The start couldn’t have been much worse for Iowa. Illinois came out ready to play.

On their first possession, the Fighting Illini pieced together a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the game with an early 7-0 lead. A 13-yard pass from Brandon Peters to Luke Ford started the scoring.

Then, on Iowa’s first possession, a bad snap on a punt that Tory Taylor couldn’t handle resulted in an Illinois recovery in good field position. James McCourt was able to connect on a 46-yard field goal attempt to extend the advantage to 10-0 in the opening quarter.

In the blink of an eye, the game changed.

Charlie Jones returned the following kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to put Iowa right back within striking distance. Then, the Hawkeyes forced a 3-and-out and put together a 7-play, 50-yard drive to take a 14-10 lead on a 2-yard run from Arland Bruce IV.

Iowa never looked back.

The Hawkeyes were never able to run away with it, but they maintained a lead for the rest of the game. Illinois was able to stay within a possession until the final 2 minutes of the game, when a Caleb Shudak field goal from 30 yards out lasered through the uprights to put Iowa ahead 26-16.

Jack Campbell then hauled in an interception on Illinois’ next possession and returned it for a touchdown to put the game entirely out of reach.

Brandon Peters did hit Isaiah Williams for a 16-yard touchdown pass to bring the score a little closer, but it was too little too late for the Fighting Illini, falling 33-23.

With the loss, Illinois drops to 4-7 on the season and are out of the bowl eligibility picture.

Tyler Goodson had a big day in the Iowa rushing attack, totaling 132 yards on 27 carries. Bruce was the team’s leading receiver, hauling in 2 catches for 45 yards and rushing the ball 4 times for 23 yards and a touchdown.

Iowa’s passing attack did leave something to be desired, though. Alex Padilla was just 6-of-17 for the afternoon for 83 yards and an interception.

Defensively, the Hawkeyes didn’t have their best outing, but they were able to slow down a solid Illinois rushing attack. The Illini totaled just 64 yards on 25 carries. The big killer for Illinois were 10 penalties for 96 yards and a pair of turnovers.

Thanks to the win, Iowa now has a chance to finish the year with a 10-2 record and is still in the mix for a division title. The Hawkeyes would need to beat Nebraska and hope for a Wisconsin loss.