Game Report: Iowa 31, Purdue 21

BY THE NUMBERS

5 - Road game losing streak snapped by Iowa

101 - Purdue rushing yards

12 - Receiving touchdowns by Marvin McNutt, a single-season record

9 - Catches needed by McNutt to break Iowa's single-season record

5 - Takeaways recorded by Iowa's defense, a season-high

REPORT CARD

B-plus - Let's all meet in Council Bluffs on Thursday night for Thanksgiving pizza at the dog track.

- Marc Morehouse

B - My dream of covering the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl is wrecked, again.

- Mike Hlas

B - Will Friday's side dish be Creamed Corn or Hawk Chops?

- Scott Dochterman

GAME BALL

Iowa senior defensive tackle Mike Daniels returned to beast mode Saturday, powering through Purdue for eight tackles, including four for a  loss. He also had two sacks.

Daniels entered the game with only 2.5 tackles for a loss this season. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Daniels brought energy and inspired the defense.

"I think everybody fed off of that," Ferentz said.

GROUNDED POUND

Iowa put together perhaps its best run defense of the season, holding Purdue to 101 rushing yards. The Boilermakers averaged just 2.8 yards per carry.

Purdue's 101 yards were a low for Iowa in Big Ten play and the second fewest allowed this season. Daniels deflected the attention and instead credited senior middle linebacker Tyler Nielsen, who flipped positions with sophomore James Morris and moved inside midway through the season.

"Having a guy like Tyler Nielsen in there at the mike position making the calls - James Morris is a great player, he's going to be a heck of a football player compared to where he is now - but Tyler's been here five years and just seeing it in his eyes when he's calling that play," Daniels said. "Having a guy like that, who's been here five years, you know he's invested, he's just a man of respect. We came up together. Having him in there has really, I feel as though has helped us tremendously in terms of never giving up and continuing the fight."

Iowa also forced four turnovers and sacked Purdue quarterbacks five times.

TRAPPING ROAD ENDS

With the win, Iowa snapped its five-game regular-season road losing streak, which dated more than a calendar year. Iowa had lost its three road games this year to Iowa State, Penn State and Minnesota after dropping its final two last year at Northwestern and Minnesota.

"A win in this conference is tough on the road and it takes a lot typically, and today is no exception," Ferentz said. "It was good for our players to experience that. It's been a while. It's well-documented."

Iowa has one more road game this season - at Nebraska.

THE TAN MAN

Iowa sophomore safety Tanner Miller picked off two Purdue passes, both of which were inside Iowa territory. Miller's first steal was on a Robert Marve pass at the Iowa 1-yard line where he stepped out of bounds in the second quarter. For his second interception, Miller intercepted Marve late in the third quarter and returned it 15 yards.

"That first one, I just got pretty lucky," Miller said. "I was just running with my guy and I happened … either the receiver or my guy, Micah (Hyde), tipped it to me and it just kind of fell in and I just kind of get my foot in bounds.

"The second play - we made an adjustment at halftime - we kind of knew what kind of passes they were running. So I kind of ran over to the field to try and rob the tight end, and the ball was there and I ran in front of (Jordan) Bernstine. I think he was pretty mad because he would have had the pick if I wouldn't have."

Miller now has three career interceptions, including a 98-yard touchdown return against Northwestern.

LAPPING THE FIELD

Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt continued his assault on the school receiving record book, catching nine passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He now owns single-season receiving records for touchdowns (12) and yards (1,240), as well as those marks for a career (28 touchdowns, 2,786 yards).

McNutt needs just 12 catches to break Derrell Johnson-Koulianos' catches record (173) and eight more to claim the single-season mark (82 by Kevin Kasper).

"Right now I really don't pay attention too much (to the records)," McNutt said. "After the season I'll reflect on some things. It's not really about certain things right now; you've just got to continue to get better and continue to move forward."

DIVISION BY ZERO

Iowa (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) was eliminated from the Legends Division race after Michigan State (9-2, 6-1) throttled Indiana 55-3 Saturday. The Spartans clinched the divisional title after Michigan beat Nebraska 45-17.

Iowa has a chance to tie for second in divisional play next week if it beats Nebraska (8-3, 4-3) and Michigan (9-2, 5-2) loses to Ohio State. Wisconsin (9-2, 5-2) and Penn State (9-2, 6-1) play a winner-take-all game next Saturday in Madison for the Leaders Division title.

BOWL SHIP

Scouts from the Little Caesar's and TicketCity bowls attended Saturday's game, but it's likely neither land the Hawkeyes after Saturday's win. Iowa's lowest destination appears to be Houston's Meineke Car Car Bowl of Texas, which has the Big Ten's fifth selection after the BCS and matches the Big 12's fifth non-BCS selection. Iowa also could be in line for Jacksonville's Gator Bowl, which pits the Big Ten's fourth non-BCS selection against the SEC's fifth non-BCS team.

A win next week against Nebraska could seal Iowa into the Gator Bowl or potentially enter discussions for the Outback or Insight bowls, which select second and third, respectively, after the BCS.

LINCOLN LOGS

Iowa competes against new Big Ten arrival Nebraska in the regular-season finale Friday at Lincoln. The Big Ten positioned the states' flagship institutions into a season-ending matchup through at least 2014 and likely beyond. The teams will compete for the inaugural Heroes Trophy. ABC (KCRG-TV9) televises the game nationally at 11 a.m.