IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A dominating first half propelled the 17th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes to a 45-21 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday in their season opener at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa's 1-2 punch of senior LeShun Daniels Jr. and junior Akrum Wadley took the spotlight, as both running backs ran for two touchdowns in the first half and combined for a total of 204 yards rushing on 22 carries.

The Hawkeyes' scoring began with a 1-yard run by Daniels on Iowa's opening drive.

Wadley got on the scoreboard shortly afterward running a touchdown in from 12 yards, but not before the Hawkeye defense made a play of its own.

Sophomore linebacker Jack Hockaday, who filled in for junior Josey Jewell following his ejection for targeting during Desmond King's punt return in the first quarter, forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore defensive end Parker Hesse and returned to the Miami 12-yard line. The fumble came on a pass sophomore quarterback Billy Bahl completed to sophomore running back Maurice Thomas.

It appeared the RedHawks were about to respond as Bahl connected on a 67-yard completion to senior wideout Rokeem Williams that got Miami down to the Iowa 8-yard line.

But on the next play, it was a pair of Nelsons - no relation - along the Hawkeye defensive line that forced another turnover, as Anthony Nelson sack-stripped Bahl and Matt Nelson recovered.

"The turnovers played an important role in today's game," King said. "Just getting the ball back for our offense and putting them in position to score, that's the goal for our defense and we want to keep that going."

Two plays later, Daniels followed his blockers and scampered 43 yards for his second score of the afternoon to give Iowa a 21-0 lead after one quarter.

"It was a routine toss play," Daniels said. "The offensive line did an excellent job of opening up a hole and then all I had to do was turn into a track star."

Miami responded with a touchdown when sophomore running back Alonzo Smith capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive by scoring from three yards.

Later in the second quarter, Wadley scored for the second time on a run of five yards that gave the Hawkeyes a 28-7 halftime lead. The touchdown came following a review in which a fumble out of the end zone by senior receiver Riley McCarron was reversed to an incomplete pass.

Miami head coach Chuck Martin said he wasn't given an explanation for why the call was reversed and that his frustration came from the play looking similar to Thomas' earlier fumble.

"To me, from afar, it was a very similar play and they called a fumble on the field," Martin said. "That was a tough one obviously. But we have to worry about the ones we didn't get."

Iowa would extend its lead to 35-7 in the third quarter when senior quarterback C.J. Beathard connected with sophomore receiver Jerminic Smith for a 12-yard touchdown strike.

But Miami was able to cut its 28-point deficit in half when Bahl connected with sophomore receiver James Gardner on two touchdown passes.

Gardner's first touchdown was a 29-yard completion on a third down late in the third quarter. Gardner's second score came with 9:43 remaining when Bahl found him again for an 8-yard score.

Gardner finished with six catches for 95 yards.

Following a 22-yard field goal by freshman Keith Duncan, Iowa's defense sealed the victory when Anthony Nelson forced his second fumble, which was recovered by sophomore defensive end Sam Brincks. In addition to his two forced fumbles, Anthony Nelson finished with a total of six tackles and afterward acknowledged feeling some nerves before receiving his first significant amount of playing time as a Hawkeye.

"I just envisioned doing whatever I could, doing my best to help," Anthony Nelson said. "Today, that was what I did."

Like the previous two fumbles, Iowa capitalized with a touchdown, as junior running back Derrick Mitchell Jr., scored on a run of five yards.

Next up for the Hawkeyes is intrastate rival Iowa State in the annual Cy-Hawk Trophy Game on Sept. 10 at Kinnick Stadium. Miami (Ohio) plays its home opener that same day against Eastern Illinois.

NOTES: Iowa starting middle linebacker Josey Jewell was ejected during the first quarter for targeting. The infraction came during a punt return by senior cornerback Desmond King. Because it was during the first half, Jewell is eligible to start next week against Iowa State. ... Saturday's game marked the fourth meeting between Iowa and Miami (Ohio). The Hawkeyes won the previous three meetings against the RedHawks, including handing Miami its lone defeat during the 2003 season. The two teams are scheduled to meet again in 2019. ... Dan McCarney served as Iowa's honorary captain for Saturday'sgame. Before his head coaching stints at Iowa State and North Texas, McCarney played for the Hawkeyes as an offensive lineman and served 11 seasons as Iowa's defensive line coach under Hayden Fry.