Iowa vs Purdue Takeaways

 Saturday was a day full of joyous anticipation at 7 AM and disappointed reflection at 8 PM. Purdue 24, Iowa 20 final score. This was a game that many, myself included, expected Iowa to win and now we are faced with contemplating the future of Iowa's season. Can the team improve in an 8 week, 8 game, no bye season? I think they can, but let's break it down first.

Iowa started slow with back to back 3 and outs and then started to play like Iowa. The offense moved the ball and the defense did enough to give Iowa a 17-14 lead at half. This was despite a costly fumble by Tyler Goodson. Petras showed flashes of brilliance and incompetence throughout, but came up big when it mattered. He led the Hawkeyes to a field goal to take the lead as time expired in the first half.  The second half started slow for both teams and the score remained 17-14 at the end of 3 quarters. Iowa and Purdue both scored field goals in the first half of the fourth quarter and Iowa got the ball with a little over 8 minutes left and a 3 point lead. After moving the ball inside of Purdue's 30 yard line, Sargent fumbled and Purdue recovered. Purdue ate clock and drove 72 yards to score the go ahead TD with 1:31 remaining. Iowa got the ball and started moving, only to lose the game on a 4th and 10 incomplete pass. It was heartbreaking.

My biggest takeaway from this game is that Purdue didn't win, Iowa lost. This game was Iowa's to win in the second half and they couldn't do it. This team did not look like a season ready Iowa team in the second half, and especially in the last half of the 4th quarter. I feel safe saying that this team was rusty and will come back with a vengeance next week. 

Breakdown by Position

QB

Spencer Petras went 22/39 for 265, no TDs and no INTs. He could of easily went for 300+ yards but made several bad throws. The thing that impressed me most was that he didn't make bad decisions, just bad throws. This is a problem that will get better and I will take failing to execute a good decision over making a bad decision all day every day. The biggest adjustment that Petras is going to have to make is dialing back the speed on his cannon. Almost every pass he missed, he missed long or high and that is something that comes with experience. Overall, I expected to Petras to be good and he did not disappoint overall. The potential is there.

RB

Iowa's running back by committee combined for 177 yards on 31 carries and 1 TD. Overall, a very solid performance by the backfield with two fumbles marring an otherwise stellar performance. First the good. Goodson performed like a beast, running people over, hitting holes, and never getting tackled backwards. He also contributed 5 catches for 59 yards. He probably would had another 10+ receiving but Purdue forced an incompletion from Petras when he was set up for a beautiful screen pass on the final drive. Sargent (71 yards) and Martin (29 yards) both ran well. Now the bad. The two fumbles came at terrible times and was one of the reasons Iowa lost this game. It is very possible that Iowa wins 28-17 if they don't fumble. The upside to this is that it is another thing that can be cleaned up with more practice reps and time. 

WR/TE

The biggest stat here is Smith-Marsette with 0 catches and 0 yards. Petras acknowledged this in his post game and has to change if Iowa is going to be successful. Smith-Marsette is too good to not be part of the offense. The brightest spot was LaPorta with 5 catches for 71 yards. TE is a critical part of a successful Iowa offense and LaPorta came to play. Smith and Raigini also had solid games and the Iowa passing attack is going to be a problem for opponents going forward.

Defense

The defense played three and a half quarters of Iowa brand, bend don't break, smash mouth defense. Then they fell apart on Purdue's final drive. "Purdue is looking more like Iowa than Iowa." is a quote from the Purdue announcers that sums it up perfectly. On the last drive, Horvath ran all over the defense. They looked gassed and could not tackle him. This is another factor than can be chalked up to corona/limited practice. Ferentz also hinted (which is basically the same as Scripture from him) that several players had missed practice time due to safety protocols and it showed. Expect the defense to get better as the year moves on and Iowa gets more reps and conditioning in. 

Special Teams 

Kick returns were good. Duncan was Duncan. Moving on.

Summary

Iowa still has hope this season, just needs to knock some rust off. The final record is definitely looking like 7-2 or 6-3 now, but Penn State falling to Indiana gives us some hope for stealing a win in Happy Valley. We just need to clean up a couple things and run the table. LET'S GO HAWKS!!!