Des Moines Sun

Iowa football wins against Indiana. 

As football season opened, Iowa was ranked as No. 18 and Indiana as No. 17, Hawk Central reported.

"That was a good time. #Hawkeyes," The Iowa Hawkeyes official Twitter account said in a post on Sept. 4. 

Iowa hosted the game on Sept. 4. The Iowa Hawkeyes open the season with a Big Ten foe for the second year in a row. Because of this, the game against Indiana held national as well as conference implications, Hawk Central reported. 

The game resulted in a 34-6 win for Iowa in their 2021 season opener. This was the first game the Iowa Hawkeyes played in front of fans in 21 months, Hawk Central reported. The game was highly anticipated with both opponents being ranked, due to the possible impact of a quality win over a ranked team on rankings and the playoff committee.  

Iowa's coach Kirk Ferentz attributed Iowa's victory to "good team defense" and specifically praised the play of the team's veteran secondary after the game, Hawk Central reported. Due to the decisiveness of the win many reserves played for Iowa in the second half including backup quarterback Alex Padilla. Both Indiana and Iowa closely follow this game with games against top ten opponents, Cincinnati for Indiana and Iowa State for Iowa.