Iowa Football: Petras overcomes adversity, battles back against Illinois

After a rocky start early against Illinois, quarterback Spencer Petras ended up having the best game of his career in an Iowa victory.

It couldn’t have been a worse start for quarterback Spencer Petras and the Iowa Hawkeyes offense on Saturday in Champaign, Ill. The Hawkeyes defeated Illinois by a final score of 35-21, but it was a tale of two halves for both teams.

The 19th ranked Hawkeyes fell to a 14-0 deficit with 13:30 remaining in the second quarter before rattling 35 unanswered points against one of the Big Ten’s worst teams. It was as if the Iowa offense – specifically Petras – had flipped a switch after halftime.

The Hawkeyes started the game with four straight punts as Petras completed just two passes and was sacked twice. Iowa’s first-year starting quarterback wasn’t seeing the field well, and the rest of the Hawkeyes offense felt the consequences.

Then, a turning point.

Iowa finally got decent field position with 9:35 remaining in the first half after their defense forced a 3-and-out. Petras and the offense took over at their own 48-yard line and promptly drove 52 yards. The drive ended on a 22-yard touchdown strike from Petras to tight end Sam LaPorta. The Hawkeyes then kicked two field goals before the half ended to enter halftime down 14-13.

“Definitely a slow start, I think we all felt it. Obviously I felt it, missing some easy throws and struggling to get into a rhythm,” Petras said after the game. “I was just telling my receivers to stay with me.”

As the game wore on, it was easy to tell Petras was getting more comfortable. All it took was a few complete passes to gain some confidence, and the Iowa offense was rolling in no time.

After missing on several routine throws in the first half, Petras started feeling himself in the third quarter. He completed 15 of his final 21 passes to finish with 220 yards and a career-high three touchdown throws. He connected on 64.3 percent of his passes (18-of-28) when it was all said and done, tying his previous career-high against Penn State two weeks ago.

Petras’ newfound confidence in the second half not only had a positive impact on his stats, but Iowa’s receiving corps and running game also thrived.

Brandon Smith easily had his best game of the season. Smith reeled in five passes for 58 yards, which led all Iowa receivers in yardage. He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his career.

On the other side of the field, Ihmir Smith-Marsette also produced his best game of the season. The dynamic receiver hauled in a four-yard touchdown to give Iowa their first lead of the game in the third quarter. He later ran in a touchdown on a 13-yard end-around.

Iowa’s pair of tight ends got in on the action, too. Both Sam LaPorta and Shaun Beyer caught a touchdown for the first time in their respective careers.

In the running game, Iowa’s offense produced just 45 rushing yards in the first half. The Hawkeyes finished the game with 204 rushing yards. There’s no question Petras’ success through the air in the second half opened things up for Iowa’s running backs.

The story of Iowa’s win over the Illini can be directly correlated with the performance of their quarterback. Petras arguably had the worst start to a game in his young career, but showed he has the mental fortitude to battle back when times get tough.

“Fortunately, how you start is not as important as how you finish,” Kirk Ferentz remarked. “That was a rough 17, 20 minutes to watch. Really proud of our guys and the adversity they faced. I’m happy for the way they responded.

“That’s why the games are 60 minutes. That’s why you keep playing.”