EVANSTON, Il — New Ryan Field has its first loss, thanks to the No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa handed Northwestern its first loss inside its multi-million-dollar new football stadium on Saturday, 24-10. The win helps set up the Hawkeyes for the rest of November, but there were still some issues — including one lingering problem that’s plagued Iowa’s offense.
“It’s a really good way to start November,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said postgame. “Coming in here, Big Ten road game, nighttime, new environment, new stadium … most importantly, fight against a really good team. So we knew that was going to be a challenge.”
Here are the good, bad and ugly moments of Iowa’s November road win.
The good: LJ Phillips
The South Dakota transfer has been pretty self-critical this season. He hasn’t played up to his standards, and with starting running back Kamari Moulton out for the year, LJ Phillips had a chance to seize the moment as a key member of Iowa’s backfield.
He did so against the Wildcats, recording 128 rushing yards, including a 45-yard carry that helped secure Iowa’s third straight 90-plus-yard touchdown drive in as many games.
“I felt good, like I did my job,” Phillips said after the game. “...