Everything copacetic heading into Lincoln

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Iowa Hawkeyes were clearly the better team. It just took them awhile to figure it out.

Part of the path to that enlightenment included a dropped touchdown pass by senior wide receiver Marvin McNutt. Yes, the same Marvin McNutt who owns nearly every wide receiver record the University of Iowa can invent.

"I was pissed off," McNutt said.

So were the Hawkeyes (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten), who really sort of kind of dominated Purdue (5-6, 3-4) but not really, 31-21, before 40,106 fans Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium.

There was the dropped TD. Also in the second quarter, Iowa had first downs from Purdue's 36, 9 and 49 and came away with zero points. The closest the Hawkeyes came was when Mike Meyer clanged a 34-yard field goal off the right upright.

Iowa was the better team, it just took it awhile to decide where it wanted to go with this.

"There wasn't a lot of good that happened," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We moved the ball, but we didn't finish drives. Just a lot of crazy things, but we survived it."

And there's your theme for the season. The Hawkeyes have been in survival mode since the unsettling upset at Minnesota on Oct. 29. They survived a goal-line stand against Michigan. They were mangled by Michigan State.

They pushed through the weirdness, which included some anger from Purdue and coach Danny Hope at the end of the game, and snapped a five-game road losing streak in the regular season.

Running back Marcus Coker rushed 30 times for 139 yards and a TD. Quarterback James Vandenberg threw three TD passes and now has 23 this season, fourth on Iowa's single-season list. McNutt more than made up for his drop with nine catches for 151 yards and two TDs, including a 51-yarder early in the fourth quarter that sealed it.

The Hawkeyes' defense sacked Purdue quarterbacks Caleb TerBush and Robert Marve five times, the most for the Hawkeyes in a single game since five against Minnesota in 2009.

"That's why I came here, the respect of the defense and the type of hard-nosed play," said defensive tackle Mike Daniels, who had two sacks, four tackles for loss and led the Hawkeyes with eight tackles. "It's something we've constantly worked on this year."

Iowa's defense equaled its high for tackles for loss this season (eight) and held Purdue to 282 yards total offense, the lowest against the Hawkeyes this season.

"They do a fantastic job of getting off blocks," Purdue coach Danny Hope said. "We knew that all week long and I think that showed up some today."

Purdue had a chance to crawl within 31-28 with 1:27 left, but Marve fumbled out of the end zone right at the pylon, giving Iowa the ball and a touchback. The play was initially ruled a TD, but review overturned it.

"One thing about us this year, we've been fairly resilient," Ferentz said.

Iowa's second-quarter ennui allowed the Boilermakers to tie the game 14-14. After the first of free safety Tanner Miller's interceptions set up the Hawkeyes at their 1, Vandenberg fumbled on a sack and Purdue's Brandon Taylor recovered for a TD, pulling the Boilers to 14-14 with 4:49 left.

Then, Iowa snapped out of it. Vandenberg found tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz for a 5-yard TD and Iowa wouldn't be seriously threatened again.

"They gave it to us, we gave it to them," said Vandenberg, who completed 22 of 32 for 273 yards, three TDs and no picks. "They gave us points, we gave them points. We've got to limit those mistakes, but we did a good job fighting through that and putting a drive together at the end of the half."

It was another game for the Hawkeyes and another record for McNutt. His two TDs give him 12 this season, breaking the Iowa season TD reception record of 11, set by Mo Brown in 2002.

Still, as he took his spot in a mosh pit of a postgame, the drop was the first thing McNutt talked about.

"That's a touchdown," said McNutt, who needs 11 receptions in Iowa's final two games to tie the career record (173). "We don't drop touchdowns."

It happened and it was that kind of weird-energy day. It was so gray Saturday, it looked as though the game were lit by a 40-watt bulb.

Purdue kind of lost it after the review nullified Marve's lunge for the pylon. Iowa took a knee and a skirmish ensued. Purdue linebacker Dwayne Beckford was ejected after throwing a punch. Referee John O'Neill kind of scolded him with the announcement.

"He has excused himself for the rest of the day," O'Neill said over the Ross-Ade P.A.

Hope seemed to have a few words for Ferentz. He definitely pointed toward the locker room, directing his players inside instead of postgame mingling with the Hawkeyes. A Purdue assistant got into Daniels as he said he congratulated a Purdue player.

"I think everything is copacetic," Ferentz said.

That's kind of where the Hawkeyes are right now, copacetic. They're 7-4 heading into the season finale at Nebraska (8-3, 4-3). They probably now can lose the numbers of the Ticket City and Little Caeser's Bowl reps and maybe check into something Florida (Gator).

Copacetic, yeah, that works.