The final time Iowa came close to scoring against Northwestern on Saturday was also a fitting representation of the team’s 21-20 loss.

Kicker Caleb Shudak, who the coaches put in because of the long attempt, booted a field goal into the wind from 52 yards out on the final play of the first half. The kick had plenty of distance, looked like it was a successful attempt, but inevitably hit off the right upright — no good.

“Close, but not close enough,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said postgame of the kick and his team’s performance.

For the second week in a row to begin the season, the Hawkeyes didn’t hold onto a lead. In West Lafayette against Purdue in Week 1, Iowa led by three at halftime and pushed it to six early in the fourth quarter. The Boilermakers scored the game’s final 10 points and the Hawkeyes lost.

Against Northwestern in Week 2, Iowa led 17-0 late in the first quarter and 20-7 at the break. The Hawkeyes didn’t score a point in the second half — or even make it into the red zone — and the Wildcats scored the game’s final 14 points.

In a shortened nine-game Big Ten season, Iowa is 0-2 through two games.

“It’s basically the same thing after two weeks,” defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon said. “We’ve got to finish. Iowa is a big team on finishing, and we just haven’t been able to do that for the last two weeks. We’ve got to get back to being Iowa and playing Iowa football and finishing every game out strong.”

The Hawkeyes only managed to gain 104 yards in the second half, less than what the team gained in the first quarter alone (111). Out of seven drives in the final 30 minutes of the game, Iowa punted three times, quarterback Spencer Petras threw three interceptions, and the offense turned the ball over on downs once.

“All the good things we did in the first half we weren’t able to do in the second half,” Ferentz said. “It’s a matter of playing that full 60, and every situation is a little bit different, but it gets back to just trying to practice a little bit better, meet a little bit better, and hopefully that carries over to the game field. There’s no magic formula for it.”

“I think it’s execution all across the board,” Petras said. “We start really well and it comes down to us being more detailed, better preparation, everything. We just need to be better. But we’re close, we’re really close. Just have to keep pushing.”

Iowa’s defense held Northwestern’s offense to 273 yards. The Wildcats started to move the ball in the second quarter, but on the day only averaged 2.3 yards per rush. Daviyon Nixon was likely Iowa’s best player on the field against Northwestern. The defensive tackle finished with 11 stops, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble despite facing constant double teams.

Nixon said postgame that his performance wasn’t good enough because the team lost. But the defense as a whole gave Petras and the offense opportunities to take back the lead.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the game and Iowa trailing by one, Nixon and defensive end Chauncey Golston sacked Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey on second down. On third down, Ramsey — again facing a heavy rush — rolled out and tossed an interception to Iowa safety Jack Koerner.

Iowa had a chance.

Three plays later, Petras threw an interception to give the Wildcats the ball back.

Iowa’s defense forced a punt. Petras led an 11-play, 41 yard drive that inevitably ended with a turnover on downs after his fourth-down pass sailed over the head of receiver Nico Ragaini. Northwestern took over with 1:55 remaining in the game. Again, Iowa’s defense held and forced a punt.

The Hawkeyes got the ball back with 1:29 remaining, but three plays later Petras’ third and final interception sealed the game.

That’s two losses to start the season for Iowa where the team was outsourced by a combined five points. Iowa had leads in both games, but turnovers and a stagnant second-half offense prevented the team from finishing.

That won’t get it done in the Big Ten. And now the Hawkeyes are 0-2.

“We didn’t really do anything well enough today to expect to win a Big Ten game,” Ferentz said. “And that’s two weeks in a row.”