Iowa ends 3-game losing streak to Northwestern with 20-0 shutout at Ryan Field
By Pat Harty
EVANSTON, Ill. – No disrespect to the Fighting Fitzgeralds from Northwestern, but they had little to no chance of defeating Iowa on Saturday.
Of course, it’s easy to make that bold statement with hindsight, but the Wildcats are too offensively challenged right now to beat any team that is above average, and that includes Iowa.
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald entered Saturday’s game at Ryan Field with an 8-5 record against Iowa, but there is only so much that any head coach can do when his offense is a dysfunctional mess.
Iowa’s performance on offense was hardly a work of art, but it didn’t matter as the Hawkeyes still rolled to a 20-0 victory before a paid attendance of 42,104 at Ryan Field.
The victory improved Iowa’s record to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten and it also ended a three-game losing streak against Northwestern, which fell to 1-6 and 0-5 in the conference.
The Hawkeyes now enter their second bye week of the season and will have two weeks to prepare for their showdown with Wisconsin on Nov. 9th in Madison, Wis.
"It's a big game for us, both of us sitting at 6-2," said Iowa defensive back Geno Stone.
Saturday's game against Northwestern was a game that Iowa had to win in order to keep pace in the Big Ten West Division, and it was mission accomplished in that regard.
Style points didn’t matter on Saturday. All that mattered was getting out of Evanston with a much-needed victory.
"I thought we had a really good week of practice and preparation," said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. "The guys worked hard and they came in here focused and played tough today.
"And one thing we share with our players all the time is rarely is anything easy in conference play and there is certainly nothing that is automatic. All you've got to do is look around the country. That's just how it is."
Ferentz is right to say that nothing comes easy or is automatic in the Big Ten, although, Saturday's game never really seemed in doubt due to Iowa's dominance on defense.
"Our defense has played great all year and especially today," said Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley. "They did a great job of getting some turnovers for us and giving us some short fields."
Redshirt freshman receiver Tyrone Tracy Jr., helped to make up for the loss of injured receiver Brandon Smith by finishing with a career-high 88 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Iowa did just enough on offense to make Saturday’s game lopsided, but that’s easy to do when your defense pitches its second shutout of the season.
Iowa also held Rutgers scoreless during a 30-0 victory in the Big Ten opener on Sept. 7th at Kinnick Stadium.
It felt like Northwestern wouldn’t have scored even if Saturday’s game had lasted six quarters instead of four, and even if the Wildcats had started every possession in Iowa territory.
"That's what you aim for as a defense and I thought the defense came out and played really well today," said junior defensive end A.J. Epenesa.
Several of the Iowa players mentioned how well the team practiced during the week, and that focus and effort appeared to carry over to the game.
"Practice this week, it was just something crazy," said Iowa defensive end Chauncey Golston. "The tempo was great and everyone was flying around and we came out and we did the same thing today."
Fitzgerald has worked miracles with his alma mater’s football program, but the circumstances on Saturday were even too much for him to overcome.
His offense was overmatched in every respect, and there was only so much that the Northwestern defense could do on its own.
Iowa didn’t commit any turnovers and it also held Northwestern mostly in check on special teams. The Wildcats, on the other hand, committed two turnovers and that only made a bad situation worse.
Iowa drove 59 yards on 13 plays for a touchdown on its first possession of the third quarter. Junior Mekhi Sargent scored the touchdown on a 1-yard run, but true freshman Tyler Goodson had a bulk of the rushing yards on that drive before.
Goodson had to be helped off the field, however, after being tackled just short of the Northwestern end zone.
The Georgia native didn’t stay on the bench very long, though, as he would go on to be Iowa’s featured running back for most of the second half. Goodson finished with 58 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Iowa’s first two possessions on offense accomplished very little with the first being a 3-and-out and the second ending with Stanley being sacked for a minus-11 yards on third down.
Iowa finally found the end zone on its third possession as Stanley connected with Tracy for a 50-yard touchdown pass with 8:38 left in the first quarter.
Tracy caught the ball over the middle and then used a nifty spin move to avoid a defender. Tracy then outraced several Northwestern defenders before diving into the end zone for a touchdown.
It was his longest reception as a Hawkeye and his second career touchdown.
A 40-yard field goal by Keith Duncan expanded Iowa’s lead to 10-0 with 12:25 left in the second quarter. Iowa held the ball for over 6 minutes and ran 15 plays, but still had to settle for a field goal as the drive stalled in Northwestern territory.
Northwestern punter Daniel Kubiuk pinned Iowa at its own 2-yard line midway through the second quarter, but the Wildcat defense failed to capitalize on the field position as Stanley completed a 41-yard pass to true freshman Sam LaPorta on second down.
LaPorta played a more significant role in Saturday’s game due to starting tight end Nate Wieting being out with an injury.
However, the drive stalled near midfield and Iowa chose to punt instead of going for it on 4th-and-1 from the Northwestern 44.
Iowa faced another 4th-and-1 at the Northwestern 45 and called a timeout with 45 seconds left in the second quarter to discuss strategy.
Kirk Ferentz chose to punt again, but instead of pinning Northwestern deep in its own territory, Sleep-Dalton’s 45-yard punt bounced in the end zone for a touchback.
The Wildcats let the final seconds run off the clocking and trailed 10-0 at halftime.
Northwestern ran 32 plays in the first half that only gained 70 yards, while Iowa gained 168 yards in the first two quarters.
Iowa struggled on the ground in the first half, however, gaining just 45 yards on 178 carries, which is less than three yards per attempt.
Iowa 7 3 7 3 – 20
Northwestern 0 0 0 0 – 0
I – Tyrone Tracy Jr. 50-yard pass from Nate Stanley (Keith Duncan kick)
I – Keith Duncan 40 FG
I – Mekhi Sargent 1 run (Duncan kick)
I – Duncan 28 FG