Hawkeye defense puts on a headlock

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Iowa players probably wouldn't vote for this, but the five-or-so-hour bus ride Friday actually helped the defense. At least, that's what linebacker Quinton Alston said.

'For the linebackers, we just got together, got on our iPads and started watching film together,” the senior said after Iowa's defense starred in Saturday's 24-10 victory. 'We got the defensive backs together with us. We just wanted to make sure everyone was lined up right and in their place.”

Iowa's defense certainly lined up right. It lined up right on Purdue quarterback Danny Etling. The Hawkeyes had four sacks, allowed just 56 yards in the second half and turned the Boilermakers' final nine possessions three-and-outs or interceptions.

Asked if there was any one play that stirred the defense, to a man, the defenders said, no, it was all the plays.

'It was series after series,” defensive tackle Carl Davis said. 'The more three-and-outs we got, the more confidence we gained.”

For the second consecutive week, Iowa rotated in 20 players on defense, including eight defensive linemen. The rotating defense has been part of the plan and will continue to be part of the plan.

'The one constant was our defense played really well today,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'They played well start to finish. That, to me, kept us in the ballgame all the way.”

On its first drive, Purdue marched to Iowa's 24 and then was met by back-to-back sacks, one from freshman linebacker Josey Jewell on a blitz and another from defensive end Nate Meier. On a third-and-7 from Iowa's 16, defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat collected a sack and then gave the north end zone a bow.

At the beginning of the second half, with the score tied 10-10, Meier and Davis ran a twist and met at Etling. Iowa radio analyst Ed Podolak said the Iowa defensive linemen beat the blockers so thoroughly that the Purdue O-line didn't even get 'bad breath” on them.

The Hawkeyes held Purdue to 72 passing yards, the sixth-lowest total in Ferentz's 16 years. The nine first downs Iowa allowed tied for the seventh fewest in the Ferentz era.

Iowa held Purdue to a pair of three-and-outs to end the first half and then the Hawkeyes really turned it on. Here's how it went the rest of the way: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, interception and interception.

Iowa's defense has kind of followed a pattern this season. It's had troubles and been gashed early, but then it's figured things out.

'It'd be nice not to get gashed at all,” said senior free safety John Lowdermilk, who had the two interceptions. 'That would be nice. I don't really know [why it's gone that way], we just want to go out there and stop people.”

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