College football media reacts to Purdue upsetting No. 2 Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes didn’t get to enjoy their No. 2 ranking for very long, suffering a classic letdown upset to the Purdue Boilermakers.
After every big win, there’s always the danger of the letdown. Iowa didn’t heed the warnings.
The Hawkeyes moved up to No. 2 after getting a signature victory over Penn State last week. Then they underestimated Purdue and got burned…or boiled.
The Boilermakers shut down the Iowa offense while finding ways to put points on the board against a normally stout Hawkeye defense to get a 24-7 win.
Aiden O’Connell set the tone early with a rushing touchdown. He found TJ Sheffield for a touchdown before the half to give Purdue a touchdown lead at the break. They tacked on a field goal in the third quarter and would have had even more until they were foiled by fumbling the ball out of the endzone later in the period.
Every attempt the Hawkeyes made to get back into the game fell short. By the time O’Connell threw his second touchdown pass early in the fourth to put the Boilermakers up by 17, it was clearly over.
We just beat the No. 2 out of Iowa.
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) October 16, 2021
Defensively, Iowa had no answers for Purdue receiver David Bell, who caught 11 passes for 240 yards and a score.
College football media reacts to Purdue upsetting Iowa
For Twitter, the upset was very Iowa.
Good night, Hawkeyes.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 16, 2021
As I've been saying for weeks, Iowa's defense is awesome, but at some point it's not going to force a bunch of turnovers and give the team short fields. On those days, can the Iowa offense put together long drives? Not today. Not yet.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) October 16, 2021
David Bell and Purdue continue their mastery over #Iowa, which was bound to lose but has been dominated today.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) October 16, 2021
Does Purdue win this game with Riley Moss in the game? Yes. Yes, I think it does.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) October 16, 2021
Purdue is killing the dreams of No. 2 ranked teams again. David Bell is an absolute monster.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) October 16, 2021
Purdue beating the No. 2 team is what Purdue does
Most all-time wins against AP top-2 teams entering today:
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownCFB) October 16, 2021
Notre Dame 17
Ohio State 16
USC 16
Oklahoma 14
Purdue 12
Down goes #2 Iowa on homecoming as Purdue pulls off the upset.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) October 16, 2021
Most wins against AP top 2 teams when unranked:
1. Purdue: 9
2. 6 schools: 4
Purdue improved to 4-2 with a game against Wisconsin coming up next.
Iowa will look to regroup with a bye before getting their own shot at the Badgers. Their destiny is still in their hands but the dream of a perfect season is over.
dark. Next. 150 most iconic CFB moments of all time
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.