IOWA CITY, Iowa — Spencer Petras threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Drew Stevens kicked four field goals as Iowa defeated Northwestern 33-13 on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) snapped a three-game losing streak with their highest point total of the season. Northwestern (1-7, 1-4) has lost seven straight.
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Petras was 21-for-30 passing for 220 yards. He had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Luke Lachey late in the second quarter.
Petras, in his third season as Iowa’s starter, was replaced by Alex Padilla in the second half of last week’s 54-10 loss at Ohio State. The two were listed as co-No. 1s on this week’s depth chart, but Petras got the start. He led the Hawkeyes to points on all four of their first-half possessions for a 20-0 halftime lead.
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Stevens kicked field goals of 29 and 24 yards in the first half, then added a 54-yarder in the third quarter. His 25-yarder in the fourth made it 26-7.
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Iowa’s Arland Bruce IV added a 23-yard touchdown run with 5:13 left.
Northwestern was held to 177 total yards, with only 18 rushing yards on 37 attempts. The Wildcats got a 1-yard touchdown pass from Brendan Sullivan to Duke Olges in the third quarter and a 7-yard touchdown pass from Sullivan to Raymond Niro III on the final play of the game.
Sullivan threw for 159 yards and was sacked seven times.
Northwestern: The Wildcats continued to stumble, making their opening 31-28 win against Nebraska seem like a long time ago. The Northwestern offense was mostly ineffective against the Hawkeyes, who came into the game ranked sixth nationally in total defense.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes, who snapped a three-game home losing streak in the series, had 393 yards to shake off some of the offensive woes that plagued them all season. It was the best game of the season for Petras, who seemed on the verge of losing his starting job after turning the ball over three times in the first half last week.
Northwestern: vs. Ohio State on Saturday.
Iowa: at Purdue on Saturday.
