The Iowa Hawkeyes were rolling in October, ranked No. 2 in the country and had just beaten Penn State at home 23-20 to reach 6-0. The comparisons to the 2015 team, which began 12-0, had already begun to trickle in and with this defense — especially the secondary— the comparisons seemed apt.
But two weeks later, the Hawkeyes were 6-2 having suffered consecutive losses to Purdue at home (24-7) and at Wisconsin (27-7). Suddenly, the season was falling apart and Iowa was struggling to find answers.
Quarterback Spencer Petras had been awful, going 26-for-51 for 288 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in those two losses.