Iowa jumped ahead early on a pair of Northwestern miscues.

The Hawkeys first strike was courtesy of a fumbled punt return that set the Hawkeyes up with a 1st and goal at the Northwestern 7-yard line.

Just one play later, Hawkeyes quarterback Spence Petras hit Brandon Smith in the endzone to put Iowa up 7-0 with less than 3-minutes off the clock.

On the next series, the Wildcats coughed up the ball again, this time on their own 45, to give Iowa another opportunity. This time, it took three plays for the Hawkeyes to find the endzone, when Tyler Gooson scampered 15 yards to put Iowa up 14-9 at the 8:36 mark of the first period.