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Final score: Purdue 24 Iowa 15
Quick recap
The first half went about as expected. Iowa’s defense kept Purdue’s offense in check and took a 9-7 lead into the locker room. But in the first five minutes of the second half, the game changed.
Purdue quarterback Elijah Sindelar delivered two touchdown passes to receiver Anthony Mahoungou, giving the Boilermakers a 21-9 lead early in the third quarter. The Hawkeyes were never able to bounce back.
The Boilermakers defense forced two turnovers and held Iowa to just 258 total yards. The Hawkeyes completed just 16-of-33 passes and were only able to rack up 82 yards on the ground. In short, Purdue did everything it needed to do to exit Kinnick Stadium with a victory.
Key play: Sindelar’s second touchdown pass to Mahoungou
It’s one thing to come out of halftime and put a quick score on the board, but to do it twice in a four-minute span was pretty impressive. And it proved to be the game-changer.
Those two touchdown strikes boosted the Boilermakers’ confidence and completely deflated Iowa. Purdue’s defense played a lot looser, made a lot more plays and completely shut down the Hawkeyes offense — which put up 55 against Ohio State a few weeks ago.
Sindelar’s passes didn’t come in crunch time, but they were clutch throws that were the turning point in the game.
Stat of the game: Sindelar’s stat line
The sophomore quarterback completed 22-of-37 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. He played mistake-free football and made a few big plays, which is key when playing such a sound team like Iowa.
Everything else was pretty much even in this game. Look at the box score and it’d be hard to tell who the winner actually was. Sindelar’s play gave Purdue the advantage and got his team one step closer to bowl eligibility.
What it means
Next week’s Old Oaken Bucket carries some heavy implications. Not only are Indiana and Purdue battling in a rivalry game, the two schools are competing for a postseason bid. This is what college football is suppose to be about.
Getting two six wins seemed nearly impossible a few weeks ago after Purdue dropped back-to-back games against Rutgers and Nebraska — both of which were winnable. But a win over Iowa puts the Boilermakers back in the conversation in the final week of the season.
And for Iowa, it’s been quite a disappointment since slaying Ohio State. The Hawkeyes are 0-2 and haven’t been able to produce anything offensively. The last two weeks have been really ugly for Kirk Ferentz and Co.
At least the Hawkeyes still have a chance to record a win over rival Nebraska next week.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB