Game Report: Iowa Hawkeyes 20, Purdue Boilermakers 14

IOWA CITY -- A look at the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 20-14 win over the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday at Kinnick Stadium:

Turning point

An Iowa pass play? Naw. Really? Yeah, really.

The Hawkeyes were nursing a 13-7 lead late in the third quarter. A short Purdue punt from deep in its own territory set Iowa up with the football at the Boilermakers 45.

A Leshon Williams 15-yard run gave Iowa a first-and-10, with an ensuing 4-yard run off a jet sweep taking the ball to the Purdue 30 as the fourth quarter commenced.

Kaleb Johnson then carried it 4 yards to the Purdue 26, setting up a third-and-2. Considering Iowa’s ability to rush in the game and its absolute inability to throw, everyone figured a run surely was coming.

But no. Quarterback Deacon Hill drifted back on play action and connected with tight end Erick All on a 22-yard touchdown pass that made it a 20-7, two-score game after a successful extra point. All was lined up on the left side of the line, came back to the right, beat the Purdue defense and hauled in a nicely thrown ball in the front right corner of the end zone.

By the numbers

Minus-4 — For the second-straight week, Iowa had a scoring drive that went backward. Its drive at the end of the first quarter netted minus-4 yards before a field goal on the first play of the second quarter.

6 — Iowa had three quarterback sacks over its first five games. It had that many in the first half Saturday, adding a few more in the second half.

21.9 — The Hawkeyes’ scoring average this season. Let’s round up to 22 here.

67 — Kaleb Johnson’s 67-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave him two TDs of at least that distance in consecutive quarters against Purdue. He had a 75-yard run for a score in the fourth quarter of Iowa’s 24-3 win last year.

2026 — Iowa and Purdue don’t play each other again until 2026. They have met every season since 2011.

Recommended Reading

Purdue and Iowa soon to be football strangers that pass in the night

Notebook

* How many consecutive incompletions can you throw without getting hurt?

Iowa’s Deacon Hill had seven straight in the first half. During that time, the Hawkeyes’ lead increased from 7-0 to 10-0.

Hill struggled with accuracy all day, finishing 6-for-21 passing in his first college start for 110 yards and a touchdown. He also had an interception.

* Here were Iowa’s first 18 offensive plays: Johnson with his big 67-yard touchdown run and 17 others that gained a total of 5 yards.

Johnson also had a 33-yard rush in the second quarter. Iowa had 139 first-half yards, 100 coming on those two Johnson carries.

* Devin Mockobee’s 2-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter capped a long Purdue drive and was the first rushing TD allowed this season by Iowa’s defense.

* Purdue’s kicking game was a friend to Iowa in the first quarter.

The Boilermakers’ opening kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Hawkeyes starting position at their 35. Its two punts in the quarter were from the Purdue 41, with neither coming close to being deadened before reaching the end zone.

Then, Julio Macias missed a 41-yard field goal try with 3:03 left in the quarter, which ended with Iowa ahead 7-0.

Contrarily, Iowa kicker Drew Stevens also missed two field goals. He had a 49-yard attempt blocked in the second quarter and badly sliced a 44-yarder wide right late in the fourth quarter. He did make two kicks: a 27-yarder in the second quarter and a 23-yarder in the third.

* The next time Kinnick Stadium will be used for sports is Oct. 15, when the Iowa women’s basketball team scrimmages against DePaul.

It will break the record for most people to attend a women’s basketball event, assuming there is no weather mayhem that interferes.

Injury report

Iowa’s Nick DeJong, who started at guard in the first five games for the Hawkeyes, was held out because of an injury he suffered in the previous game.

Running back Jaziun Patterson missed his third-straight game with a lower-body injury. Johnson returned after a three-game absence. Tight end Addison Ostrenga was out, as was defensive back Deshaun Lee.

Next game

Iowa heads to Wisconsin for a 3 p.m. Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. Fox will televise it. The Badgers improved to 2-0 in the Big Ten and 4-1 overall Saturday with a 24-13 home win over Rutgers.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com