It's never as good as you think, and it's never as bad as you think.

Such is the case for the Iowa Hawkeyes in their 40-0 Week 1 stomping of Northern Illinois. From an outside view, it doesn't appear much went wrong, while essentially everything went right.

A lot did go right, and it provides a ton of confidence for this team moving forward, but there are some question marks and concerns that can't be ignored, despite coming out on top with a stress-free win.

Maybe I'm the crazy one, but seeing how Iowa gave a fair shake to Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski felt very well managed. Both had ample opportunities and unique situations to prove themselves.

Things were out of hand early, with this game in hand, but Kirk Ferentz and Tim Lester continued to call plays and treat things like it was a closer game.

Personally, I think Hank Brown commanded the offense better, but there's only so much you can glean from a game that was over before the first quarter concluded.

It may get lost in the shuffle, but Iowa's goal-line offense left me with some concerns and created some worries about how the Hawkeyes will replace Mark Gronowki's legs. It came up twice.

On the first drive of the game, Iowa stalled out in the red zone, only to be bailed out by a questionable pass interference flag, gifting them a do-over. In the third quarter, Iowa once again had four chances from inside the five and stalled out with a fourth-down interception.

This is going to matter and be a huge factor in games. Iowa has to crack the code on short-yardage runs or get creative, as they did with Brendan Sullivan in 2024, with his mobility.

Cam Buffington and Jayden Montgomery were everywhere in this game. Should that come as a surprise, though? It's Iowa football, and it's linebacker play. It's always been good, with this year showing no signs of changing.

The best part of these two was how they did it, too. It wasn't just up the middle or in the trenches. Northern Illinois tried to get to the edge at times, but it didn't matter. This duo was everywhere.

This was a question mark coming into the season. Caden Buhr won the job in a competition against Eli Ozick, the North Dakota State transfer, and handled field goal duties for Iowa today.

It was not the ideal day for Iowa's placekicking standards. Buhr pushed his first extra point, as well as missing a 53-yard field goal that was wide right off the foot. He did convert other extra points and bounced back with a 45-yard field goal, but those four points, as Iowa knows as well as anyone, can be vital in tighter games.