SEATTLE (Interstat) — Iowa used a fast start and a punishing ground game to defeat Washington 41-24 in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game Friday at Husky Stadium. The Hawkeyes, playing as the visiting team, improved to 5-1. The Huskies, the home team, fell to 3-3 in front of an attendance of 66,231.

Iowa set the tone early. Caden Buhr made a 51-yard field goal with 12:30 remaining in the first quarter, then connected from 27 yards with 7:07 left. Kamari Moulton broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, giving the Hawkeyes a 13-0 lead. The Hawkeyes kept rolling in the second. Jeremy Hecklinski found DJ Vonnahme for a 20-yard touchdown with 9:05 remaining, then hit Vonnahme again for a 24-yard score with 5:07 left. Washington got on the board before halftime when Tyler Robles made a 30-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining. Iowa took a 27-3 lead into the break.

Washington found some rhythm in the third quarter. Elijah Brown completed a short pass to Chris Lawson that went 10 yards for a touchdown with 11:10 remaining. Iowa answered at 7:05 when Hecklinski connected with Reece Vander Zee on an 8-yard scoring pass. The Huskies cut the deficit again with 1:25 left in the quarter when Brown found Dezmen Roebuck for a 2-yard touchdown, and Chris Lawson caught the conversion pass. Iowa never trailed and led 27-3 at halftime. Iowa led 34-18 after three quarters. Iowa put the game further out of reach in the fourth quarter when Moulton scored on a 3-yard run with 12:06 remaining. Washington added a late touchdown when Brown connected with Mason James for 3 yards with 2 seconds left, but the Huskies could not close the gap.

Hecklinski, a Marietta, Ga., native listed at 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, completed 14 of 19 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He had completed 5 of 5 passes for 67 yards in his previous outing against Ohio State. Moulton powered Iowa with 26 carries for 208 yards and two touchdowns, including the 56-yard burst in the first quarter and the 3-yard score in the fourth. His 208 rushing yards were the top total in the game. He also had one reception for a loss of 2 yards.

Iowa’s other offensive contributors included L.J. Phillips Jr. with eight carries for 40 yards, Tony Diaz with one carry for 10 yards and three receptions for 23 yards, and Vander Zee with three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Vonnahme finished with two receptions for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Braeden Jackson added a 33-yard reception and a 17-yard kick return. Zach Ortwerth had a 15-yard catch, Thomas Meyer had a 9-yard catch, Evan James had a 6-yard catch and 24 yards on three punt returns, and Addison Ostrenga had a 5-yard reception.

Washington’s passing attack was led by Brown, who completed 19 of 24 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Demond Williams Jr. completed 6 of 11 passes for 69 yards. Chris Lawson had eight receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. Dezmen Roebuck also caught eight passes, finishing with 49 yards and a touchdown. Their eight receptions each tied for the game high. Rashid Williams added five catches for 66 yards, while Jordan Clay had one reception for 18 yards. Baron Naone had a 6-yard catch, and Decker DeGraaf had a 2-yard loss on his only reception. Trey Cooley carried once for 3 yards and caught one pass for 2 yards. Brian Bonner Jr. rushed nine times for 15 yards. Rahshawn Clark returned three kickoffs for 46 yards and made one tackle. Hunter Green punted six times for 288 yards.

Caden Buhr handled Iowa’s kicking duties and made both field goal attempts, from 51 and 27 yards. He also made his extra-point tries. Tyler Robles made a 30-yard field goal for Washington and kicked an extra point after the Huskies’ first touchdown. Green’s six punts covered 288 yards. Rahshawn Clark returned three kickoffs for 46 yards. Evan James returned three punts for 24 yards for Iowa. Braeden Jackson added a 17-yard kick return. Washington’s Trey Cooley had one carry for 3 yards and one reception for 2 yards.

Defensively, Iowa’s Xavier Styles and Jayden Montgomery each recorded eight tackles. Montgomery added a sack. Cam Buffington had seven tackles and two sacks. Jacob Wallace made six tackles. Preston Ries contributed three tackles and two sacks. Washington’s Alex McLaughlin and Rylon Dillard-Allen each had seven tackles. Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Emmanuel Karnley and Dylan Robinson each made five tackles. Jacob Manu had four tackles. Xe’ree Alexander and Rahshawn Clark each had three tackles. Jacob Lane made three tackles. Derek Colman-Brusa, Isaiah Ward, DeSean Watts and Elinneus Davis each finished with two tackles. Paul Mencke Jr., Donovan Robinson Jr., Logan George, Hayden Moore, Devin Hyde, Ramonz Adams Jr., Darin Conley and Taariq Al-Uqdah each had one tackle. Conley also recorded a quarterback hurry.

Iowa opened the season with a 40-0 win over Northern Illinois, then beat Iowa State 16-13, Northern Iowa 55-0 and Michigan 20-19 before losing to Ohio State 31-14. Washington opened with a 24-10 win over Washington State, then beat Utah State 16-14 and Eastern Washington 48-16 before losses to Minnesota 27-24 and Southern California 25-21. Iowa will next visit Minnesota. Washington will next visit Purdue. The Hawkeyes also have upcoming games against Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska. The Huskies will face Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan State, Indiana and Oregon.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Iowa 29, Washington 25. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Iowa with a 50.3 percent probability to win. Iowa had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +2.5. The total score of 65 went under the over/under line of 40.5.