Passing Offense: C- 

Based on his previous three starts, Iowa QB Deacon Hill had one of his better days under center. Finishing the afternoon on 10-of-15 passing, the sophomore had his best completion percentage in a start this season. But while he may have been more accurate, Hill’s arm didn’t move the chains very often for the Hawkeyes, as he threw for 65 yards. His longest completion of the day was the 23-yard toss to Kaleb Brown, who recorded his first catch in quite some time in the Black and Gold. Even in a clutch situation, that throw was a pass that any starting Division I quarterback could complete, and Hill met that standard. Getting five pass catchers and a running back involved in the receiving game was also nice to see, and kudos to Hill for rolling out and finding TE Addison Ostrenga for the wide-open touchdown. 

What a starting Divison I QB doesn’t do, however, is throw a desperation heave to a blanketed Nico Ragaini in the end zone while in field goal range. And neither does one throw a blind toss while being sacked. That play was perhaps Hill’s most embarrassing of the day, and Iowa fans should be grateful that his offering wasn’t intercepted, as a turnover would have put the Wildcats within field goal range. At the very least, Hill didn’t have as many turnovers as he did two weeks ago against Minnesota but is still far from being an average passer. As Kirk Ferentz said postgame, this contest would be a boost to Hill’s confidence, especially given the successful two-minute drill, but during that final drive, the QB threw the ball twice while handing it off four times. Clearly, Iowa doesn’t trust Hill to be the hero but has enough faith in him as a game manager to lead the team to yet another ugly win. 

Rushing Offense: C+ 

In a contest where the ball is only thrown 15 times against a defense that ranks second-to-last in the Big Ten in rushing defense, one would think the Hawkeye ground game would have a bounceback performance, but Saturday was only a marginal improvement. Rushing for 104 yards on a whopping 41 carries, Iowa averaged 2.5 yards per carry. This was better its 0.4 per attempt against the Gophers, but nothing to write home about.

Granted, it probably didn’t help to have a backup offensive lineman in with injuries to Logan Jones, Mason Richman, and Rusty Feth, but just cracking the century mark and having a long of 10 yards would be pretty mediocre regardless of the front five. Heck, cornerback Cooper DeJean was the team’s leading rusher with eight yards on one carry. It would just be nice to see backs Leshon Williams, Jaziun Patterson, and Kaleb Johnson to each have five carries. Johnson didn’t touch the ball the whole game. Relying on the ground game as much as it does, the Hawkeyes should set 150 net yards as their benchmark. 

Passing Defense: A

The only blemish to the Hawkeye secondary on Saturday was DeJean’s pass interference call, which proved inconsequential, and fellow cornerback Jermari Harris’ coverage on Northwestern’s lone TD on Saturday. Harris was simply beaten by Wildcat receiver Cam Johnson over the middle but was still within range when the ball reached the wideout. Allowing just 12 catches for 81 yards is nothing to sneeze at, and it’s not like the Hawkeyes dropped any would-be interceptions.

In addition, the Hawkeye secondary also limited any explosive plays, yielding just two completions of more than 10 yards. Not letting up that score would have improved this mark to perfection, but from any other team’s perspective, Saturday’s performance was elite. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Hawkeyes collected five sacks, nearly matching their season-high against Purdue earlier this season. 

Rushing Defense: A+ 

While I did say Iowa’s rushing performance was mediocre at best, Northwestern’s ground game was a rung below, as the Wildcats ran for 89 yards, also on 41 carries, averaging 2.2 yards per carry. Not once did a Northwestern RB churn out more than 10 yards on a carry, and even when head coach David Braun needed it most, RB Cam Porter and QB Brendan Sullivan couldn’t even fall over for a one-yard again at the goal line.

That goal-line stand will be etched in the minds of Hawkeye fans for some time, as coordinator Phil Parker’s unit looked more like a brick wall than eleven bodies in pads. Fun stat: Iowa has more tackles for loss (8) than Northwestern had rushing first downs (7). Enough said. 

Special Teams: B+

I know this sounds cruel considering kicker Drew Stevens’ late-game heroics, but Saturday was a rather sub-par day for coordinator LeVar Woods’ unit. Stevens missed a 53-yarder in the first quarter of the game, and in that same period, DeJean’s 45-yard punt return was called back due to an illegal block in the back.

Yet perhaps most surprising was the work of punter Tory Taylor, who had an unusual off-day by his standards. The Australia native averaged only 39 yards per boot and only landed two balls inside the 20-yard line. Obviously, Stevens’ 52-yard missile into the right field bleachers proved the difference, but that play, as well as Anterio Thompson’s blocked punt, were the lone bright spots for the group. 

Coaching: B+

Not going for it on fourth-and-four after crossing midfield was an odd choice, but nothing we haven’t seen from head coach Kirk Ferentz. The conservative playcalling on the final drive was also perplexing as well, but slightly understandable, as any turnover would’ve been a backbreaker.

But hey, props to the staff on finally putting DeJean in on offense. Five plays per game would be the ideal amount, but two is a good start. All 70,000 plus at Kinnick would be in for quite a treat if the cornerback is seen on both sides of the ball next week.