Even with modest statistics, Iowa just keeps winning with Spencer Petras at quarterback
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Spencer Petras didn’t stuff the stat sheet against Indiana on Saturday as he completed less than 50 percent of his passes for 145 yards and no touchdowns.
But he also improved to 7-2 as Iowa’s starting quarterback and has led Iowa to seven straight victories dating back to last season.
Iowa also dropped at least four of Petras’ passes during the 34-6 victory over the 17th-ranked Hoosiers, so his stat line is kind of misleading.
Saturday’s matchup between two nationally ranked teams never really was in doubt as No. 18 Iowa led 14-0 barely two minutes into the game, and 31-3 at halftime.
“From January on, this team has been fully committed and fully invested in the process every step of the way,” said Petras, a fourth-year junior from San Rafael, California. “That’s really all you can do, take one step at a time. It starts back in January, when it is five degrees out and we are doing workouts every morning. Then you transition to spring ball, and the summer, and then fall camp.
“This team has run the race well to this point. One game is not a full season. If we want to achieve our team goals, we have to play like this every week. I am really proud of our team and how we have run the race to this point.”
And while the jury still is out on Petras as a passer, his record as a starter is what matters the most.
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Quarterbacks ultimately are judged by wins and losses, and right now, Iowa is winning with Petras behind center.
“Spencer [Petras] was our field general today,’ said Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta, who led the Hawkeyes with five catches for a career-high 83 yards. “He saw the field really well and delivered some great balls.
“It starts with the offensive line, they did a good job today, they executed at a high level. I reaped the benefit of a lot of my teammates, so that was really cool today to get some yards.
Petras only completed 13-of-27 passes in Saturday’s game, but he also didn’t throw an interception, while Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw three interceptions, including two pick sixes by Iowa cornerback Riley Moss in the first half.
“I thought he did a good job,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of Petras. “He did a good job protecting the football, and it starts there.”
The Iowa players wanted to seize the momentum right away and that was mission accomplished as junior running back Tyler Goodson scored on a 56-yard run on the fourth play from scrimmage.
“We preached that all week, about we need to start fast, because there have been some examples over the last few years of us coming out and playing fast and getting off to a great start,” Petras said. “Those games usually end pretty well for us.
“There have been examples in the past, also, of us not playing great at first, getting off to a slow start. You always want to come out firing like we did. The beauty, I think, was that it was all three phases.”