No. 16 Iowa throttles Iowa State 42-3

Published Sep. 11, 2016 12:53 a.m. ET

foxsports

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) C.J. Beathard threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns and 16th-ranked Iowa throttled Iowa State 42-3 on Saturday night, its biggest win over the rival Cyclones in 18 seasons under coach Kirk Ferentz.

LeShun Daniels rushed for 112 yards and a TD to help the Hawkeyes (2-0) beat Iowa State in consecutive seasons for the first time in six years.

Beathard put the game out of reach with the three TD passes in the first half - including a brilliant 12-yard toss to a heavily defended Matt VandeBerg.

VandeBerg finished with 129 yards receiving, and Allen Lazard caught seven passes for 111 yards.

By jumping out to a big lead, the Hawkeyes negated Iowa State's efforts to get star back Mike Warren going after a rough opener. Warren, who led all freshmen nationally with 1,337 yards a year ago, had just 28 on seven carries.

Joel Lanning was 8 of 20 for 86 yards and an interception for Iowa State and was pulled late in the third quarter for Jacob Park, setting up a potential quarterback controversy just two games into the season.

THE TAKEAWAY

IOWA: The Hawkeyes offense has the potential to be one of the best that Ferentz has ever had. Iowa did basically whatever it wanted in the first half, gaining 153 yards in the air, 113 on the ground and scoring 28 points. Beathard and VandeBerg, both seniors, hooked up for a number of tough receptions in tight windows and Daniels and Akrum Wadley - who had a rushing and receiving TD - combined for their second straight strong performance.

IOWA STATE: Former coach Paul Rhoads said in his final press conference that the Cyclones would go to a bowl in 2016. That looks highly unlikely - and it's only the middle of September. Iowa State was hoping to pull off an upset over the favored Hawkeyes like it did in 2012 and 2014. But by the middle of the first quarter, it was clear they didn't have a chance.

UP NEXT

IOWA: The Hawkeyes will host five-time defending FCS national champion North Dakota State next week in their final nonconference game. The Bison beat Eastern Washington 50-44 on overtime Saturday.

IOWA STATE: The Cyclones open Big 12 play on the road against TCU.