Game Report: Iowa 40, Purdue 20

OPENING SALVO

With one game to go, No. 5 Iowa (11-0, 7-0) officially has clinched the Big Ten West Division title outright and earned a spot in the league title game Dec. 5 in Indianapolis.

The Hawkeyes are two games ahead of Northwestern (9-2, 5-2) and Wisconsin (8-3, 5-2) in the West. Iowa will play former Legends Division roommate Michigan State (10-1, 6-1), if the Spartans can top Penn State (7-4, 4-3) in East Lansing. If Michigan State loses, then the winner of Ohio State (10-1, 6-1) and Michigan (9-2, 6-1) meets the Hawkeyes.

'It's great knowing you're going to compete against the other side of the Big Ten and knowing these teams that you're going to play are the best in the nation,' Iowa cornerback Desmond King said. 'But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves and think about the Big Ten Ten championship. We have to focus on Nebraska, knowing that they upset Michigan State, and they have the capability to do that (to us).'

Iowa plays at Nebraska (5-6, 3-4) at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The Cornhuskers need a win to clinch a bowl berth, while Iowa can finish the regular season unbeaten for the first time since 1922.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 — Big Ten West Division championships by Iowa after Saturday

11 — Iowa wins to start the season, a program record

12 — Wins with nary a loss with C.J. Beathard as the starting QB

13 — Consecutive catches for first downs by Iowa TE Henry Krieger Coble

75 — Big Ten wins by Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, one shy of tying Illinois' Robert Zuppke for seventh

REPORT CARD

A — After a long, dry 2014, it's snowing trophies in Iowa City.

— Marc Morehouse

B — Just a run-of-the-mill, division-clinching win to get to (ho, hum) 11-0.

— Mike Hlas

B — The Big Ten doesn't hand out participation trophies to just any old team.

— Scott Dochterman

GAME BALL

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. A year after he was chided for leading a weathered program and an outdated philosophy, Ferentz has taken the Hawkeyes to their first divisional title and first 11-0 start.

The supposedly stale Iowa offense scored 40 points against the Boilermakers, the fifth straight game the Hawkeyes have scored at least 29 points. Iowa has four players with at least six rushing touchdowns, and quarterback C.J. Beathard has thrown 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

'We have an amazing head coach,' Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri said. 'So it's been so surreal and so awesome to be a part of this. We just can't wait for the rest of the season.'

LOMAX HIT

Iowa safety Jordan Lomax came up with one of the game's biggest plays when he knocked Purdue quarterback David Blough from the game on a hard hit after a 4-yard gain. Blough fumbled, and Iowa cornerback Desmond King recovered.

'I was a down safety in the box, and I was able to read the quarterback draw,' Lomax said. 'I saw which gap he wanted to come through, and I was able to meet him there.

'It was a big hit. He lost control of the ball, and Desmond was able to recover it.'

Blough did not return to the game.

'He took a pretty good shot,' Purdue Coach Darrell Hazell said. '(The trainers) said he's out for now, he probably won't return.'

YANCEY DROPS

With the Boilermakers trailing 20-13 midway through the third quarter and positioned at Iowa's 34-yard line, Purdue wide receiver DeAngelo Yancey twice dropped big passes over the middle. The first was one on which he likely would have scored. The second also would have been a big gain.

'Obviously the two drops were ones I wish I would have had back,' Yancey said. 'Other than that, I thought I played a solid game. But I just want those two balls back.

'I kind of lost it and at the last second it was the only one (hand), I could get on it. But a drop is a drop.'

KOEHN MISS

Iowa senior kicker Marshall Koehn missed two extra points — one was blocked — and now has missed five this season. He has missed only four field goals this season.

'It was just poor execution on my part,' Koehn said. '(Tyler) Kluver gave me a great snap and Dillon (Kidd) hit the spots. I've just got to execute better for sure.'

KING'S COVERS

Iowa cornerback Desmond King missed his chance to break the school's interception record but still ended up with three pass breakups. He also recorded 10 solo tackles and recovered a fumble. King ended the game tied with Nile Kinnick (1939) and Lou King (1981) for the single-season record with eight.

'It's not my day, but next week I'm for sure going to try to get that accomplished,' King said.

Purdue's receivers thought of King as a challenge.

'People look at him as one of the top corners in the nation,' Yancey said. 'What we said all week was we want to see how we stack up against the best, and that was our whole motto going through the week.'

King, a junior, has NFL potential and could declare for the draft at season's end.

'I'm not sure where I'm at right now,' King said. 'I'm still undecided. I'm not going to think about it until it's time for me to think about it. Right now I'm focusing on this season and my team.'

SNOW BOWL

With nine inches of snow falling between 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, crews were on scene all night moving snow from the field and the concourses. Athletics facilities director Damian Simcox was at the stadium from 6:30 p.m. Friday until the game's completion.

QUOTABLE

'I've never caught one (a touchdown) in Kinnick. For this to be my last chance to go out and do it, it's pretty awesome. It's great. I'll think about it down the road for sure but right now, I'm not really thinking about it.' — Iowa TE Henry Krieger Coble

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com