IOWA CITY, Ia. — Winning championships isn’t supposed to be easy.
But true to form, sixth-ranked Iowa rose to the occasion when it counted most, dispatching scrappy Purdue 40-20 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium to clinch the Big Ten Conference’s West Division title. It marks the Hawkeyes’ first league title claim since sharing the 2004 title with Michigan.
Iowa has officially punched its ticket into the Dec. 5 Big Ten Championship Game against a Big Ten East champion to be determined.
The 23½-point favorite Hawkeyes were far from perfect Saturday, giving the chilled announced crowd of 62,690 a scare, but improved to 11-0 with a series of clutch plays.