Hunter Brown passed and ran for a touchdown and L.J. Phillips Jr. rushed for 123 yards to boost No. 15 Iowa to a 28-7 rout of Purdue on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) reached the end zone on four of its first five possessions. The Boilermakers (3-7, 2-5) have lost a season-high four consecutive games.
A versatile ground attack helped the Hawkeyes to their third straight victory. Brown capped Iowa’s first drive with a 1-yard scoring run before Tony Diaz scored from 14 yards out midway through the second quarter.
Purdue rallied to within a touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter. After Jacobo Echeverria Lozano missed a 38-yard field goal attempt on the game’s opening possession and punts on their next two series, the Boilermakers broke through with an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
Ryan Browne punctuated the drive with a 3-yard TD pass to George Burhenn on third-and-goal.
Iowa regained momentum by marching 83 yards in 11 plays and 1:37. Braeden Jackson took a screen pass from Brown 44 yards to the end zone on third-and-10 after weaving around four would-be tacklers and reversing field. The Hawkeyes led 21-7 at halftime and remained in control.
Xavier Williams raced 48 yards untouched on the opening possession of the third quarter to extend the advantage.
Although the Hawkeyes encountered some special-teams troubles with kicker Caden Buhr missing from 52 and 53 yards and having a 37-yarder blocked, Iowa’s defense kept the Boilermakers from capitalizing. Separate 12-yard runs from Fame Ijeboi and Antonio Harris helped Purdue reach the red zone after the second miss, but Zach Lutmer intercepted Browne in the end zone in the final minute of the third quarter.
Iowa later forced two turnovers on downs.
Brown was 20-for-29 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 32 yards. Jackson gained 61 yards on four receptions.
Browne finished 14-of-23 for 158 yards with a touchdown and interception. Ijeboi rushed 15 times for 64 yards and Asaad Waseem had six catches for 93 yards.
Purdue took a bus to Iowa on Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration’s ground stop paused flight departures nationwide.
Diaz was ruled out with a lower-body injury late in the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
