WATCH: Iowa Hawkeyes Defense Continues To Get Shredded vs. Troy

The Iowa Hawkeyes' defense is running into a lot of trouble against the Troy Trojans.

Iowa defensive back Jermari Harris (27) warms up during a spring NCAA football practice, Thursday, March 30, 2023, at the University of Iowa Indoor Practice Facility in Iowa City, Iowa. 230330 Iowa Spring Fb 038 Jpg / Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

It wasn't supposed to be this hard for the Iowa Hawkeyes, but they have found themselves locked in quite a battle against the Troy Trojans.

In the third quarter, Iowa cornerback Jermari Harris picked off a pass and took it back to the house to give the Hawkeyes a 24-14 lead.

It marked 14 unanswered points for Iowa, which went into halftime down 14-10.

At that point, it looked like the Hawkeyes were about to pull away, but then, Troy once again burned the Iowa defense. This time, it was a 62-yard touchdown bomb.

Troy is down just 24-21 at Iowa going into the fourth quarter. Devonte Ross has 5 catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns AND a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown.pic.twitter.com/kCwtsBwQGc

— Colton Pool (@CPoolReporter) September 14, 2024

It marked the third huge play Iowa surrendered to Troy on the afternoon.

First, the Trojans connected on a 63-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Then, later in the first half, they returned a punt 77 yards for a score.

Iowa went into the locker room serenaded by boos at halftime and appeared to be righting the ship in the third period until Troy struck back with another gamebreaking play.

This is very uncharacteristic of the Hawkeyes' defense, which was widely regarded as one of the nation's best heading into the season.

Iowa is coming off of a devastating loss against Iowa State last week, where the Hawkeyes blew a double-digit lead against the archrival Cyclones.

The matchup against Troy is Iowa's last non-conference game of the season. Following this contest, the Hawkeyes will begin Big Ten conference play.

Based on what we have seen from Iowa thus far, the Hawkeyes do not seem ready to face the behemoths of the Big Ten.