It was a really rough stretch of weeks for the Iowa Hawkeyes, on and off the field.
The Hawkeyes experienced three losses in a row to Big Ten contenders. Michigan was far more ahead of Iowa than the 27-14 scoreline suggests, while the 54-10 final score tells you everything to know about the Ohio State game. Sandwiched in between was a frustrating 9-6 loss against Illinois.
The mounting losses and failures of the offense led to some confrontational media pressers, Iowa’s coaching staff facing some heavy questions. We received a lot of the same non-answers and puzzling quotes, and Kirk Ferentz also fired back at a Cleveland-area reporter, comments that he would later apologize for.
In that four-week stretch, you could just cut the tension with a knife. That’s why this Saturday’s 33-13 victory is far and away the most important win of Iowa’s season thus far. The team needed a win to rally behind, and to just break out of the negative aura that has surrounded the team this year.
There will be a lot of people who try to diminish this win. “It was just Northwestern,” they’ll say to downplay the victory. Of course, Northwestern is not a great team at all. The Wildcats have struggled mightily since their Week Zero win over Nebraska. A good amount of people in the Iowa fan base will most likely do the same.
Don’t. If there was ever a time to simply enjoy a job well done by the Iowa Hawkeyes, this is it.
Fans have been given little to cheer about this season, especially on offense. This was by far the best the unit has looked all season. They weren’t dominant, of course. That’s not Iowa’s style under Ferentz. However, Spencer Petras was a lot more efficient on Saturday, throwing zero interceptions and completing a high percentage of his passes.
It should be no shock that Petras’ best game this season was backed by a strong performance by the offensive line. Kaleb Johnson greatly benefitted as well, rushing for 88 yards.
The Hawkeyes were able to string together long drives. It might not sound like a lot to opposing fan bases, but it’s a massive step in the right direction. It’s a lot better than what we saw against South Dakota State to start the season.
Was it perfect? Not at all. Are there still a lot of problems moving forward to next week against Purdue? You bet! The main takeaway should be that Iowa won a football game, and looked pretty darn good doing it. It is hard to win games in the Big Ten.
Take a few days and appreciate this win Hawkeyes fans. We deserve it!
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