Game Preview: Homecoming vs. Purdue

OPPONENT Purdue at Iowa
DATE Saturday, Oct. 7
LOCATION Iowa City, Iowa | Kinnick Stadium (69,250)
KICKOFF 2:33 p.m. (CT)
TELEVISION Peacock
RADIO Hawkeye Radio Network

First and 10

  •  The Hawkeyes will welcome Purdue to Iowa City for Homecoming for the second time in three seasons. Iowa has won 10 of its last 13 Homecoming games dating back to 2009 and is 61-44-5 all-time on Homecoming.
  • Saturday’s game is the 1,300th in school history since beginning football in 1889.
  • Head coach Kirk Ferentz moved into third place (alone) on the all-time Big Ten wins list. Ferentz has 116 career Big Ten victories, only trailing Ohio State’s Woody Hayes (153) and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler (143). He won his 200th career game on Sept. 9 at Iowa State, becoming the 27th coach to reach the milestone at an FBS institution and just the 99th college coach across all divisions since 1890.
  • DB Cooper DeJean was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week and LB Nick Jackson was tabbed as the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week after leading Iowa to a 26-16 victory over Michigan State on Sept. 30.
  • DeJean had a 70-yard punt return touchdown – the 15th-longest in school history – to break a 16-all tie in the fourth quarter and he had six tackles and his first interception of the season against the Spartans. It was DeJean’s first career punt return for a TD and the first by a Hawkeye since 2020. He is one of 18 players to return a punt for a TD in 2023.
  • Jackson had 10 tackles – his second straight 10+ tackle game – and a key forced fumble in the fourth quarter, which led to a game-sealing field goal. He is leading the Big Ten in forced fumbles (2).
  • A new age. Saturday’s game will be streamed on Peacock, making it Iowa’s first game on a non-linear network since the 2001 season.

By the Numbers

> 400

The Hawkeyes haven’t allowed more than 400 yards in 19 consecutive games dating back to the 2021 season. The unit ranks 21st nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 16.8 points per game.

1-2-3

The Hawkeyes picked off three Michigan State passes on Sept. 30 inside Kinnick Stadium. It is Iowa’s first three interception game since 2021 against Northwestern.

53

LB Jay Higgins and LB Nick Jackson have combined for 53 tackles over Iowa’s last two games. Higgins is leading the Big Ten and ranks third nationally with 12.4 tackles per game (he is the top Power 5 tackler), while Jackson is fourth in the Big Ten and 30th nationally (9.2 p/game).

51

Iowa’s tight end room has accounted for 51 percent of the team’s receptions in 2023. TE Erick All has a team-best 14 receptions for 183 yards and two touchdowns. All had a team-high four catches for 67 yards and one TD in the win over Michigan State.

5

K Drew Stevens tied a career high, drilling four field goals in Iowa’s 26-16 win over Michigan State. Stevens made kicks from 40, 53, 36 and 34 yards with the 53-yarder being the second-longest field goal of his career. He is 8-of-9 this season and has a team-high 35 points.

1

QB Deacon Hill is expected to make his first career start on Saturday against Purdue (and it will be Hill’s sixth career game played). The Wisconsin transfer completed 11-of-27 attempts for 115 yards and one touchdown – the first of his career – against Michigan State.

HAWKEYES ON HOMECOMING

  • Iowa has won 10 of its last 13 Homecoming games dating back to the 2009 season. The Hawkeyes are 61-44-5 all-time on Homecoming.
  • The Boilermakers spoiled Iowa’s Homecoming in 2021, winning 24-7 in Kinnick Stadium. Purdue has an 11-7-1 record on Iowa’s Homecoming.
  • Iowa is 17-6 on Homecoming under head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Boilermakers vs. Hawkeyes

SERIES HISTORY

• Purdue holds a 50-40-3 advantage in the series that began with a 16-0 Iowa win in 1910. The Boilermakers have won four of the last six meetings, but Iowa has won 11 of the last 17 in the series.
• The Hawkeyes won in West Lafayette, 24-3, in 2022. It was Iowa’s largest margin of victory in the series since 2013.
• Iowa is 22-21-2 all-time in games played in Iowa City.
• Iowa and the Boilermakers battled to a 21-21 tie at West Lafayette in 1994. That game marks the last tie game for Iowa before the college football tiebreaker system was put in place.

