Game Report: Iowa 24, Purdue 10

OPENING SALVO

Iowa safety John Lowdermilk had a clear path to the end zone after intercepting an Austin Appleby pass at the Purdue 49 with 1:10 left in the game. Lowdermilk ran 16 yards, then fell to one knee and left the field. He was then met by Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz.

'He asked me why I didn't run it in,” Lowdermilk said. 'Same with Coach (Phil) Parker, (who) asked me why I didn't run it in. A couple of weeks ago he was yelling at somebody for running when they got a pick at the end of the game. It was (Greg) Mabin. So I just told him it's his fault.”

Lowdermilk is best known for an interception in the Outback Bowl, where he dropped the ball at the 1-yard line in a modest celebration. He still wants to score, but he didn't want to show up Purdue Coach Darrell Hazell to do it. Hazell, who formerly coached at Kent State, offered Lowdermilk a scholarship.

'Obviously I wanted a touchdown - especially after last year - but it would have been unnecessary,” Lowdermilk said. 'I respect Coach Hazell and their staff so much.”

Lowdermilk picked off two passes in the game and also recorded a team-high seven tackles.

BY THE NUMBERS

4 - Consecutive road wins for Iowa

56 - Second-half yards for Purdue

72 - Passing yards for Purdue

148 - Career catches by Kevonte Martin-Manley, ranking fifth in Iowa history

2,004 - Career rushing yards for Mark Weisman, the eighth runner in Iowa history to surpass 2,000

REPORT CARD

B - They do serve beer here at Ross-Ade Stadium. They're going to need a lot of it.

- Marc Morehouse

B - C.J. Beathard threw a pick-6. Ricky Stanzi threw four of them in '09. He did all right.

- Mike Hlas

B - Who is Iowa's starting quarterback in two weeks against Indiana? Magic 8-Ball says, 'Ask again later.”

- Scott Dochterman

GAME BALL

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa's longtime coach moved into 10th for wins at a Big Ten school with 112. It also notched his 65th Big Ten victory, tying Barry Alvarez for 10th place.

The nine coaches with more than 112 wins all are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Every coach but George Perles and Murray Warmath with at least 65 wins also are hall of famers.

With his next victory, Ferentz will tie Fielding Yost for ninth at 113. Ferentz's next Big Ten win will tie him with Perles and Warmath with 66 wins.

KICKING BUTT

Iowa kicker Marshall Koehn served as the team's exclusive kicker on Saturday. He drilled all three extra-point attempts, a 28-yard field goal and had nailed three of his five kickoffs for touchbacks.

'I feel like I've grown a lot these last few games,” said Koehn, a Solon native. 'I just tried to change a few things up with my routine, a lot more positive self talk with myself. It helps having a great snapper and a great holder, so I don't have to worry too much about getting in my zones.”

Koehn had split time with true freshman Mick Ellis, who worked as the team's extra-point specialist. But on Saturday morning, Koehn was deemed the sole kicker.

'Coach Ferentz just came up to me and said, ‘You'll be taking all the kicks today,'” Koehn said. 'It's basically that simple.

'Hopefully it will be like the rest of the of year.”

KNOCK IT OFF

Iowa wide receivers clearly dropped six passes on Saturday, including four in the first half. A second-down drop by Jacob Hillyer cost Iowa a touchdown late in the second quarter. The Hawkeyes had to settle for a field goal on that drive and a 10-10 halftime score.

'That was not much fun,” Ferentz said. 'I thought we were going to go for the record today. It seems like that calmed down in the second half.

'There's a lot of things that go into becoming an inconsistent offensive team - the drops, the blocks, missed blocks ...”

Hillyer atoned for his mistake by catching an 18-yard pass on third-and-6 to put the Hawkeyes at the 5-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Mark Weisman scored on Iowa's next play.

FURTHER REVIEW

Twice Iowa was aided by replay. The first confirmed Iowa had the correct number of players on the field. The other gave Iowa a touchdown.

With the Hawkeyes facing first-and-15 at the Purdue 23, Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard completed a pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley near the end zone. Martin-Manley had possession of the ball but his right foot was out of bounds.

'No, not at first to be honest (when asked if he thought it was a touchdown),” Martin-Manley said. 'I saw the replay and (I thought) it might not be a touchdown.”

Instead, officials ruled Martin-Manley's left foot was down and he had possession of the ball. That gave Iowa a 17-10 lead late in the third quarter.

'We were really surprised,” Beathard said. 'We already had our next call in mind and then they call a touchdown and all the sudden, what? I was surprised they called it a touchdown.”

SAD DAY

Former Iowa football player Bill Happel Sr., died Friday. He was 78.

Against Minnesota in 1956, Happel Sr. intercepted a pass in the end zone to preserve a 7-0 win. The victory kept Iowa in contention for its first Rose Bowl trip, which was accomplished the following week with a 6-0 victory against Ohio State. He later scored on a 5-yard touchdown run against Oregon State to lift Iowa to a 35-19 win in the 1957 Rose Bowl.

Happel Sr. later served as an assistant at Iowa and at Minnesota. His son, Bill Happel Jr., also scored a touchdown in the 1986 Rose Bowl.

UP NEXT

Iowa (4-1) plays host to Indiana (2-2) at 11 a.m. Oct. 11. It will mark the 75th meeting between the longtime Big Ten schools. The Hawkeyes own a 42-28-4 advantage but dropped the last meeting 24-21 at Bloomington. Purdue (2-3) plays at Illinois next Saturday.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@sourcemedia.net