Iowa overcomes lack of passing threat in 20-14 win over Purdue

IOWA CITY — Virtually no passing game, virtually no problem for Iowa football. At least for now.

A quarterback completing only 29 percent of their passes would spell trouble for many college football teams. The same might go for an offense that scored only 10 points out of three non-QB kneel drives starting in the opposing team’s territory.

But many teams do not have a defense as effective as Iowa’s was again on Saturday as the Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) pulled away with a not-so-picturesque 20-14 win over Purdue (2-4, 1-2) at Kinnick Stadium.

The Boilermakers had an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes after an unimposing three-play, 7-yard drive by Iowa’s offense.

But Iowa’s defense didn’t budge. With one sack, one seven-yard completion and two incompletions, Purdue’s comeback bid ended 39 seconds after it began.

A pass rush that had struggled to generate substantial pressure before Saturday — the Hawkeyes had three sacks through the first five games — sacked Purdue quarterback Hudson Card six times.

The six sacks came from five different defensive linemen.

“We pulled out the pass rush drill on Wednesday,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said jokingly. “I’ve been forgetting to do that or suggesting it. We did it Wednesday. It seemed to work.”

Iowa also limited Purdue to only 2.4 yards per carry.

“It all starts with those guys up front,” linebacker Nick Jackson said. “They played very physical, very fast.”

Purdue had some tantalizing opportunities offensively. Five of its seven first-half drives reached Iowa territory, but the Boilermakers only scored on one of those drives.

Card went 25-of-40 for 247 yards. He had one touchdown and two interceptions.

Iowa star defensive back Cooper DeJean hauled in a first-quarter interception and returned it 41 yards to the Purdue 5-yard line. That led to a 27-yard Drew Stevens field goal.

Later in the game, linebacker Jay Higgins had an interception that set up the Hawkeyes in outstanding field position again. Iowa could not turn that opportunity to any points, though.

Offensively, running back Kaleb Johnson and tight end Erick All were among the few bright spots for the Hawkeyes.

Johnson sped his way to a 67-yard touchdown in the first quarter as he took advantage of a massive hole created by the offensive line. As he saw the opening, Johnson “was thinking in my head, ‘I’m gone.’”

“It was a just blessing for it to be open like that,” Johnson said.

He later made a 33-yard carry look easy in the second quarter.

After missing the previous three games with an ankle injury, the sophomore running back finished with 134 yards while averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

“If you can run the ball, it gives you such a better chance to be effective,” Ferentz said.

All, meanwhile, had 97 yards on five catches, including a fourth-quarter touchdown that finally distanced the Hawkeyes from Purdue.

Hill, making his first collegiate start after Cade McNamara’s season-ending injury last week, struggled mightily. Hill described his performance as “pretty shaky, especially in the first half.”

A silver lining was his 22-yard touchdown pass to All in the fourth quarter.

“From where I stand, it looks like the guy did a pretty decent job covering, and an excellent throw and a great job by Erick to finish it,” Ferentz said.

Even with his improved second half, his 6-of-21 line was far from an acceptable level at most Power Five programs.

“I’m certainly not an expert on quarterback play,” Ferentz said. “From throwing baseballs, I know this: If you're pressed or if you try to do too much sometimes, the ball sails. And I’m guessing that’s probably what it was."

Hill didn’t complete a pass to a wide receiver in the game, with five of his completions going to All and the other to Johnson.

Iowa’s coaching staff continued to stick with Hill, though, over last season’s Music City Bowl starter Joe Labas. Ferentz said it would have been “silly” to sub Labas into the game.

“Deacon is our quarterback right now,” Ferentz said.

The Hawkeyes got away with having a nonexistent passing game for extended stretches of their game against Purdue, but that might not be the case next week.

Iowa will take on Wisconsin, the only Big Ten West team without a conference loss yet, next weekend in Madison, Wis. The Badgers are coming off a 24-13 win over Rutgers.

“Hopefully we grew a little bit today,” Ferentz said. “We still have plenty of room for improvement. That’s obvious.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com