SERIES RESULTS

10/22/1910 W, 16-0 (H)
11/11/1911 W, 11-0 (A)
11/6/1915 L, 13-19 (A)
10/21/1916 W, 24-6 (H)
10/21/1921 W, 13-6 (A)
10/28/1922 W, 56-0 (H)
10/13/1923 W, 7-0 (H)
11/16/1929 L, 0-7 (A)
10/18/1930 L, 0-20 (H)
11/14/1931 L, 0-22 (A)
11/12/1932 L, 0-18 (H)
11/18/1933 W, 14-6 (A)
11/10/1934 L, 6-13 (H)
11/16/1935 L, 6-12 (A)
11/14/1936 L, 0-13 (H)
10/30/1937 L, 0-13 (A)
10/29/1938 T, 0-0 (H)
11/4/1939 W, 4-0 (A)
11/2/1940 L, 6-21 (H)
10/25/1941 L, 6-7 (A)
10/31/1942 W, 13-7 (H)
10/23/1943 L, 7-28 (#4) (A)
10/21/1944 L, 7-26 (#11) (H)
10/13/1945 L, 0-40 (#15) (A)
9/28/1946 W, 16-0 (H)
11/1/1947 L, 0-21 (#16) (A)
10/16/1948 L, 13-20 (H)
10/1/1949 W, 21-7 (A)
10/21/1950 W, 33-21 (H)
10/6/1951 L, 30-34 (A)
10/11/1952 L, 14-41 (#16) (A)
11/7/1953 W, 26-0 (A)
11/6/1954 W, 25-14 (#8) (H)
10/15/1955 T, 20-20 (H)
10/27/1956 W, 21-20 (A)
10/24/1959 L, 7-14 (#14) (A)
10/22/1960 W, 21-14 (#10) (H)
10/28/1961 L, 0-9 (A)
10/27/1962 L, 3-26 (H)
10/26/1963 L, 0-14 (A)
10/24/1964 L, 14-19 (H)
10/9/1965 L, 14-17 (#6) (H)
10/8/1966 L, 0-35 (A)
10/28/1967 L, 22-41 (#7) (H)
10/26/1968 L, 15-44 (#7) (A)
10/18/1969 L, 31-35 (#17) (A)
10/17/1970 L, 3-24 (H)
10/2/1971 L, 13-45 (A)
10/7/1972 L, 0-24 (H)
11/3/1973 L, 23-48 (H)
11/2/1974 L, 14-38 (A)
11/15/1975 L, 18-19 (A)
11/13/1976 L, 0-21 (H)
10/22/1977 L, 21-34 (A)
10/28/1978 L, 7-34 (#17) (H)
11/3/1979 L, 14-20 (#15) (H)
11/8/1980 L, 13-58 (#17) (A)
11/7/1981 W, 33-7 (H)
11/6/1982 L, 7-16 (A)
10/15/1983 W, 31-14 (H)
10/13/1984 W, 40-3 (#14) (A)
11/16/1985 W, 27-24 (A)
11/15/1986 W, 42-14 (H)
10/24/1987 W, 38-14 (H)
10/22/1988 W, 31-7 (A)
11/18/1989 W, 24-0 (A)
11/17/1990 W, 38-9 (H)
10/25/1991 W, 31-21 (A)
10/24/1992 L, 16-27 (H)
10/30/1993 W, 26-17 (H)
10/29/1994 T, 21-21 (A)
11/1/1997 W, 35-17(#18) (H)
10/31/1998 L, 14-36 (A)
10/6/2001 L, 14-23 (#21) (A)
10/5/2002 W, 31-28 (H)
11/8/2003 L, 14-27 (#16) (A)
11/6/2004 W, 23-21 (H)
10/8/2005 W, 34-17 (A)
10/7/2006 W, 47-17 (H)
10/20/2007 L, 6-31 (A)
11/15/2008 W, 22-17 (H)
11/19/2011 W, 31-21 (A)
11/10/2012 L, 24-27 (H)
11/9/2013 W, 38-14 (A)
11/27/2014 W, 24-10 (A)
11/21/2015 W, 40-20 (H)
10/15/2016 W, 49-35 (A)
11/18/2017 L, 15-24 (H)
11/3/2018 L, 36-38 (A)
10/19/2019 W, 26-20 (H)
10/24/2020 L, 20-24 (A)
10/16/2021 L, 7-24 (H)
11/5/2022 W, 24-3 (A)

T.O. CENTRAL

  • The Hawkeyes forced a season-high four turnovers – the first multi-turnover game of the season – in Week 5 against Michigan State. They are the most turnovers forced since 2021 against Penn State.
  • Iowa picked off three Spartan passes on interceptions from Cooper DeJean, Sebastian Castro and Jermari Harris. They were the most turnovers by the unit since 2021 against Northwestern. Castro’s interception was his second of the season, ranking fifth in the Big Ten this season.
  • Iowa has turned seven turnovers into 27 points this season. The Hawkeyes have a 27-17 advantage in points off turnovers in 2023.
  • Under head coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa is 119-25 when winning the turnover battle.