The good, bad and ugly moments in Iowa football’s 18-16 loss to No. 9 Oregon

IOWA CITY — It seems like every loss Iowa football has had this year stings a little more than the last.

Every loss was a play or two away from a different outcome, but instead, the Hawkeyes are left to recover through the 24-hour rule.

It’s more of the same following the 18-16 loss to No. 9 Oregon on Saturday night.

“It really hurts to lose the game,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But really these kinds of games that are emblematic of November football, especially in our conference where you get two teams getting after it pretty good.”

After a last-second field goal squashed Iowa’s chances of another fourth quarter comeback, the Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) are left to recover from a stomach churning loss.

Iowa’s next game includes a cross-country trek to California, so there’s not much time to recover. But there’s still a chance to review what was good and what wasn’t before turning West toward the Trojans.

Here are the key good, bad and ugly moments in the rainy, Saturday loss.

The good

A 58-yard field goal

Give kicker Drew Stevens his flowers, he can make the big kicks.

Though the offense didn’t score a touchdown in the second half until the Hawkeyes were inside the two minute timeout, Stevens delivered a much-needed kick to make it a one score game in the fourth quarter.

The 58-yard kick was a Kinnick Stadium and program record, tying kicks made by Tim Douglas in 1998 and Michigan State’s Jonathan Kimm in 2023.

It also was the only field goal Iowa attempted all game, with Oregon opting for three points three times against the Hawkeyes.

The bad

Run defense in the fourth quarter

Iowa’s rush defense allowed 261 rushing yards to Oregon, including an average 6.9 yards per carry in the fourth quarter. Though Ducks quarterback Dante Moore made NFL-calibar plays in the second half, including a 24-yard completion to receiver Malik Bensen to set up the game-winning field goal, Oregon’s athletes had impressive moments throughout the game.

“We've been pretty consistent for a long time stopping the run, and that's a key thing in football,” Ferentz said. “It was a factor tonight certainly, because it's tough to play good defense if you're not controlling the run or at least minimizing some of the bigger plays and that type of thing.”

Ferentz also said details played a factor into defensive breakdowns by the Hawkeyes, but he gave a lot of credit to the Ducks for their ability to capitalize and break through first and second tackles.

“They were good, and we're going to have to obviously try to minimize that moving forward,” Ferentz said. “I don't think it's going to become a problem for us, but we'll address it and see what we can do to do better.”

The ugly

The safety

What separated Oregon from Iowa was handed to the Ducks with 9:55 to go in the first quarter — a safety.

As rare as safeties can be, the frantic play by punter Rhys Dakin still saved it from being an Oregon touchdown. Kicking the ball out of the endzone, although illegal, put the Hawkeyes behind the 8-ball even though it didn’t end in a touchdown.

Ferentz said postgame he assumed the poor snaps were because of weather, even though Iowa didn’t have any other punt issues following the safety.

“I assume it had to be. I didn't ask, but we haven't had that issue really in a long, long time,” Ferentz said. “The first one the ball took off on him, and then didn't have a great punt after as a result. Then obviously the ball went in the end zone there on the second.”

The Hawkeyes, after taking a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, went for a two-point conversion after Gronowski’s 3-yard rushing touchdown, but the initially-called completion was overturned after a review.

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