CHICAGO – The Iowa football team defeated Northwestern, 10-7, at Wrigley Field in a contest marked by injury, offensive struggles, and a goal-line stand for the Hawkeyes in the fourth quarter. 

“Our football team had a lot of resolve out there, and that’s what the game is all about,” Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz said in his postgame press conference. “There have been times we’ve played Northwestern in recent memory … where’s it not tough.”

Compared to a 20-point Iowa victory in 2022 back in Kinnick Stadium, the contest in the Friendly Confines was hardly a blowout. After a scoreless first half, the Hawkeyes took a touchdown lead in the third quarter, defended that advantage with four-straight stops at the goal line in the final 15 minutes, but still found themselves in a tie game with less than two minutes remaining.

Having only reached the red zone once all afternoon, the Iowa offense didn’t get inside the 20 but managed just enough yardage to put kicker Drew Stevens in position for a game-winning field goal.

The Hawkeyes’ biggest play of the first quarter, a 45-yard punt return from Cooper DeJean that put Iowa in the red zone, was called back due to an illegal block on the back. Even still, Iowa received plenty of benefit from the officials during their two opening drives, gaining 31 yards of offense on three defensive pass interference calls. Yet once quarterback Deacon Hill and Co. crossed midfield, the offense sputtered on third down.

On the first drive of the game, Hill was strip-sacked for a loss of eight yards, and the Hawkeyes opted to punt. On the second, running back Leshon Williams was stuffed for a loss of four on a screen pass. Kicker Drew Stevens tried a 53-yarder on the second drive, but his offering smacked off the right upright to keep the game scoreless. That play was the closest either team to registering a mark on the scoreboard in the first quarter. 

On its third drive, Iowa’s offense showed signs of life, averaging four yards per play and getting all to the way to the Northwestern 26-yard line before Hill’s pass to receiver Nico Ragaini was intercepted in the end zone by Wildcat defensive back Theran Johnson. 

“It was not a good play, not a good throw, not a good decision,” Ferentz said of the pick. “I’m not trying to slam [Hill], but he knows. It was just a bad play.”

Hill said after the game that he should’ve placed the ball further toward the sideline on his toss to Ragaini but maintained he and his wideout still have trust in one another.

At the end of the first thirty minutes, neither squad found itself in the red zone. Out of nine Iowa first downs, four were gifted from defensive penalties. With 82 total yards of offense, eight of those yards came from DeJean, who played two snaps in the first quarter for the Hawkeyes. The FOX first-team midseason All-American took a jet-sweep handoff for eight yards, then ran a sweep in the other direction as a decoy.

DeJean said he had been working with the Hawkeye offense during practice this week, and added that many of his teammates were excited to see him make the transition. One of these teammates was Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins.

“It’s fun and scary,” Iowa he said said of DeJean’s season debut on offense. “I couldn’t imagine Cooper seeing Cooper on the other side of the ball. I’d tell everybody to back up … A player of his caliber, he could easily go up to the coaching staff and say, ‘Protect me, I’m looking towards the future.’ But he just wants to fill in at any time.”

Led by Higgins with six tackles, the Iowa “D” held Northwestern to 29 yards and two first downs in the first half. The unit also collected five sacks against the Wildcats, their second-highest game total of the season. 

It didn’t take long for the Hawkeyes to light up the scoreboard in the second half, as following a Northwestern three-and-out, Iowa defensive lineman Anterio Thompson blocked his second punt of the season. 

The sophomore’s play set Iowa up at the Wildcats’ 25-yard line, and seven snaps later, Hill rolled out of the pocket on play action, finding TE Addison Ostrenga for a two-yard score. The trip to the end zone was Ostrenga’s first of the season. 

In August of 2020, the Wisconsin native originally committed to the Hawkeyes to play baseball, but after receiving an offer from Ferentz the next year, flipped his focus to the gridiron. He was one of eight true freshmen to see action in 2022, appearing in all 13 contests.

After starting the season behind starters Luke Lachey and Erick All on the depth chart, the sophomore entered today as the second-stringer behind Steven Stilianos. Ostrenga finished the day with three receptions for 15 yards.

“I think he steps up in a big way,” Hill said of Ostrenga. “He’s been playing great, he knows everything he’s supposed to do and I trust him 150 percent.”

To start the fourth quarter, Northwestern mounted its best drive of the afternoon, amassing 66 yards on 18 plays, but for no points. Even with a DeJean pass interference penalty bringing the Wildcats to the two-yard line, they gained one yard on four plays amidst a raucous Iowa crowd along the third base line.

“In a situation like that, everyone’s got to win up front,” Higgins said of the defensive stop. “I mean, the running back can fall into the gap for one yard. So if we get a tackle for loss or [the running back] has to bounce it around the defensive line, it takes every guy [to make it] possible.” 

Yet even after the change in momentum, Iowa’s offense couldn’t answer in kind, collecting just seven yards and punting near the goal line. Wildcat returner A.J. Henning ran the pigskin back 23 yards to the 22-yard line, setting up Northwestern’s second trip to the red zone on the day. This time around, the Wildcats erased their goose egg, as Sullivan found receiver Cam Johnson on a five-yard pass up the middle to notch the game at seven apiece.

With less than two minutes to go, Hill and the offense took the field one last time to regain the lead, but the quarterback said the situation wasn’t anything unfamiliar.

According to Hill, Iowa practices two-minute drills every day in practice. The quarterback added that his offensive line, composed of some new faces after injuries to starters, told him the same: ‘Just another practice; time to go do your job.’

Needing to get within field goal range, Hill and the offense did just that, taking the ball 37 yards, highlighted by a 23-yard toss to receiver Kaleb Brown, his longest catch of the season. Hill finished the contest 10-for-15, his highest completion percentage in any of his starts this season. 

Then, from 54 yards, Stevens made good on his second attempt, in which he said he “blacked out.” Knocking the pigskin down the middle towards the right field bleachers, Iowa had regained the lead. 

In a contest where four Iowa offensive linemen (center Logan Jones, guard Rusty Feth, tackle Mason Richman, and guard Beau Stephens) went down with injuries, Iowa was outgained by its opponent yet again. Yet with the help of defense and special teams, the Hawkeyes emerged with their seventh W of the season, and after losses from Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, will head back to Iowa City in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten West. 

“I think you’ve guys figured it out right now that we’re better at defense and special teams, but offensively we’re trying to move the needle forward,” Ferentz said, adding that Hill’s performance can build confidence in the sophomore. “We’ve been chipping away day by day. There’s no magic formula. No magic pins here. Just keep chipping away and hopefully, it starts to show a little bit.”