Iowa Football Notebook: Hawkeyes Leaning on 24-Hour Rule

Following Iowa’s loss to Purdue that came down to the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, head coach Kirk Ferentz and a handful of Hawkeye players took to the podium as the 24-hour rule took into effect. 

The 24-hour rule, as quarterback Spencer Petras alluded to following his first career collegiate start, is Iowa’s approach to losses. The team takes 24 hours, feels the loss through film the following morning, and lets it go come practice on Monday when its attention turns to the next opponent on the schedule. 

“There’s still plenty of things to play for, starting with beating Northwestern next week,” Petras said. “All of our goals still apply of getting better each day and being the best team we can be, fulfilling our potential so there’s still plenty out there. It’s going to hurt, it’s going to be hard, but we always talk about the 24-hour rule so we’ll watch tape tomorrow, let it hurt, but then come Monday we’re on to Northwestern.”

Holes in the Secondary

For the Hawkeyes, this loss isn’t an easy one to stomach. They were favored entering the matchup, and the odds looked even better when Boilermaker wide receiver Rondale Moore, who is widely regarded as one of the best players on the Purdue offense, was ruled out earlier in the week. 

That didn’t stop the Purdue offense, however, and with David Bell in a leading spot it took advantage of a new Iowa secondary. 

“We know they’re a team that likes to throw the ball, so they always take shots and find holes in the defense that we weren’t in,” Matt Hankins said. 

The problems on defense didn’t only come on the secondary. With a partially new defense overall, there was a lot on both the passing and rushing coverage that Iowa could get better at going forward. 

“There was some good pressure by the pass rush, we’ve just got to keep working there,” Ferentz said. “I thought our guys were working hard up there, close – I think we got one holding call, I think we were really close on a couple more. As long as we just keep working, we’ll keep getting better.” 

Shaky Start for the RBs

A couple turnovers by the Iowa running back corps – a group that is usually steady-handed – caused the scales to tip in Purdue’s favor. 

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The Hawkeyes used both Tyler Goodson and Mekhi Sargent regularly, both of which had a fumble in the contest. Normally, that would be cause for a running back to ride the bench for the rest of the game, but Iowa’s faith in the group changed that narrative.

“We’ve got total confidence in all three of the guys,” Ferentz said. “Ivory [Kelly-Martin] didn’t play as much, maybe, but all those guys. Tyler is a good football player, I thought Mekhi was playing great quite frankly, in his quiet way but he was really being productive, running strong, running tough, and it’s a shame because he does a good job in that ball security. We plan on playing all three of those guys during the course of the year.”