The Iowa Hawkeyes entered the 10th week of the college football season, also in dire need of a win, following 2 lackluster performances against Purdue and Wisconsin. While near the cellar of the Big Ten, the Northwestern Wildcats presented an always-physical challenge to the Hawkeyes, as Iowa looked to avenge their loss to the Wildcats in 2020, which ultimately cost them a Big Ten Championship Game berth.
Both teams traded punts on their first two possessions, before Iowa made a change at quarterback, with Alex Padilla relieving an injured-Spencer Petras. Iowa’s offense responded with it’s best drive in nearly a month, as the Hawkeyes drove 58-yards in 9 plays, and capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run from Tyler Goodson to put Iowa up 7-0. Northwestern quarterback Andrew Marty would be picked off on the ensuing drive by Dane Belton, and Iowa’s drive would result in the 2nd touchdown in two drives for Padilla, as Arland Bruce scored on a fly sweep from 10-yards out to put Iowa up 14-0. A Northwestern field goal late in the 2nd quarter put the score at 14-3 at halftime.
After trading punts to start the 2nd half, Iowa managed to grab a field goal from Caleb Shudak to extend their lead to 17-3. Northwestern would answer with a field goal of their own from Charlie Kuhbander, to bring the score to 17-6. The Wildcats were not going to go quietly into the night, as some missed tackling from Iowa’s defense allowed Evan Hull to score on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Marty, to bring the score to 17-12 after the failed PAT. The Wildcats would get one final crack on offense, but were intercepted on the first play of the drive by Dane Belton, securing the Iowa win.
Iowa moves to 7-2 on the season, and will host Minnesota on Saturday in the Battle for the Floyd of Rosedale at 2:30 PM.