Saturday’s football game between Iowa and Illinois was the rare example of a microcosm within a microcosm inside a third microcosm.

Quarterback Spencer Petras’ woeful, mistake-prone first half provided a perfect parallel to the overall Iowa program’s halting, shaky start to the abbreviated 2020 football season. And his sterling second half – in which he completed more than 70 percent of his throws, including a pair of touchdowns – reflected the Hawkeye team’s leap up from the 0-2 mat and ongoing five-game winning streak.

That’s two microcosms, then. What is the third?

I feel like both Petras’ slow-but-steady improvement, as well as the team’s in 2020, look a lot like the overall Ferentz tenure at Iowa. That is, things may look rough – maybe even hopeless – early, but with hard work, grinding and patience, rewards follow.

I’m a little ashamed to admit that I almost gave up on this game after the disastrous first quarter. I had spent the morning trout fishing near McGregor and was driving back with the intent of watching the second half on television. It didn’t take long for Ed Podolak and Gary Dolphin to sound the alarm about Iowa’s ineptitude.

When I got home and turned the TV on, early in the second quarter, things didn’t look a lot better. Spencer Petras was firing balls at people’s feet, into the stands and nearly anywhere other than his receivers’ hands. The running game wasn’t much better, spinning wheels and being stymied by a hard-playing, hard-hitting Illini defense.

Honestly, the only thing that kept me watching was the opponent. I knew there was still time for Illinois to be, well, Illinois.

And I don’t say that to kick a program when its down. The fact of the matter is, Lovie Smith has done a nice job of building back the Illini program into some semblance of decency. I was at the 2018 game in a nearly empty, mostly frozen and absolutely depressing Memorial Stadium when Iowa ran Illinois off the field to the tune of 63-0.

Although their record may not reflect it, Illinois has made massive strides in becoming more competitive. Lovie’s team Saturday played hard and smart, with much enthusiasm. They also are far less sloppy than past Illinois teams, committing few penalties and no turnovers against Iowa. Illinois also had a fantastic early game plan against Iowa an came out with enthusiasm and intent – bolting to a 14-0 lead.

This may sound sacrilegious, but I like Illinois being competitive. Living on the far east side of Iowa, there is a certain amount of juice the rivalry with the downs-staters bring. It was depressing seeing venerable Memorial Stadium – where Red Grange and Dick Butkus plied their trade – so devoid of energy and enthusiasm in 2018. I hope Lovie continues improving the Illini, as long as they don’t get too big for their britches.

It is easy to see that Illinois isn’t at the quality level of Iowa yet, and it was on full display Saturday, as Iowa was the team that overcame adversity. Lesser programs might have let that 14-0 deficit, and the bad play that led to it, spiral out of control. Bust Kirk Ferentz has instilled his “don’t panic, keep grinding” ethos deep into his team, and that’s just what they were able to do Saturday. That’s why Iowa teams under Ferentz are seldom blown out. On the other side of the ball, when adversity struck Illinois and the momentum swung to Iowa, you could see doubt set in. This is a big difference between an established program like Iowa and a rebuilding program like Illinois: the Hawkeyes were able to dig down and overcome adversity on the road, whereas when the momentum slipped from Illinois, they fell apart.

Looking ahead, Iowa has another opportunity to reverse its maddening losing streak to Wisconsin. The Badgers’ 2020 season so far has been a mirror opposite of Iowa. They charged out of the gate strong, posting a 2-0 record with their young quarterback looking like a future All-American. Then Covid cancellations wiped out games and when Wisconsin took the field again, Graham Mertz looked as if he regressed and they stumbled to two losses in a row to Northwestern and Indiana.

I wish fans could be in the stands for this one, as I feel like Iowa is due to put a bit of a thumping on their cheese-filled nemesis. And keep in mind, if things look grim early on, keep watching. This Iowa team has earned the benefit of a doubt.

Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht and @12Saturdays