iowa QB Brendan Sullivan (Photo: Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com) Rob Howe</figcaption></figure>The plan, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said, was to give backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan a few series in Saturday’s game against Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium.He got more than that, and the decision made a big impact on the Hawkeyes’ 40-14 win.Sullivan’s numbers may not be flashy — 9-of-14 passing for 79 yards, eight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown — but there was something behind those numbers, an energy injection that Iowa’s offense needed.Whether it’s Sullivan’s job moving forward remains to be seen, but Ferentz liked what he saw in how Sullivan helped lead the Hawkeyes to a 28-point third-quarter eruption.Ferentz was asked if Sullivan was the “permanent” starter now, and the coach didn’t want to assign that title to it.“We'll have to see on that,” Ferentz said. “'Permanent' is a strong word, right?“We made the decision during the week we were going to rotate Brendan in a little bit on the third or fourth series. It just worked out that way. He did a really nice job.”And there was no way Sullivan was going to answer the question.“That's not something I'm going to speak on,” he said. “I don't know what decisions they're going to make, and so I'll just leave it there.”But Iowa’s offense was clearly more efficient with Sullivan in there. His ability to get out of the pocket and run made Northwestern’s defense open up, and that cleared room for running back Kaleb Johnson, who rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns.“They knew he could run the ball,” Johnson said. “That widened things out for me.”Ferentz said he thought Sullivan commanded the offense.“No matter what your style is as a quarterback, you have to do that,” he said. “It was a good outing. I think we got into a little flow in the second half. That was certainly encouraging.”The Hawkeyes led by an odd 12-7 score — there was a safety thrown in there — but a 28-point third quarter made the day go better.“Just to come out and play the way we did in the third quarter, it was really great,” Ferentz said. “You get 28 points, it makes life easier.”Johnson, whose 26-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left in the second quarter gave the Hawkeyes their halftime lead, had touchdown runs of 41 and 25 yards in the third quarter. Sullivan scrambled for a 6-yard touchdown, and Kaden Wetjen had an 85-yard punt return.“To come out and play the way we did in the third quarter, really great,” Ferentz said. “That's a credit to everybody. You get 28 points, it makes life a little bit better. Really happy about that.”Johnson, second in the nation in yards rushing and yards rushing per game, was going to be the focus of Northwestern’s defense, and he had a hard time finding running room. He was held to 30 yards on eight carries in the first half, then erupted for 79 yards on six carries in the second half.Johnson finished with his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season, and he now has 16 rushing touchdowns.“We just kept sticking it out, sticking it out,” Johnson said. “The big runs finally happened, we got momentum, and we just kept going.”The Hawkeyes (5-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) held Northwestern (3-5, 1-4) to just 163 yards. The Wildcats’ touchdowns came on an 85-yard interception return by Theran Johnson in the second quarter and a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown by Drew Wagner in the fourth quarter.Northwestern got into Iowa territory on its opening possession, and didn’t get back again until the fourth quarter.“The defense played an outstanding game,” Ferentz said. “One of the stranger shutouts that you'll see that way.”“A poor performance, in all three phases,” Northwestern coach David Braun said. “That was an embarrassing loss, an embarrassing performance, an embarrassing second half.”</div></body>

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Brendan Sullivan Sparks Hawkeyes

The plan, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said, was to give backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan a few series in Saturday’s game against Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium. He got more than that, and the decision made a big impact on the Hawkeyes’ 40-14 win. Sullivan’s numbers may not be flashy...