Looking Back at Iowa's Last Game vs. Rutgers

Week 4 of the college football season is now upon us, and that means it's time to get into the real meat of Big Ten play. Some teams already have a head start on conference play, but for most teams, this weekend will mark the start of the "real" schedule, so to speak.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will help kick off the festivities this weekend with a road matchup against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Friday night. Both teams enter conference play with a host of questions to answer, which should make this game a good litmus test for each of them.

Of course, this isn't the first matchup between these two teams. The Scarlet Knights have been in the Big Ten for more than a decade now, and though they and the Hawkeyes were in different divisions until 2023 - the former in the West and the latter in the East - they have still matched up a few times over the years.

In fact, their last matchup was just two years ago, in the final season the Big Ten used divisions. On Nov. 11, 2023, the Hawkeyes welcomed the Scarlet Knights into Kinnick Stadium and proceeded to pitch a shutout in a 22-0 victory to celebrate Veterans Day.

Nov 11, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver Nico Ragaini (89) gets yards after catch as Rutgers Scarlet Knights linebacker Mohamed Toure (1) moves in for the tackle during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

As is often the case, Iowa's defense stole the show in this game. The Hawkeyes held the Scarlet Knights to only 127 total yards, including just 34 on the ground, and seven first downs while only allowing two third-down conversions on 11 attempts. It was a defensive clinic in every aspect.

Despite that, this game was still somewhat close - it was 3-0 at halftime and 6-0 entering the fourth quarter - due to the Hawkeyes' offense sputtering for much of the day. They finally got their act together in the fourth quarter, though, going on a nine-play, 54-yard drive (which started late in the third quarter) to find the end zone for the first time. Then after an interception deep in Scarlet Knights territory later in the quarter, they scored another touchdown to put the game out of reach.

Deacon HIll completed 20 of 31 passes on the day for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Leshon Williams, Kaleb Johnson and Jaziun Patterson each rushed for 50+ yards, with the latter also scoring a touchdown, while Kaleb Brown was on the receving end of Hill's touchdown.

For Rutgers, Gavin Wismaut completed just seven of 18 passes for 93 yards and an interception.

The Hawkeyes are a perfect 4-0 against the Scarlet Knights all-time, with all four matchups taking place after 2016, and will look to stay undefeated on Friday night.

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