After a vintage Iowa victory over Purdue, the Hawkeyes are one of the top points recipients in the receiving votes category of the post-Week 6 US LBM Coaches Poll.
Iowa used an early 67-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Kaleb Johnson and a late 22-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Deacon Hill to senior tight end Erick All en route to a 20-14 victory over the Boilermakers.
In the first career start for the Wisconsin transfer, Hill had his struggles. The 6-foot-3, 258 pound signal-caller from Santa Barbara, Calif., completed just 6-of-21 passes for 110 yards. His first-quarter pass intended for sophomore Seth Anderson ricocheted off his hands and into the waiting arms of Purdue defensive back Dillon Thieneman.
Hill finished with a quarterback rating of 2.0. But, Hill did step up and deliver that throw to All which proved to be the game’s winning score.
Along the way, star junior defensive back Cooper DeJean came away with his second interception of the season, racing 41 yards to the Purdue 5-yard line to set up Iowa’s second score of the day, a 27-yard Drew Stevens field goal.
Senior linebacker Jay Higgins recorded his first career interception and another 10-tackle day, his fourth double-digit tackle game of the 2023 season. Joining Higgins in the double-figure tackles category was senior defensive lineman Logan Lee, who tallied a career-high 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
“Happy to get the win. It was hard-fought, obviously Big Ten play. It’s going to be that way each and every week and we certainly anticipated that. We came into today with a lot of respect for Purdue.
“Tough defense to move the ball against and do some things and then their offense had really been looking good. So, proud of our guys in all phases,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said afterwards.
As a result, Iowa climbs a bit in the receiving votes category of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. Iowa is receiving 57 points, which is the most of any non-ranked Big Ten squad.
Maryland (37 points) and Wisconsin (23) each join Iowa as fellow Big Ten squads in the receiving votes category. With the Hawkeyes set for a trip to Madison, Wis., next week, either Iowa or Wisconsin are poised to jump into next week’s US LBM Coaches Poll.
Meanwhile, the big three from the Big Ten out of the East are all now safely inside the top five. After Georgia at No. 1, Michigan is ranked No. 2, Ohio State No. 3, Florida State No. 4 and Penn State No. 5.
Washington checks in as the nation’s No. 6 team, Oklahoma jumps to No. 7, Oregon is No. 8, USC falls two spots to No. 9 and Alabama rounds out the top 10 at No. 10.
Here’s a look at the full US LBM Coaches Poll.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Georgia | 6-0 | 1597 (61) | – |
| 2 | Michigan | 6-0 | 1512 | – |
| 3 | Ohio State | 5-0 | 1443 (2) | – |
| 4 | Florida State | 5-0 | 1411 | +1 |
| 5 | Penn State | 5-0 | 1300 | +1 |
| 6 | Washington | 5-0 | 1246 (1) | +2 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 6-0 | 1200 | +5 |
| 8 | Oregon | 5-0 | 1168 | +1 |
| 9 | Southern California | 6-0 | 1121 | -2 |
| 10 | Alabama | 5-1 | 1025 | – |
| 11 | Texas | 5-1 | 982 | -7 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 5-0 | 912 | +1 |
| 13 | Mississippi | 5-1 | 764 | +2 |
| 14 | Oregon State | 5-1 | 713 | +2 |
| 15 | Louisville | 6-0 | 651 | +10 |
| 16 | Utah | 4-1 | 600 | +3 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 4-1 | 587 | +1 |
| 18 | Duke | 4-1 | 451 | +3 |
| 19 | Washington State | 4-1 | 370 | -5 |
| 20 | Louisiana State | 4-2 | 355 | +3 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 5-2 | 324 | -10 |
| 22 | UCLA | 4-1 | 276 | +8 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 5-1 | 159 | -3 |
| 24 | Kansas | 5-1 | 120 | +10 |
| 25 | Missouri | 5-1 | 78 | -3 |
Schools dropped out:
No. 17 Miami; No. 24 Fresno State.
Others Receiving Votes:
Miami, 74; Wyoming, 60; Air Force, 58; Iowa, 57; Maryland, 37; Clemson, 33; West Virginia, 24; Wisconsin, 23; Texas A&M, 22; Tulane, 18; James Madison, 9; Brigham Young, 9; Fresno State, 4; Ohio, 2; Memphis, 2; Florida, 2; Liberty, 1.
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