Safety Brandon Snyder set up the score by stripping the ball from receiver Andre Patton with just under nine minute to play to help Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) win its ninth straight regular-season conference game and its seventh straight league win on the road.
C.J. Beathard threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle late in the first half to give Iowa a 7-0 lead.
Rutgers (2-2, 0-1) tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Chris Laviano to Patton.
The Scarlet Knights got to the Hawkeyes 17 on their next possession, but Iowa came up with stops on third- and fourth-down runs to end the drive.