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| Iowa had no answer for Northwestern's Kain Colter. (US Presswire) |
NORTHWESTERN WON: Don't let the final score fool you, this one wasn't nearly as close as it looked. Northwestern had a 28-3 lead with just over a quarter left to play before Iowa finally found the end zone.
Kain Colter had a big day for the Wildcats, taking the overwhelming majority of the team's snaps at quarterback this week. Colter threw for only 80 yards with a touchdown, but he rushed for 166 yards and another three scores. Venric Mark rushed for 162 yards.
WHY NORTHWESTERN WON: As you could see in the stats above, Northwestern was able to run on Iowa at will. Northwestern rushed for 349 yards as a team on 49 attempts -- 7.1 yards per carry -- and converted on 8 of 11 third downs to continually keep drives alive. Mix all that with a lot of ineptitude on Iowa's part, and you get a pretty easy Northwestern win.
WHEN NORTHWESTERN WON: There might have been some Northwestern fans suffering from flashbacks when Iowa pulled to within 11 points in the fourth quarter, but those fears were put to bed when James Vandenberg's fourth down pass to Tevaun Smith fell incomplete with under two minutes to play.
WHAT NORTHWESTERN WON: Odds are that with two losses in Big Ten play already the Wildcats are eliminated from the Legends Division race, but this win today does keep some hope alive in that respect -- especially if the Wildcats can pull off a win against Michigan after a bye. Aside from that, though, by improving to 7-2 the chance at a 10-win season remains in Evanston with games against Michigan State and Illinois still on the schedule.
WHAT IOWA LOST: Any remaining faith there might have been in this team from the fanbase. Iowa's performance today was awful and included mistakes that defy all understanding of the game of football. Iowa was not only called for delay of game three times, but the third delay of game came with Iowa trailing 28-17 late in the fourth quarter while running its two-minute drill. How in the world does that happen?
