Game Report: Iowa Hawkeyes 17, Northwestern Wildcats 12

A closer look at No. 22 Iowa’s 17-12 win over Northwestern Saturday at Ryan Field.

Turning point

Iowa’s offense went 9, 9 and 7 yards on its first three possessions. Quarterback Spencer Petras was replaced by sophomore Alex Padilla.

Padilla’s second pass went 17 yards to freshman wide receiver Keagan Johnson. His third pass went 26 yards to Johnson. Both throws were beauties.

Tyler Goodson rushed the final 13 yards of the 58-yard drive for a touchdown, Iowa had a 7-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the first quarter, and away the Hawkeyes went.

Padilla finished the first half 12 of 18 for 127 yards, and Iowa had a 14-3 lead that grew to 17-3 in the third quarter.

Northwestern scored with 2:21 left to make it 17-12 with 2:21 left, stopped the Hawkeyes on downs, and fielded a punt at its 24 with 1:51 remaining. Dane Belton intercepted an Andrew Marty pass on the next play. Ballgame.

By the numbers

9 — The Hawkeyes are guaranteed their ninth-straight winning season.

10 — Cornerback Jermari Harris became the 10th different Hawkeye to intercept a pass this season. It was the first of sophomore Harris’ career. Belton had two picks. Iowa has 19 this year.

100 — Iowa’s Tyler Goodson had 100 first-half rushing yards on 13 carries. He finished with 21 carries for 141 yards.

259 — The Hawkeyes had 259 yards in the first half, 103 more than they had in the entirety of their 27-7 loss at Wisconsin the week before.

Notebook

Room at the top … for everyone

Iowa’s win combined with Wisconsin’s win at Rutgers, Purdue’s victory over Michigan State, and Minnesota’s loss to Illinois, put Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin in a four-way tie for the Big Ten West lead at 4-2.

The kids are all right

First-year freshman wide receivers Johnson and Arland Bruce IV had nights.

Johnson was targeted 11 times and had five receptions for 68 yards. Bruce had three catches for 30 yards, and rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Tory Taylor isn’t perfect!

Iowa punter extraordinaire Tory Taylor had an unhappy first in the second quarter. After he had punted 93 times in his two years with the Hawkeyes, Taylor had one blocked for the first time in his career, by Raymond Niro III.

Niro returned the punt to the Iowa 10, but the Wildcats got just three points out of the field position.

A protest, a delay, and “security”

Late in the first half, the game was delayed for five minutes while a group of, presumably, Northwestern students ran on the field holding several signs.

Among them: “Stop Funding War on Palestine.”

“Divest in Death.”

“Abolish NUPD. Invest in Black Lives.”

Nothing resembling urgency was shown by Northwestern’s security personnel.

An Iowa fan ran on the field, trying to chase off the Northwesterners and get his 15 minutes, er seconds, of fame.

Finally, the protesters left their signs on the field and departed. And that was that.

Injury report

Iowa starting offensive left tackle Mason Richman left the game early in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury. Jack Plumb was moved from right tackle to left tackle and Nick DeJong played right tackle.

Iowa cornerbacks Riley Moss (knee) and Terry Roberts missed their third-straight and second-straight games, respectively. Hawkeye defensive end Deontae Craig returned after a one-game absence.

Up next

The No. 22 Hawkeyes return home to play No. 20 Minnesota (6-3) on Saturday in a clash of West co-leaders. The Gophers were upset at home by Illinois on Saturday, 14-

A closer look at No. 22 Iowa’s 17-12 win over Northwestern Saturday at Ryan Field.