sports
Iowa defense smothers Northwestern 24-10
Hank Brown threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and the Iowa defense held Northwestern to 10 points. The Hawkeyes improved to 7-2 and kept pace in the Big Ten.
Iowa beat Northwestern 24-10 on Saturday, with quarterback Hank Brown throwing for a touchdown and running for another, ESPN reported.
L.J. Phillips rushed for 128 yards for the Hawkeyes. The Iowa defense held Northwestern to 181 yards passing and 10 total points.
Iowa improved to 7-2. Northwestern fell to 6-3, suffering its first loss at its new stadium.
What the coverage missed
Northwestern scored three points through three quarters. The Wildcats’ only touchdown came in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. Iowa’s defense did not just win this game — it controlled every possession.
Brown’s stat line was modest. He did not throw for 300 yards. He did not need to. Iowa’s formula is old-fashioned: run the ball, play defense, do not turn it over. It works in the Big Ten, and it works in November.
The Hawkeyes are 7-2 and nobody is talking about them. They are not flashy. They do not have a Heisman candidate. They have a defense that gives up 10 points and an offense that scores just enough. That is a recipe for 10 wins.
What I think
Iowa is the most boring good team in college football. They win 24-10 every week. They run the ball, they play defense, and they never beat themselves. It is not pretty, but it is effective.
The playoff is probably out of reach. Two losses is too many, and the Big Ten has better teams ahead of them. But Iowa will go 9-3 or 10-2, go to a good bowl game, and win it. That is who they are, and there is nothing wrong with it.