IOWA CITY, Iowa - Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and No. 9 Iowa breezed past Eastern Illinois 37-7.
Senior Ricky Stanzi threw for 229 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes (1-0), who won their 10th straight season opener under coach Kirk Ferentz.
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Iowa has its highest preseason ranking in 22 years, and the Hawkeyes made quick work of the FCS Panthers on Saturday.
Robinson scored on TD runs of 2 and 4 yards, and Paki O'Meara blocked a punt and returned it 42 yards to put the Hawkeyes ahead 21-0 late in the first quarter.
Iowa got a brief scare when Stanzi landed awkwardly in the second quarter, but he quickly returned and played until the game was well in hand.
Brandon Large was 13-of-20 passing in his first career start for Eastern Illinois (0-1), which had just six first downs.
After a narrow escape over Northern Iowa in last year's opener, some wondered if the Hawkeyes were going to let Eastern Illinois hang around, too.
Iowa didn't need to block two field goals in the final moments to overcome these Panthers.
The Hawkeyes moved the ball with ease on their first two drives, both punctuated by short rushing touchdowns from Robinson. The blocked punt by O'Meara, a backup running back, put the Panthers in a 21-point hole before they crossed the 50-yard line.
It was obvious from the first time Eastern Illinois touched the ball that it wasn't going to do much against Iowa's vaunted defense.
The Panthers opened with a chop block on Iowa star defensive end Adrian Clayborn, and Large barely got the ball out on third down as Clayborn raced toward him in the Eastern Illinois end zone.
But nothing ever seems to come easy for the Hawkeyes — even against the overmatched Panthers.
Eastern Illinois converted a fake punt from their own 20, setting up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Large to Von Wise that made it 21-7 early in the second quarter.
Stanzi slipped on a rollout and limped to the sidelines, causing a collective gasp from a crowd of over 70,000 at Kinnick Stadium.
Robinson scored from 6 yards out to give Iowa a 28-7 lead with 8:39 left in the first half, but all eyes were on Stanzi as trainers huddled over Iowa's senior leader.
Stanzi came out for the next series to cheers. It was clear that the Hawkeyes, derided by many for being lucky last season, had caught their first break of 2010.
The Panthers tried some trickery in the third quarter, and it cost them two points. Large's screen pass in the end zone went behind his receiver and out of bounds, giving Iowa a safety and a 30-7 lead.
Stanzi, who was 18-of-23 passing, found fullback Brett Morse for an 1-yard TD pass with 8:27 left to round out the scoring.
Iowa held the Panthers to 157 yards.
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