Unranked Purdue always plays Iowa closely and, when the Boilermakers made their way to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City to take on a No. 2 Iowa football team on their homecoming, the Purdue squad was prepared to play spoilers to the Hawkeyes’ National Title hopes.
Iowa’s defense was ranked at the top of the nation in takeaways- specifically in the secondary- so Purdue made sure to eliminate that threat and threw the ball short for the majority of the game. They also utilized the run attack, which the Hawkeyes weren’t prepared for.
Purdue got on the board early and Iowa answered with a drive down the field but missed a field goal, were able to get a late first half touchdown. It wasn’t enough, though as the Boilermakers scored immediately with less than 1 minute to go and went into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
The second half saw the Hawkeyes continue to be non-existent, deteriorate and crumble at every seam and the Purdue attack took full advantage, sacking Iowa QB Spencer Petras multiple times and intercepting him on back-to-back drives. Purdue WR David Bell was virtually unstoppable as well, racking up 240 yards receiving, putting the final nail in the coffin in Iowa’s historic top-five ranking.
-Reggie Edwards
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