By LUKE MEREDITH
AP Sports Writer

IOWA CITY, Iowa(AP) -- Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi slipped to
the turf and limped to the sidelines, seemingly carrying the
Hawkeyes hopes with him.

There would be no drama in this opener for No. 9 Iowa, though.

Stanzi was fine, and the Hawkeyes dominated an FCS opponent
after nearly losing their opener to Northern Iowa a year ago.

Adam Robinson ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns in the
first half and No. 9 Iowa (1-0) breezed past Eastern Illinois
37-7 for their 10th straight season-opening win under coach Kirk
Ferentz.

Stanzi caused a collective gasp from a crowd of over 70,000 at
Kinnick Stadium when he slipped on a rollout in the second
quarter. Trainers briefly huddled over Iowa's senior leader, but
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.

"Very fortunately it turned out to just be a little bit of a
muscle or a soft tissue thing," Ferentz said of Stanzi, who
finished with 229 yards passing and a late touchdown. "It looked
ugly from the sideline. I'm sure it looked ugly from all
angles."

Iowa needed two blocked field goals in the final moments to
escape Northern Iowa in 2009, and some wondered if the Hawkeyes
were going to let Eastern Illinois hang around, too.

No worries this time. Iowa jumped 21-0 late in the first quarter
and were rarely threatened after that.

The Hawkeyes moved the ball with ease on their first two drives,
both punctuated by short rushing touchdowns of 2 and 4 yards
from Robinson. Paki O'Meara then returned a blocked punt 42
yards for a TD, putting the Panthers in a three-touchdown hole
before they even crossed the 50-yard line.

"We were able to come out early, put some points on the board
and execute very well in the early stages of the game," Stanzi
said.

Brandon Large was 13-of-20 passing for just 92 in his first
career start for Eastern Illinois (0-1), which totaled six first
downs and a measly 157 yards of offense.

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 what appeared to be 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.

Robinson, making a strong impression in the ongoing competition
for carries with the suspended Jewel Hampton, scored from 6
yards out to give Iowa a 28-7 lead with 8:39 left in the first
half,

The Panthers tried some trickery again in the third quarter, but
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.

"We were outmatched obviously in some areas but I really respect
our kids for their performance," Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo
said. "That doesn't reflect on the rest of the year for us
because I think we have a strong football team."

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.

Though backup James Vandenberg looked sharp in relief of Stanzi,
the Hawkeyes know they're better off having Stanzi behind center
when the season kicks off in earnest next week against rival
Iowa State.

"He continues to make really good decisions out there for us,"
Ferentz said.