Good things come to those that wait, right? Iowa fans had been waiting plenty long enough.
It felt like it had been ages since Iowa found its way into the end zone with an offensive drive. Entering Saturday’s game versus Northwestern, Iowa had gone two full games and 28 offensive possessions without a touchdown drive.
Of course, that included six turnovers at No. 2 Ohio State and Petras’ late interception at Illinois in the game before. However, Iowa’s first drive against Northwestern this week was promising.
It included five straight plays of seven or more yards to start. An Arland Bruce IV rush for eight yards, a Kaleb Johnson run for 18, quarterback Spencer Petras’ pass to Sam LaPorta for 15, and two more Kaleb Johnson carries of nine and seven yards to take the Hawkeyes inside the red zone.
That opening Iowa drive stalled out when running back Gavin Williams was dropped for a loss of two on 3rd-and-2 and the Hawkeyes settled for a 29-yard Drew Stevens field goal.
Fear not, though. After a defensive stop that was highlighted by a 15-yard sack from Iowa’s Deontae Craig, the Hawkeyes had the football back. After what was initially ruled a 6-yard touchdown run from Kaleb Johnson was wiped out, Iowa at long last ended its touchdown drought in perhaps the most fitting way. Spencer Petras took the football into the end zone himself on a 1-yard quarterback keeper.
Still, that was the only highlight of half No. 1 for the Hawkeyes. Iowa scored on each of its four possessions, racked up 252 yards of total offense (which eclipsed its per game season average in just one half of football) and found itself into the end zone with a two-minute drill. Here’s a look at the first-half highlights that were for Iowa.