Iowa City, IA (U-WIRE) -- Drew Tate played like the old Drew Tate, and Iowa bounced out of its offensive rut.

The No. 21 Hawkeyes breezed past Division-IAA Northern Iowa, 45-21, at Kinnick Stadium on Sept. 17, tying a school record with 20-straight home victories despite occasional lackluster play on defense.

The resurrected Iowa offense racked up a season-high 496 yards and 24 first downs and didn't turn the ball over once - a vast improvement from a loss against Iowa State on Sept. 10, where it was haunted by five turnovers.

"I thought we were better," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I should preface that by saying it would be hard not to be better.

"We showed some improvement, and we also showed the need for improvement."

Tate, who was knocked out in the second quarter against the Cyclones with a concussion in the second quarter, threw almost as many passes against the Panthers as he had in about three quarters of work in the first two games.

The junior completed 15-of-18 passes to seven different receivers for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Clinton Solomon. Tate meticulously picked apart the Panther secondary all afternoon on both short and long routes, and if he would have thrown more than five balls in the second half, Tate could have had a career day.

"It felt real well," he said. "We were clicking pretty well as an offense. We were running the ball, we were throwing the ball, we were doing good play action. They brought a lot of blitzes, so I think it's going to help our linemen out and our running backs out picking up the blitz so we can get ready for the Big Ten."

Down 24-7 with three minutes left in the second quarter, the Panthers had an opportunity to cut the lead before halftime. On the third play of the drive, running back David Horne coughed up the football, and it was recovered by Iowa linebacker Abdul Hodge.

Tate completed three-straight passes, including an 11-yard touchdown to Solomon. On the score, Tate found Solomon on the sideline near the 5-yard line, and the lanky receiver used his long arm to force the defender to the ground and away from his own body.

The duo hooked up again midway into the third quarter on a deep 71-yard pass down the middle of the field, where Solomon ran behind blown coverage in the UNI secondary.

Iowa jumped out to an early 21-0 lead early in the second quarter on an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jovon Johnson. Hawkeye safety Marcus Paschal banged into the intended receiver, Curt Bradley, forcing the ball straight up into the air right into Johnson's hands.

The pick was Johnson's 15th of his career, moving him into third-place all-time behind Nile Kinnick and Devon Mitchell, who both recorded 18.

Running back Albert Young scored Iowa's first two touchdowns on 10- and 1-yard runs in the first quarter. The sophomore gained 97 yards, averaging 7.5 yards a carry with a long of 16 yards. Freshman Shonn Greene, who barely played against Iowa Sate, rushed 15 times for 45 yards.

Damian Sims, who appears to have returned at running back after a brief stint at cornerback, scored on a 39-yard run over left tackle with 30 seconds left - only his second carry of the week.

"Offensively, I think our line responded well after being challenged all week in practice to be more consistent and pick up our tempo," tackle Mike Jones said. "I think we played well together, and we were consistent."

Granted the competition was scaled down, but the offensive line played as consistently as it has all season, with no penalties.

"As a running back, those guys are doing great," Young said. "If they keep blocking like that, I think the running game is going to be there."

But Iowa's defense looked shaky at times, surrendering 368 total yards and three long scoring drives. UNI quarterback Eric Sanders completed 19-of-29 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns to open receivers.

In the final quarter, Sanders connected with Justin Surrencey on a 4-yard touchdown and David Horne for a 22-yard score. Both drives accumulated 85 yards in about six minutes.

The Hawkeyes also showed a tendency to get burned on the deep ball, giving up 20-plus-yard passes to four different Panther receivers.

But there were bright spots - Chad Greenway finished with a career-high 20 tackles, including one for loss.

The coaches left the starting defense on the field during the fourth quarter to redeem a flat finale in Ames, but a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns against with many first-teamers on the field concerned Ferentz.

"Mental errors - whether guys or young or old - we have to get that straightened out," Ferentz said. "Our experienced guys have got to lead the way for us. They have to cover their end of the deal and then some, hopefully.

"Then our younger guys have to keep pushing forward. I think for the most part, we're getting that, but it's just not consistent right now."

(C) 2004 The Daily Iowan via U-WIRE