Hank Brown, No. 21 Iowa defense combine to give Northwestern first loss at new stadium, 24-10

EVANSTON, Ill. — Hank Brown threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Braeden Jackson returned a kickoff for a TD for the second time this season as No. 21 Iowa beat Northwestern for the fifth straight time and dealt the Wildcats their first loss at the new Ryan Field, 24-10 on Saturday night.

The Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) have allowed only two touchdowns in the past three games. They recorded six sacks and didn't allow the Wildcats inside their 26-yard line until the fourth quarter.

Brown was 16-of-21 passing for 126 yards with an interception after going 20 for 24 in last week's win over Wisconsin.

Northwestern has dropped two straight after a 6-1 start. The Wildcats (6-3, 3-3), who won twice at their temporary lakefront stadium before winning the first three games at their new $875 million home, were trying to move to 6-0 at home for the first time in 122 years.

Iowa, which scored on 98-yard drives in each of its previous two games, had a 97-yard drive Saturday.

“Just doing the good things, whether it's fourth-down stops or driving the ball and then putting it in the end zone. That's how you build confidence,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “You can't give it to them. Doing it in practice is a start, but doing it in game competition against good teams, it's a good thing. Hopefully what they'll take from this is they have to do it every week.”

Brown was 4 for 4 on Iowa's opening possession before sprinting for a 21-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw. He found Tony Diaz for a 24-yard TD catch early in the second quarter to cap the 97-yard drive and make it 14-0 after L.J. Phillips had a 45-yard run to get the Hawkeyes near midfield.

Phillips, who ran for 1,920 yards at South Dakota last season, had his best game in an Iowa uniform with 128 yards on 21 carries and two catches for 14 yards.

Northwestern's Nicco Marchiol, a West Virginia transfer filling in for injured starter Aidan Chiles, was 24 of 32 for 181 yards and one touchdown to go with 52 yards rushing, but Iowa held Northwestern to 2.8 yards per carry and stuffed the Wildcats twice on third-and-1 and twice on fourth-and 1.

“We are not satisfied,” Northwestern coach David Braun said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell the group that our guys kept battling and I’m proud of it. We are not satisfied, I’m not satisfied, and our staff isn’t satisfied. But we also aren’t discouraged.”

Robert Fitzgerald picked off an underthrown pass by Brown midway through the third quarter to give the Wildcats some life, but the drive stalled and Northwestern settled for a 45-yard field goal from Jackson Kleather to break up the shutout.