Finally, at long last, Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) made the quarterback change. Whether or not it’s a permanent or longterm change remains to be seen. Still, it didn’t affect much positive change for the Hawkeyes’ offense at No. 2 Ohio State.
Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla combined for five of the Hawkeyes’ six turnovers inside the Horseshoe. They also combined for zero offensive touchdowns. Iowa finished with just eight first downs, 158 yards of total offense and one scoring drive that ended with a Drew Stevens 49-yard field goal. The Hawkeyes converted 1-of-13 third-down conversion tries.
“Offensively, protection issues right off the bat in that first quarter and turnovers are tough to overcome again no matter who you’re playing. So, weren’t able to establish anything consistent and, you know, made a quarterback change at halftime. As I said about that situation early, I’m not so sure it’s, you know, real fair to assess that whole thing right now either just based on the overall play, but we’ll go about that tomorrow. Just thought at that time it was the best thing to do for all parties involved,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said afterwards.
Now, Iowa will turn the page to a home date next weekend against Northwestern where the Hawkeyes will look to erase a three-game slide. In the meantime, here’s a look back through Iowa’s day that involved the quarterback change fans were waiting for through these sensational photos.