It was another subpar performance for the Iowa offense as the Hawkeyes fell 9-6 on the road at Illinois. We have all your news and notes from the game and we hand out a few game balls to deserving Hawkeye players.

GAME BALLS

OFFENSE

SAM LaPORTA – The Illinois native had his best game of the season with nine receptions for exactly 100 yards. That including 61 in the first quarter after catching passes of 31 and 30 yards. The senior tight end had an impressive 59 yards after catch against the Illini. This was his second 100 yard receiving day with the other one being in the Citrus Bowl against Kentucky.

DEFENSE

NOAH SHANNON – Let’s stick with the Illinois theme in this one with another player who grew up in the Land of Lincoln. Shannon has been nursing a sore shoulder that has limited his practice time, but he’s always ready to go at game time. On Saturday, Shannon had a career best eight tackles in the loss to Illinois. He also had 1.5 tackles for loss in the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS

JACK CAMPBELL – Not much to choose from this week on special teams with Drew Stevens missing a field goal and Tory Taylor not punting up to his usual stands. So let’s give it to Campbell was on the receiving end of a nice punting gift. Illinois return man Isaiah Williams muffed a punt and it went directly in the arms of Campbell.

NEWS AND NOTES

DRESS LIST

QB: Petras, Padilla, Labas

RB: Kaleb Johnson, L. Williams, G. Williams, Hilson, Pottebaum, Pallissard, Patterson

TE: LaPorta, Lachey, Ostrenga, Stilianos, Pascuzzi

WR: Brecht, Ragaini, Bostick, Wick, Bruce, Vines

OL: Jones, Richman, DeJong, Stephens, Colby, Plumb, Myslinski, Dunker, Elsbury, Fagan, Chaplin

DL: Lee, Shannon, Waggoner, Evans, Van Ness, Graves, Stec, Craig, Hurkett, Black, Llywelln, Pittman, Reames

LB: Campbell, Benson, Higgins, Sharar, Klemp, Rexroth, Fisher, Twedt, Harrell

DB: DeJean, Moss, Merriweather, Schulte, Roberts, Nwankpa, Hall, Heinz, Castro, Bracy

ST: Taylor, Stevens, Phelps, Blom, Reardon, Elkin

INJURY UPDATE

Cornerback Terry Roberts returned to duty on defense, but unfortunately he left the game in the second half with what appeared to be a foot injury. Roberts was replaced at cornerback by Cooper DeJean, who had been playing “Cash” in the game. Sebastian Castro came in and played the “Cash” spot in the lineup.

Defensive tackle Logan Lee left the game in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a shoulder or arm injury. There was no updates on his status after the game.

Starting guard Nick DeJong did not dress for this game. He did travel with the team to Champaign. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Tyler Elsbury, who made his first career start.

Diante Vines and Yahya Black have been sidelined for several weeks. Vines have been out since breaking his wrist in fall camp and Black missed time with a broken foot. Both were in uniform for pregame work, but did not play. They are expected back in the lineup after the bye week.

RAGAINI SHINES IN LOSS

WR Nico Ragaini made his 100th career catch with a 15-yard completion in the second quarter. Ragaini made seven catches for 46 yards in the game, giving him 104 career receptions for 1,125 yards.

WILLIAMS WITH A CAREER BEST RUN

RB Leshon Williams tied a career-long with a 21-yard rush in the third quarter. He was Iowa’s leading rusher with 32 yards on seven attempts.

FIRST MISS FOR STEVENS

K Drew Stevens went 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, converting from 32 and 27 yards (and missing from 45 – his first career miss). Stevens is 6-for-7 on field goal attempts this season.

TACKLE LEADERS

Jack Campbell once again led the way with 13 tackles. It was his fourth game this season with over 10 tackles. Quinn Schulte had 9 tackles and Iowa’s only interception. Logan Lee and Noah Shannon tied with eight stops each. Seth Benson had seven tackles. Iowa did not record a sack in the game and had three quarterback hurries.

NEXT UP

Iowa is on a bye this week before traveling to Columbus to face the Buckeyes.