There was no Rose Bowl repeat for Iowa this time.
After twice being brutalized in Pasadena by Washington, the Hawkeyes got a measure of revenge Friday as they cruised to a 38-18 Sun Bowl victory over the misfiring Huskies."They just kicked our butts," said Washington coach Jim Lambright.
Iowa (8-4) opened the game with a three-and-out series. But the Huskies fumbled the ensuing punt, giving the Hawkeyes new life on their own 42.
One play later, a 58-yard run by bowl MVP Sedrick Shaw, they were up 7-0 and on the way to scoring 21 unanswered first-half points.
The victory was the first for Iowa in three postseason contests against Washington. Washington beat the Hawkeyes 46-34 in the 1991 Rose Bowl and then blanked them 28-0 in the 1982 game.
"It was like we got the breaks, which we didn't get in the two Rose Bowls against these people," said Iowa coach Hayden Fry.
The Hawkeyes seized control of the game behind their running backs, rolling up 421 yards. Shaw finished with 135 yards and a touchdown and Tavian Banks had 122, and Michael Burger ran for two TDs.
The Huskies (7-4-1) struggled throughout and never seemed to be able to click. Lambright even pulled quarterback Damon Huard, the school's career passing leader, and replaced him with Shane Fortney, who had completed only four passes during the regular season.
Huard finished 14-of-26 for 194 yards. Fortney went 5-of-11 for 56 yards.
Washington also fumbled three times, leading to 13 first-half points for Iowa, and suffered a safety on a bad snap on a punt attempt.
Brion Hurley and Zach Bromert combined for five field goals to set a Sun Bowl record. Bromert kicked field goals of 34 and 33 yards and Hurley, who comes in on the longer attempts, connected from 50, 49 and 47 yards.
Washington did show some signs of life late in the game as a returning Huard threw for TDs of 20 and 3 yards. Fortney also had a 30-yard TD strike. All three 2-point conversion attempts failed.