Grading the Iowa football team’s 24-7 loss to Purdue
Well, there goes the undefeated season.
Iowa running back Ivory Kelly-Martin carries the ball during a football game between No. 2 Iowa and Purdue at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. The Boilermakers defeated the Hawkeyes 24-7. Kelly-Martin had six rushes for 23 yards and a touchdown.
October 17, 2021
Daily Iowan Pregame Editor Robert Read graded Iowa’s performance in all three phases after the Hawkeyes’ 24-7 loss to Purdue.
Offense — D-
It’s tough to find many Brian Ferentz supporters after a game like Iowa’s offense had against Purdue on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes only scored seven points and were shut out in the second half. Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras threw four interceptions on the day, and constantly had pass rushers in his face. Iowa’s offensive line struggled all game long and couldn’t protect Petras or open up running lanes for running back Tyler Goodson very consistently.
Defense — D
I don’t know how Purdue does this to Iowa’s defense every year.
Boilermaker quarterback Aidan O’Connell carved up defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s secondary for 375 passing yards. Purdue gained 462 total yards as an offense, with 240 of them coming from wide receiver David Bell alone. O’Connell completed 75 percent of his passes, and always seemed to find weak spots in Iowa’s zone defense.
Special teams — B-
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said postgame that the team’s work in the return game was perhaps the only positive from Saturday’s game. He’s not entirely wrong.
Charlie Jones averaged 19 yards per punt return and ran one back 41 yards. He also averaged 28 yards per kick return. Ivory Kelly-Martin had the longest kick return of the day — a 67-yarder that put Iowa in position to score. The Hawkeyes still came up empty, though.
As for the relatively low grade, kicker Caleb Shudak missed a short field goal attempt, so points have to be docked.
