The Iowa Hawkeyes clinched the Big Ten West on Saturday with a 15-13 win over Illinois. As Hawkeye fans have come to expect, it was an ugly slog of a game that left the faithful wondering if victory could be snatched from the jaws of defeat. But it also came with some hope.
We saw the Hawkeyes put together another solid half of offense to open the game. It wasn’t a scoring outburst, but it was a third straight half absent a three-and-out. That’s a winning stat given the Hawkeye defense. We also saw QB Deacon Hill look much like he did against Rutgers.