Tucson, AZ (Sports Network) – Nick Foles threw a four-yard touchdown pass to William Wright late in the fourth quarter, as the 24th-ranked Arizona Wildcats took down the ninth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, 34-27, in a non-conference game.
Foles completed 28-of-39 passes for 303 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick for the Wildcats (3-0), who dominated Toledo and The Citadel over the first two weeks.
Wright hauled in five passes for 67 yards, while David Douglas caught seven passes for 74 yards and a score for the victors.
Ricky Stanzi connected on 18-of-33 passes for 278 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception for the Hawkeyes (2-1), who opened the season with wins over Eastern Illinois and Iowa State.
Derrell Johnson-Koulianos caught seven passes for 114 yards and a score. Jewel Hampton also caught a TD pass in defeat.
Trailing 27-7, Iowa scored the lone points of the third quarter. Following a short punt, the Hawkeyes took over at the Arizona 48. On the third play, Stanzi and Johnson-Koulianos hooked up for a 37-yard score to make it a 27-14 game with 7:15 left.
Early in the fourth stanza, Iowa went three-and-out on offense. The Hawkeyes, though, caught a big break when the football bounced off the facemask of returner Wright. Iowa’s Shaun Prater recovered the ball at the 18.
Stanzi dropped back and found Marvin McNutt along the right sideline in the end zone. Replay showed McNutt was able to get his foot in before going out, making it a 27-21 game.
Foles was picked off by defensive lineman Broderick Binns on Arizona’s ensuing possession. Binns ran 20 yards for a TD. The score was tied at 27 after the extra point was blocked.
Arizona, though, responded with the winning drive. The nine-play march ended with Foles finding Wright in the middle of the end zone for a 34-27 lead with four minutes remaining.
Stanzi was sacked three times on Iowa’s next possession. The Wildcats took over and ran the clock down from there.
Iowa went three-and-out on the first possession of the game. It got worse from there for the Hawkeyes, who had their punt blocked. Marquis Flowers fell on the ball for Arizona at the eight.
It took the Wildcats just three plays to score a touchdown, as Douglas hauled in a five-yard pass for a score.
The Hawkeyes’ next drive resulted in Trevin Wade intercepting Stanzi. Wade went 85 yards the other way for a score and a 14-0 Arizona lead less than five minutes into the first quarter.
Iowa bridged the first and second frames with a nine-play, 93-yard drive to get back into the game. Hampton caught a four-yard TD pass to cut the gap to 14-7.
Travis Cobb returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a score to give the Wildcats a 14-point cushion again.
Following a series of punts, Arizona took over at its own 20. The Wildcats put together an 11-play, 76-yard drive that Alex Zendejas capped with a 22-yard field goal to make it 24-7 with under six minutes to go until half.
Zendejas added a 47-yarder before the break to give Arizona a commanding 27-7 lead heading into the locker room.
Arizona leads the all-time series with Iowa, 7-6…This was the first road game of the season for the Hawkeyes.