Iowa's Deacon Hill (10) - Rob Howe/HawkFanatic.com
Against the odds, with all of the injuries, the Iowa Hawkeyes are now 7-2. This keeps them first in the Big Ten West. The win comes from their game against the Northwestern Wildcats. Iowa won the low-scoring game 10-7. Here is a look at the game, and where the team will go from here.
Iowa Hawkeye’s Struggling Offense
When the Iowa quarterback, Cade McNamara went down for the season, things began to look bleak. Next, the team’s top two tight ends are also ruled out for the season. This was a tough break, but clearly, this team is going to continue to put up a fight.
In a very slow start, the Hawkeyes finally scored a touchdown in the third quarter of the game. Not only was it their first scoring play, it was the first score of the game. Scoring earlier will definitely be much more helpful moving forward, but a win is a win. They could have scored earlier but ended up missing the 53-yard field goal.
With just under two minutes left in the game, the Wildcats scored a touchdown to tie the game. The offense stepped up big time in order to get the win. The Hawkeyes took the ball downfield and were able to kick the game-winning field goal with just 14 seconds left in the game. It will go down as a 52-yard field goal for the Hawkeyes.
The loan touchdown of the day came from a reception from tight end Addison Ostrenga. Aside from that, quarterback Deacon Hill had ten completions out of 15 pass attempts for 65 yards, according to ESPN. He had one passing touchdown compared to one interception. The good news is only missing five pass attempts is not bad. The team is not trying to force him to be under a ton of pressure, but still giving him room to play.
Aside from the passing game, the Hawkeyes rushed the ball for 104 yards. The run game may not be great, but it helps take the stress off of passing the ball. Getting the rhythm down there will keep the Hawkeyes in the race to be at the top of the Big Ten West.
The Dominant Defense
This Iowa defense is keeping them in each and every game. Limiting teams to under ten points is crucial with how banged up the offense is. If they played any differently against Northwestern, this game could have gone another way. The only thing that the defense did not have this weekend was a turnover. Aside from that, they had 65 combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, and five sacks, according to ESPN.
The defense limited Northwestern to under 100 yards in the passing game as well as the run game. The Wildcats did end up with more total yards, but it was a very even game. When games are that even, it takes a determined all-around team effort to win, and that is what Iowa continues to do each weekend.
Where Do They Go From Here?
Next up, the Iowa Hawkeyes will have a home game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Scarlet Knights just faced their third loss of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes, but it was a close game to start. Now Rutgers has a 6-3 record, while the Hawkeyes are at 7-2. The Iowa defense could be a good matchup against the Rutgers offense, but this offense will need to step up against that Rutgers defense.
