WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Iowa walked into Ross-Ade Stadium trying to bounce back from its disappointing 30-24 loss at Penn State a week ago.

Instead, the Hawkeyes were smacked in the mouth from the get-go, as Purdue topped No. 19 Iowa, 38-36, further hurting its chances to represent the West in the Big Ten Championship.

“That was a really tough, tough loss for us,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I feel bad for our players right now; I don’t know what else they could have done. And Purdue laid it out there, too. The bottom line is we’re going to find a way to get back up on our feet tomorrow and move forward.”

It took Iowa 49 minutes and 41 seconds to take a lead against the Boilermakers. After trying to claw their way back into a game in which the defense underperformed, the Hawkeyes had their chance to take control, but penalties came back to hurt them.

Iowa went nearly the entire game without a holding call, but on one of the game’s biggest drives, the laundry arrived on the field.

The holding penalty stalled an offensive drive that could have put the game on ice. After punting, Julius Brents was flagged on a pass-interference call in the end zone.

That penalty set the Boilermakers up for Spencer Evans’ game-winning field goal with eight seconds on the clock.

“There’s nothing you can do,” defensive end A.J. Epenesa said. “The refs make calls, the refs don’t make calls. I mean, there were some I felt we deserved while we were on offense, while we were on defense. There were some obvious things that weren’t called, but that’s how the game goes. You can’t blame the game on the referees even though you want to. We still got to play better.”

It was a rare shaky defensive performance for the Hawkeyes, but Purdue’s offense proved it was good enough to tear apart one of the country’s best defenses.

Boilermaker quarterback David Blough proved to be the thorn in Iowa’s side. The fifth-year senior from Carrollton, Texas, torched the Hawkeyes, going 23-of-34 for 333 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.

His connection with wide receiver Terry Wright was huge; Blough connected with him 6 times for 146 yards and 3 scores — the first time a Boilermaker had 3 touchdown receptions in a game since 2012.

Iowa’s offense was certainly better than it was when it took the field against the Nittany Lions, and it had to be when the defense struggled.

Hawkeye quarterback Nate Stanley bounced back from his poor performance against Penn State, going 21-of-32 for 275 yards and a touchdown. Iowa scored 36 points and racked up 393 total yards.

With all of its three losses coming in winnable games, the defeats continue to sting for Iowa.

Now, Iowa sits behind Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Purdue in the Big Ten West standings, making a trip to Indianapolis all the less likely.

Despite likely falling short of their goal to win the West, the Hawkeyes still have things to play for.

“We still have the ability to win 10 games this year,” Stanley said. “That’s something that’s pretty special, I think, no matter how you do it. Just echo that we have a lot to play for, and we have a group of really good guys on this team. Play for each other, really.”