The years 1987 and 2026 are beginning to have a very positive correlation with the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

Seven months ago, it was Ben McCollum and the men's basketball team that reached the Elite Eight for the first time since that year, and now it's the football team's turn. 

No. 20 Iowa entered Friday's game at Washington looking to end a dubious drought of losing regular season games west of Nebraska, and it's safe to say that dry spell came to a close. 

Playing their first game at Husky Stadium in 63 years, the Hawkeyes scored early and often en route to a dominant 41-24 triumph in Seattle. The win improves Iowa to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play ahead of the bye week. 

Here are some instant takeaways from the Hawkeyes' victory:

It felt like Jeremy Hecklinski would be in line to replace the injured Hank Brown as Iowa's starting quarterback after listening to media availability on Tuesday, and that's exactly what ended up happening. 

Hecklinski narrowly lost the starting job to Brown, but he may have a case to be the full-time starter after his performance on Friday. Playing inside Husky Stadium on a short week probably wasn't the most ideal place for Hecklinski to make his first-ever collegiate start, but the third-year looked like he'd been starting the last three games, not Brown. 

The quick release was on full-display, but what really allowed Hecklinski to get going on this night was the play-action. Offensive coordinator Tim Lester used it to perfection in the first, leading to a pair of long touchdowns to tight end DJ Vonnahme. 

Hecklinski continued to let it rip in the second half. Washington gained a tiny bit of momentum with a touchdown drive to open the third, but Iowa answered right back. Hecklinski's anticipation was off the charts (a bomb down the sideline to Reece Vander Zee was a great example) and the Huskies were so confused by this point that they left Vander Zee wide open in the end zone for a score later in the drive. 

Hecklinski finished with one of the better final stat lines you'll see from an Iowa quarterback in a Big Ten game in this decade: 14-for-19 for 202 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. 

Much of the criticism after the Ohio State loss was directed towards the run game, but it's probably safe to say Iowa may have figured things out in that department on Friday. The Hawkeyes entered this game averaging just 63.3 rushing yards per game against Power Four competition, but they tallied 263 against the Huskies. 

208 of those came from Kamari Moulton, who got anything and everything he could've wanted in this game. A 19-yard sprint on the second play from scrimmage was a good sign, but the 56-yard touchdown that saw him elude three Washington tacklers was an even better one. 

Kirk Ferentz expressed his full confidence in Moulton as the lead back in a talented running back room, and the fourth-year responded by posting career numbers. 

Iowa should feel much better about the run game heading into the bye, as everything - offensive line opening holes and running backs flying through them - was simply clicking on all cylinders on Friday. 

Iowa's defense looked unstoppable for most of the first half, but everything changed when Washington starting quarterback Demond Williams left the game with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter. The Huskies were forced to turn to backup quarterback Elijah Brown, and he carved up the Hawkeye defense. Brown completed 11 of his first 12 passes to close the half (the lone incompletion was on a Hail Mary), and he continued to do whatever he wanted in the second half. 

The Hawkeyes did switch to more of a prevent-style defense, but it didn't work. The Brown-led Washington offense collected touchdowns on its first two drives of the half, which allowed the Huskies to stay close longer than they probably should have. Iowa ended up allowing 320 passing yards (Brown had 251), a number it'll want to fix over the bye week. 

Iowa now enters its bye week where it will get some time to rest and recover before taking on the back half of the schedule that features the entire old Big Ten West on the slate. The first game of the final stretch will be a road test at rival Minnesota on Oct. 24 in Minneapolis. 

Kick time and TV destination will be announced at a later date. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]