With IU down 14-3 and the game seemingly headed in Iowa’s favor, junior running back Jordan Howard was given the ball with 8:52 left in the second quarter.
Finding the edge, where sophomore receiver Simmie Cobbs had a Hawkeye cornerback sealed, Howard took the ball to the sideline and into the endzone for a 37-yard touchdown to pull the Hoosiers within four, 14-10.
That was the theme for the IU offense Saturday night in its 35-27 loss to Iowa: the passing game faltered, and Howard picked up the slack.
“We’re a better team when we have the run,” IU Coach Kevin Wilson said. “It makes our team more complete.”
While the Hoosiers compiled 227 rushing yards against the fifth-ranked rushing defense in the country, the passing attack held back the IU offense, as it accounted for just 180 yards.
From the first pass of the game, when senior tight end Anthony Corsaro dropped a first-down pass — one of his three drops of the day — to a long flag route senior quarterback Nate Sudfeld laid over the shoulder of junior receiver Mitchell Paige only to have it fall between his hands, the receivers couldn’t reel in his passes.
“We couldn’t really find a rhythm,” Sudfeld said. “We weren’t as balanced as I would like. We ran the ball well, but we just couldn’t make plays in the passing game.”
When the Hoosiers needed to make those plays most, the execution wasn’t there, such as when they had just conceded a 15-point deficit with 6:03 to play, and Corsaro was called to run a skinny post route along the hashmarks.
Sudfeld found the senior tight end, but the pass was dropped, and IU punted to Iowa with 5:21 left in the game.
“We tried to take a shot that was there, and that happens sometimes,” Wilson said. “When you’re throwing the ball, you don’t catch them all, so, whatever.”
On top of the lack of success in the passing game in the second half, Howard didn’t match the production he created in the first half, where he ran for 116 yards on nine carries.
Wilson blamed that on a lull in the offense.
“It was just the team’s execution didn’t give us enough snaps to get Jordan in a rhythm,” Wilson said.
Even without the rhythm of a rushing attack, Howard still ran for 174 yards and two of IU’s touchdowns, which the running back said was a result of resting during the bye week.
After missing two-and-a-half games against Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers due to an ankle injury, Saturday was Howard’s second game in return after rushing 11 times for just 78 yards against Michigan State two weeks ago.
The junior looked healthy against Iowa. For one rushing first down he threw a defender off of his body with one arm before three defenders finally brought him down. He also caught a pass in the flats and charged over a defender for a first down.
“Physically, I feel good,” Howard said. “I just need to get my stamina back from being out and not being able to run.”
At one point, Howard limped off the field after a 15-yard run and was out during the course of two series, but he said his ankle was just tweaked.
Even with his absence in two series, though, Howard gained more yards than anyone on the team, including Sudfeld, as the back recorded 189 all-purpose yards. However, it wasn’t enough for the win.
“I know I’m a good enough player to win these games,” Sudfeld said.” I have good enough players around me to outplay the guys we’re playing against. It’s up to us players to really execute and take it personal.”
