The good, bad and ugly key moments in Iowa’s loss to No. 11 Indiana

IOWA CITY — Winnable games are some of the hardest losses to move on from.

Iowa’s fourth quarter battle against now No. 8 Indiana was the most complete version of this year’s Hawkeyes fans have seen. Though not perfect, all three phases of football had its moment to shine.

The Hoosiers just had the shinier plays.

“It was one of those types of games in conference play that you're going to get,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I think there were a lot of good responses out there. Certainly, some miscues that hurt us and put us in a tough position.”

It’s another painful pill to swallow, and one that lasts a little longer with Iowa’s first bye week incoming. Sometimes moving on means picking out what worked and what didn’t. The Hawkeyes do it, and so can the fans.

Here’s the key good and not-so-good moments in Iowa’s 20-15 loss to Indiana.

The good

Back-to-back games with a pick

Despite the lackluster ending for Iowa, Zach Lutmer snagged the football for Indiana’s first interception of the year. No other team has come remotely close to forcing the Hoosiers to hand the ball back to their opponent.

More importantly, it was a turnover that gave Iowa a chance to take a lead in the fourth quarter.

Though the Hawkeyes came up empty following the interception, having back-to-back games with an interception is a lot more familiar to the team’s defense.

“He made that interception when we needed it most,” defensive back Koen Entringer said. “Coach Ferentz says, the best players make the best plays in the best moments. And I think you know, Zach's one of our best players on this team, and we really needed to play, and he stepped up. He made that play.”

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker turned up the pressure significantly in the second half, forcing Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza to get rid of the ball quickly. Mendoza ended the game with his lowest completion rate of the season — just above 56 percent. It also was his lowest passing game since Indiana’s season opener against Old Dominion.

The bad

Elijah Sarratt’s touchdown

The game-winning play needed to be on this week’s list. Despite Iowa’s defense limiting Indiana’s explosive offense for nearly the entire game, the Hoosiers had one play slip through.

It also happened to be the biggest play of the entire game.

In a game where the Hawkeyes defense had collectively played sound football, Sarratt exploited a whole right up the middle of the field and took off. In a simple one-on-one situation against defensive back Deshaun Lee, the Indiana wide receiver came out victorious.

The play itself was the dagger, but it proved a larger point: the need to make better contact for better tackles.

“If there is one thing defensively to me, after this block of games, yeah, we have to get better at tackling,” Ferentz said. “You just open the door for some bad things. That's one thing we knew coming in this game, Indiana had a lot of yards after catch last week against their opponent. It's one thing to give up a completion, that will happen. You can't make the bleeding worse.”

The ugly

Gronowski’s injury

The moment all the momentum and energy was sucked out of Kinnick Stadium wasn’t because of an Indiana interception or an explosive play. It was the moment quarterback Mark Gronowski scrambled out of the pocket, got tripped up and fell mid-Hawkeye drive.

Iowa’s offense was moving, and was probably a play or two away from a touchdown if it continued. Instead, Gronowski hobbled off the field with the team’s athletic trainers and went straight into the medical tent.

Ferentz didn’t have much of an update on his starting quarterback following the game either, just that Gronowski didn’t feel like he could decelerate. The head coach did say there was “positive feedback” from the trainers, but didn’t reveal any additional information.

Backup quarterback Hank Brown, a sophomore transfer from Auburn, filled in for the rest of the game.

This is where the bye week helps. Although there’s reason for concern, Iowa gets the extra seven days to rest of QB1 before making the drive up to Madison, Wis.

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