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Iowa defense smothers Northwestern 24-10
Hank Brown threw for a touchdown and ran for another as Iowa held Northwestern to 181 yards passing. The Hawkeyes improved to 7-2.
Iowa beat Northwestern 24-10 on Saturday, holding the Wildcats to 10 points and 3.8 yards per play, ESPN reported.
Hank Brown threw a touchdown pass and ran for another. Running back L.J. Phillips Jr. added 128 yards on 21 carries. The Hawkeyes led 14-0 at halftime and never let Northwestern into the game.
Northwestern quarterback Nicco Marchiol completed 24 of 32 passes but for only 181 yards. The Wildcats fell to 6-3.
What the coverage missed
Northwestern completed 24 passes for 181 yards. That is 7.5 yards per completion. Iowa let the Wildcats catch the ball underneath and tackled them immediately. That is a defensive philosophy, not a defensive breakdown. The Hawkeyes dared Northwestern to throw deep, and the Wildcats could not.
Phillips ran for 128 yards on 21 carries. That is six yards per carry against a defense that was selling out to stop the run. Iowa did not need to throw the ball. The Hawkeyes ran it 40 times and controlled the clock.
Iowa is 7-2. The Hawkeyes have lost to Ohio State and Oregon. They have beaten everyone else. That is a 10-win team if they finish strong, and 10-win Iowa teams do not get enough credit nationally.
What I think
Iowa is the most boring good team in college football. They run the ball, they play defense, and they never score 40. But they win, and they win because they are consistent. Brown does not turn the ball over. Phillips gets four yards every time he touches it. The defense does not give up big plays.
Northwestern is 6-3 and bowl eligible. That is a good season for the Wildcats. But this game showed the gap between the top of the Big Ten and the middle. Iowa is a complete team. Northwestern is a competent one. The difference is defense, and defense travels.