Kamari Moulton didn’t just have a strong opener for Iowa. He put together the kind of performance that forces people to take notice.
Against Northern Illinois in Week 1, the Hawkeyes looked sharp from the start and rolled to a dominant win. The offense, which doesn’t often get to wear the spotlight, turned in its biggest yardage output since 2019 with 507 yards, and the ground game was the engine behind it.
Even after star transfer RB L.J. Phillips Jr. went down with a high-ankle sprain, Iowa kept pounding away and never lost its edge.
Moulton was right in the middle of that surge. In his first season as RB1 last year, he already showed what he could do, and he picked up right where he left off against NIU.
He ripped off 183 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries, carving up a defense that couldn’t slow him down. Kirk Ferentz said Moulton was the best they have seen last Saturday, and the numbers backed that up.
Pro Football Network’s RB Impact metric gave Moulton a 99.3 grade, the highest among FBS running backs in Week 1 so far. PFN also noted his 8.7 yards after contact per rush and a +1.08 EPA per rush, the kind of production that makes a defense feel like it’s chasing shadows.
For Iowa, the timing matters just as much as the performance itself. Phillips Jr. is out for an undetermined period, and while Nathan McNeil and Xavier Williams are expected to take on larger roles this weekend against Iowa State, Moulton now looks like the clear centerpiece of the backfield. The Hawkeyes have depth, but they also need their best back to keep carrying the load.
That becomes even more important with the quarterback situation still unsettled. Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski are in the middle of a starting battle, and Iowa’s best path is obvious: run the ball, control the game, and let the offense breathe. That’s especially true in the Cy-Hawk rivalry game against Iowa State in Week 2.
NIU was overmatched, but Iowa State should provide a tougher test. New Cyclones head coach Jimmy Rogers will have his team ready, and Iowa enters the game as a multi-touchdown favorite with plenty of pressure on its shoulders. If the Hawkeyes can establish the run early again, it will ease the burden on whoever starts at quarterback and open up the rest of the offense.
That’s been Iowa’s formula for success for a long time: get the run game rolling, then let the passing game work off that foundation. If Moulton comes anywhere close to what he did in Week 1, Iowa should be in good shape. The Hawkeyes go as the running game goes, and right now Moulton is the one driving it.
In Other News...
Iowas Backfield Depth Is About To Face Its First Real Test
Iowas backfield is getting an early stress test, and it comes just one week into the season. Kirk Ferentz confirmed that running back L.J. Phillips will miss the Week 2 matchup against Iowa State because of a high ankle sprain, leaving the Hawkeyes to adjust after already opening the year without Tyler Brown.
The good news for Iowa is that the staff does not sound alarmed about the position groups overall outlook. Ferentz said the Hawkeyes have enough depth at running back and defensive back to handle the short-term absences, but the timing is still notable with a rivalry game next on the schedule. The bigger question now is how Iowa distributes the workload and whether the next man up can keep the offense on track until the injured players return. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Campbell Keeps Giving Iowa Fans Another Reason To Be Proud
Jack Campbells rise with the Detroit Lions has turned into the kind of NFL success story Iowa fans know how to claim as their own. After leaving Iowa as one of the programs most dependable linebackers, Campbell delivered a career-best 2025-2026 season in Detroit, finishing with 176 total tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles and four passes defended while stacking up major honors along the way.
The Lions rewarded that production with a four-year, $81 million contract extension after declining his fifth-year option, a sign of how quickly he has become one of the faces of their defense. Campbell also won the Dick Butkus Award, earned All-Pro recognition and was named a team captain for the 2026-2027 season, which only adds to the feeling that Iowa has another former star making the most of his next level opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Community Is Rallying Around A Hawkeye Band Members Family
The Iowa football season has already been shadowed by a painful moment that reached far beyond the field, as the Hawkeye community rallied around Derek Phillips, a three-year member of the Hawkeye Marching Band who collapsed during the Week 1 game and later was taken off life support. Phillips was remembered by those close to him as a phenomenal musician, and the response from the program has reflected just how deeply he was woven into the game-day experience in Iowa City.
Tributes have come from the Hawkeye Marching Band and from marching programs around the country, with performances dedicated to Phillips and messages of support pouring in for his family. A GoFundMe has been established to help them, underscoring how quickly a university band members loss can become a broader community story, one that has left teammates, peers and strangers searching for ways to show up in the aftermath. [Read more 🡒]