IOWA CITY — It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work. And Saturday, it worked for the Hawkeyes yet again.
Iowa withstood a jittery, unproductive first half from quarterback Deacon Hill and outpaced visiting Purdue, 20-14. The Hawkeyes rise to 5-1 (2-1 B1G) on the season, with a trip to Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0 B1G) up next. The winner of the Iowa-Wisconsin game will likely be in the driver's seat for the Big Ten West.
Running back Kaleb Johnson returned to the starting lineup after missing three weeks with a high ankle sprain, welcoming himself back to Kinnick with a 67-yard touchdown on the Hawkeyes' second drive of the game:
A victory (and, ahem. cover) is what Iowa wanted out of Deacon Hill's first start in the absence of Cade McNamara — but his stats Saturday won't win many games, especially outside the confines of Kinnick Stadium.
Hill went 6/21 for 110 yards, a touchdown and an interception on Saturday. While Hill's passer rating was a dreadful 59.1 for the game, that's still better than the 23.9 rating for his 3/14, 28-yard first half. While stats can mislead, Hill's numbers were representative of his performance, often gunning the ball past his receivers or over their heads.
"Well, you guys saw him throwing," Ferentz said after the game. "If you press or try to do too much, sometimes the ball sails and I'm guessing that's probably what it was."
Still — somewhat improbably — the game was not far from being lopsided in Iowa's favor. Purdue had some other luck go its way :
- Blocked Drew Stevens field goal on 4th and 2 on the Purdue 31
- Purdue TD with 0:32 left in the first half on the ensuing possession
- 15-yard loss on a snap over Hill's head on 2nd-and-goal from the Purdue 3-yard line after a Cooper DeJean INT returned to the 5 (Iowa later kicked a field goal)
- 23-yard field goal after Hill threw into coverage on 3rd-and-goal instead of to a wide-open Leshon Williams
- Missed 44-yard field goal by Stevens
- Iowa deflects pass to Purdue receiver for 25 yards on TD drive late in 4th quarter
There's only one column for wins in the record book, and Iowa found its way there Saturday regardless, but truly: this game was not far from 34-0 in Iowa's favor.
Even with giving up a pair of touchdowns, the Hawkeye defense put together another stellar performance in the win.
Purdue's two scores both came late in each half; one came on a 43-yard touchdown on a wild Hudson Card scramble and throw to WR TJ Sheffield with 32 seconds left in the first half.
The second came two snaps after a Card pass was deflected by an Iowa defender but straight to Sheffield (again), who took the ball 25 yards into the red zone. Luck remains an integral, inescapable part of any competitive game.
Chief among the Hawkeye defenders Saturday was DT Logan Lee, who finished with 10 (!) tackles, 2.5 TFL and two sacks. Lee and DE Joe Evans (six tackles, 4 TFL) terrorized Card and the Purdue offensive line, and the Hawkeyes logged six total sacks for the game after managing just three in the first five games of the season combined.
Iowa also got strong performances from linebacker Jay Higgins (team-high 12 tackles, one interception), safety Quinn Schulte and linebacker Nick Jackson (seven tackles, one pass defended).
Much focus will be on Deacon Hill and his production, and for good reason; a repeat performance in Madison will almost certainly leave the Hawkeyes with little chance for victory.
But make no mistake: bad throws and all, Iowa is sticking by Hill.
"Deacon is our quarterback right now," Kirk Ferentz said after the game, dismissing a question about if he considered turning to backup Joe Labas. "And that's no offense to Joe, but that would be silly to make a change."
It wasn't quite the burial that drove Deuce Hogan to transfer to Kentucky after the 2021 season, but it was forceful enough to leave no doubt that Iowa is standing behind its transfer signal-caller as the regular season reaches the halfway point. And until Hill starts contributing to Iowa losses, he'll stay there under center, stats and style points be damned.
