Northwestern falls to Iowa 33-13 for 7th straight loss

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Spencer Petros threw for a touchdown and ran for a second and Drew Stevens threw four field goals as Iowa beat Northwestern 33-13 on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) snapped a season-high three-game losing streak. Northwestern (1-7, 1-4) has lost seven straight.

Petras was 21-for-30 passing for 220 yards. He had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 6-yard scoring pass to Luke Lachey late in the second quarter.

Petras, in his third season as Iowa’s starter, replaced Alex Padilla in the second half of last week’s 54-10 loss to Ohio State. Both were listed as joint numbers. 1 on the depth chart this week, but Petras got the start. He led the Hokies to points on all four of their first half possessions and a 20-0 halftime lead.

Stevens had field goals of 29 and 24 yards in the first half and added a 54-yarder in the third quarter. His 25-yarder in the fourth made it 26-7.

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Iowa’s Orland Bruce IV added a 23-yard touchdown run with 5:13 left.

Northwestern was held to 177 yards on just 18 rushing yards on 37 attempts. The Wildcats got a 1-yard pass from Brandon Sullivan to Duke Olges in the third quarter and a 7-yard pass from Sullivan to Raymond Near III on the final play of the game.

Sullivan threw for 159 yards and was sacked seven times.

Northwest: The Wildcats continued to stumble, making their opening 31-28 win against Nebraska seem a long time ago. Northwestern’s offense was largely ineffective against the Hawkeyes, who entered the game ranked sixth in total defense.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes, who snapped a three-game losing streak at home in the series, had 393 yards to shake off some of the offensive woes that have plagued them all season. It was the best game of the season for Petras, who appeared to be on the verge of losing his starting job after turning the ball over three times in the first half last week.

Northwest: against Ohio State on Saturday.

Iowa: at Purdue on Saturday.