Bohnenkamp: Iowa-Purdue Takeaways

Hawkeyes Take Care of Business Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium

Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras throws a pass against Purdue on Nov. 5, 2022 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Iowa is now playing the complementary football that coach Kirk Ferentz has wanted all season.

Not surprisingly, there’s suddenly new life in the Hawkeyes after Saturday’s 24-3 win at Purdue.

The Hawkeyes (5-4 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) have won back-to-back games for the second time this season by going into a place where trouble has found them in recent seasons and coming away with an impressive win.

Iowa’s offense had a season-high 376 yards. Running back Kaleb Johnson had 200 of those on 22 carries.

The defense held Purdue (5-4, 3-3) without a touchdown and limited the Boilermakers to 255 yards of offense.

Throw in the special teams — Drew Stevens had a 26-yard field goal, and Tory Taylor averaged 51.8 yards per punt on a day when the wind howled through Ross-Ade Stadium — and it proved to be the most complete game of the season for the Hawkeyes.

It was Iowa’s first win at Purdue since 2016.

A look at the takeaways from the game:

A 200-YARD RUSHER

Johnson, a true freshman, has been impressive all season, but he has secured his spot as the Hawkeyes’ top back with one of the best rushing days in program history.

It was the second-best rushing total for an Iowa freshman behind Marcus Coker’s 219-yard game in the 2010 Insight Bowl.

Johnson showed his speed on a 75-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter — the longest for the Hawkeyes since Tyler Goodson’s 80-yard run against Wisconsin in 2020 — that helped put this game away, and he showed his durability with his 22-carry day.

Johnson’s game also was a sign that…

THE OFFENSIVE LINE HAS FOUND THE RIGHT COMBINATION

One of Iowa’s main problems early in the season was finding the perfect combination on the offensive line, and the Hawkeyes may have found that with its current group.

The group of Logan Jones, Beau Stephens, Connor Colby, Mason Richman and Jack Plumb kept Iowa’s offense in a consistent rhythm. The Hawkeyes averaged 6.5 yards per play, and while quarterback Spencer Petras was sacked three times, there were plenty of occasions where he had time to set his feet and deliver an on-target pass.

Iowa had similar struggles early last season before the offensive line helped deliver a late-season surge. After two games, it looks like it’s working again.

STEADY PETRAS

Petras was at his best in the first half when Iowa’s route-running helped get plenty of different receivers open.

Petras was 13-of-23 for 192 yards, but threw touchdown passes of 16 yards to tight end Sam LaPorta and 29 yards to Nico Ragaini. He also had a 41-yard completion to LaPorta and a 22-yarder to tight end Luke Lachey.

What helped his numbers were the yards-after-catch. Lachey had 19 yards on his lone reception of the day, and Ragaini had 48 yards on his. That’s a sign of health in Iowa’s passing game — good routes, and down-field blocking.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES

So much talk of this game was about former Iowa wide receiver Charlie Jones, and what could be his impact on the game.

Jones was a favorite target of Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell. Jones was targeted 19 times on 43 O’Connell throws, and he finished with 11 catches for 104 yards. But he, like the rest of the Boilermakers, was kept out of the end zone.

Tyrone Tracy Jr., another former Hawkeye, was targeted just twice and didn’t have a reception.

TURNING THEM OVER

And if we’re talking about complete games, just look at the Hawkeyes’ defense.

The Hawkeyes never let the Boilermakers get into any sort of rhythm. O’Connell was sacked three times and was hurried once. Linebacker Seth Benson and safety Kaevon Merriweather had interceptions that were converted into 10 points for the Hawkeyes.

Everyone, it seemed, had a role. The Hawkeyes had 56 tackles spread around 19 players, with linebacker Jack Campbell and safety Quinn Schulte leading the way with six. Lukas Van Ness, Deontae Craig and Joe Evans each had a sack.