Instant Takeaways From Iowa Football's Win Over Purdue

"Just win, baby." 

It's one of the most famous sayings in football, and it should be the motto for Iowa football as it makes a push to earn its first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff. 

The Hawkeyes (8-2, 5-2) didn't play one of their best games on Saturday night, but they didn't need to. Purdue (3-7, 2-5) stood no chance in front of a packed house under the lights at Kinnick Stadium, as Iowa secured a 28-7 victory. 

Here are some early observations from the Hawkeyes' win: 

Iowa loves to get star wide receiver Tony Diaz the football any way it can, but one of the ways offensive coordinator Tim Lester has increased Diaz's usage is via jet sweeps. Those have been a great way for the Hawkeyes to showcase Diaz's speed on the edge, and it worked well on Saturday. Diaz finished with 45 receiving yards on five receptions, but his lone score of the night came in the rushing game. Iowa used Diaz on four jet sweeps totaling 25 yards, with the second leading to a 14-yard touchdown run – his third consecutive game with a score. 

Braeden Jackson told the media on Tuesday that he really wanted to score a kick return touchdown for the Kinnick Stadium faithful. Though there wasn't a kick return touchdown on this night, Jackson tallied the next closest thing – an explosive play. 

And it couldn't have come at a better time, too. Purdue silenced the crowd with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to draw within one score, 14-7, late in the first half, but Iowa did have just over a minute to respond with its own score. A field goal looked likely when the Hawkeyes faced a third-and-10 with 28 seconds to go in the half, but Jackson had other ideas. The walk-on running back received a dump-off pass from quarterback Hank Brown and scampered through the Boilermaker secondary for a 44-yard score to re-ignite Kinnick Stadium and give Iowa a 21-7 lead at the break. 

Iowa had opened every game with the football for 259 of the 350 games under Kirk Ferentz, but tonight marked a rare exception to that. Purdue won the toss and received, but it ultimately didn't matter because it missed a field goal on its opening drive. 

It worked well for Iowa, too. The Hawkeyes regained all the momentum after Jackson's touchdown run, and they used the rare opportunity to double up the Boilermakers with Xavier Williams' 48-yard touchdown sprint on Iowa's opening drive of the second half. 

Walk-on kicker Caden Buhr came into this night missing only two field goals on the entire season, but Saturday's contest was the first poor game of his young career. The second-year shanked two of of his three field goal tries (52 and 53 yards) which prevented the Hawkeyes from extending their lead. If that wasn't enough, his third and final try of the night from 37 yards was blocked, capping the tough evening for the young placekicker. 

While safeties are obviously very important pieces of the defense, they don't always get a chance to intercept passes as much. Zach Lutmer tallied three picks last season, but his move to safety has resulted in him seeing less chances to ball hawk. It was probably a little surprising to see him enter mid-November without an interception in 2026, but that changed against Purdue. 

With Iowa leading 28-7 midway through the third, the Boilermakers looked like they were going to make it a two-score game with plenty of time left. Enter Lutmer, though, who stepped in front of an end zone heave by Boiler quarterback Ryan Browne for his first pick of the 2026 campaign. 

The Hawkeyes return to action next Saturday, Nov. 21, for a road matchup against Illinois. The Fighting Illini are 6-4 overall after a hard-fought loss at No. 4 UCLA on Friday night. 

Kickoff from Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois is set for 1:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.