Rapid reaction: Iowa overcomes early deficit, knocks Illinois out of bowl contention
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.