By Hawk Fanatic

EVANSTON, Illinois – With Saturday’s 24-10 victory over Northwestern, the Iowa football team has now become the answer to a trivia question:

Who was the first team to defeat Northwestern at its newly rebuilt Ryan Field?

The 21st-ranked Hawkeyes earned that distinction thanks to a balanced offense, a suffocating defense, and with Braeden Jackson’s second kick return for a touchdown this season.

More importantly, Iowa also stayed alive in the playoff hunt, improving to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten.

Up next on No. 21  Iowa’s schedule is Purdue next Saturday at Kinnick Stadium; a game in which Iowa should be heavily favored to win.

It is widely believed that Iowa would have to finish 10-2 to have a realistic chance of making the 12-team playoff field, meaning every game is a must-win.

Iowa was ranked 19th in the first college playoff ranking that was released this past Tuesday.

“All this stuff is just week to week I’m here to tell you and I’m just really happy for our guys,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said on the FOX post-game interview. “They put a good week in this week and were ready to go tonight.”

Iowa has no margin for error in its quest to make the playoff for the first time in program history, so each game moving forward is live or die in terms of postseason.

Northwestern played without starting quarterback Aidan Chiles due to an upper-body injury, so Iowa obviously caught a break at a critical time in the regular season.

Chiles is a dynamic performer, who has accounted for 23 touchdowns this season; 13 passing and 10 running.

It was important that Iowa take advantage of his absence and it was mission accomplished in impressive fashion as the offense, defense and special teams all rose to the occasion.

Iowa has won five straight games against Northwestern and has also won 24 of its last 29 games in the month of November.

West Virginia transfer Nicco Marchiol started at quarterback for Northwestern, and while he showed toughness and grit, the Northwestern offense just didn’t get much accomplished, gaining just 286 yards.

Iowa quarterback Hank Brown picked up where he left off in last Saturday’s 30-0 victory over Wisconsin by completing 16-of-21 passes for 126 yards and one touchdown against Northwestern.

Brown completed 20-of-24 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns against Wisconsin, so it’s fair to say that he is locked in as the regular season hits the stretch drive.

Over his last two games, Brown has completed 36-of-45 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns, while the Iowa defense has been dominant, allowing just one touchdown over the last nine quarters.

“They’re just playing well,” Ferentz said of his defense. “It’s a lot of guys contributing, especially up front. A lot of guys are rotting through and I think we’re growing with every week.

“And we’re going to need to continue to do that.”

With starting running back Kamari Moulton out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, South Dakota transfer L.J. Phillips Jr. was Iowa’s featured back against Northwestern, and he took advantage of the opportunity by rushing for 128 yards on 21 carries,

Kirk Ferentz still will have some teaching points as Iowa had five penalties and lost a fumble in the fourth quarter when receiver Tony Diaz was stripped of the ball on a reverse.

For the most part, though, Iowa took care of business from start to finish.

Northwestern entered Saturday’s game 3-0 at Ryan Field since it was rebuilt with wins over Penn State, Ball State and Rutgers.

However, the Wildcats were also coming off a 34-26 loss at Oregon last Saturday, and were playing their backup quarterback.

Iowa took the opening kick and marched 75 yards for a touchdown on seven plays. Brown capped the drive with a 21-yard scoring run with 11:10 left in the first quarter. Brown completed 4-of-4 passes on the drive for 45 yards.

It marked the first time that Iowa has scored a touchdown on an opening possession against a Power 4 opponent in nine games.

Brown then threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tony Diaz with 13:25 left in the second quarter, giving Iowa a 14-0 lead with Caden Buhr’s point-after kick.

There was no more scoring in the second quarter as Northwestern’s offense continued to sputter, converting on just 1-of-7 third-down plays, and averaging just 3.8 yard per play.

Iowa finished the first half with 208 yards, powered by the the kind of balance that Ferentz always strives for in every game with 106 rushing yards and 102 passing yards.

Phillips rushed for 76 yards in the first half on eight carries, while Brown completed 11-of-13 passes.

The Iowa defense also extended its scoreless streak to six quarters after having shutout Wisconsin 30-0 last Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Third-year linebacker Cam Buffington finished with a team-high 12 tackles with eight solo stops and one tackle for loss. It is his fourth double-digit tackle game this season.

Sixth-year offensive lineman Michael Myslinski made his first career start at center for Iowa, while kicker Caden Buhr connected on a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter. Buhr has made his last three field goals from 50-plus yards, and nine consecutive field goals dating back to Week 5 vs. Ohio State.

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Iowa 7  7 10 0 – 24

Northwestern 0 0 3 7 – 10

I – Hank Brown 21 run (Caden Buhr kick)

I – Tony Diaz 24 pass from Hank Brown (Buhr kick)

N – J. Kleather 45 FG

I – Braeden Jackson 96 kick return (Buhr kick)

I – Buhr 52 FG

N – J. Himon 2 pass from Nicco Marchiol (Kleather kick)