Scouting Iowa: Breaking down the Hawkeyes | Football

3. Generally when you hit bottom, you bounce. Who knows if last week was bottom for Nebraska, but it had to be close. Maybe all the talk of inspired practice and renewed dedication is real this week, and the Huskers finally play like a team tired of making the same mistakes over and over and over again. Maybe that kind of play catches Iowa flat-footed and forces the Hawkeyes into a type of game they don’t want to play. It’s a long shot, but NU will take any shot it can get.

90: Iowa’s scoring margin in its three straight wins. It’s the best such three-game stretch for the Hawkeyes against Big Ten foes since 2002.

12: Iowa’s defense has at least one interception in each of its last 12 games, and 18 total in that stretch.

22: Consecutive games Iowa has held its opponent to fewer than 30 points — the longest such stretch in the nation.

Chad Leistikow covers Iowa football for the Des Moines Register and the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

What did Iowa find that allowed it to turn things around after the tumultuous offseason and an 0-2 start?

CL: Really, it was getting rid of the stupid stuff. Iowa committed an uncharacteristic 10 penalties against Purdue and got burned by not having its top two middle linebackers in the opening loss to Purdue (one had COVID-19, the other got mono on game week). They’re both back now. Then, Iowa inexplicably had Spencer Petras attempt 50 passes — he was subsequently intercepted three times in the second half — despite leading Northwestern 17-0 and trailing by no more than one point. The Hawkeyes have since played their ideal brand of football. They are running it well, the defense is playing great, and they have the best punting game in the Big Ten. Getting big early leads helps that formula work, of course, and Iowa has a three-game winning streak in which it’s outscored opponents 125-35.