Iowa Wesleyan offense struggles at Northwestern

ST. PAUL, Minn. ? The Tiger football team took on the University of Northwestern on the road Saturday. Iowa Wesleyan entered the contest coming off a loss to St. Scholastica last week. The IW offense could not find an answer to Northwestern?s defense and dropped their fifth straight game with a 29-7 loss.

Northwestern won the toss and elected to defer, giving the Tigers the opening possession. DeMarcus Collins was the starting quarterback for the Tigers. He rushed for 49 yards in the first drive, but IW turned the ball over on downs. The Eagles were able to move the ball in their first possession, but the Tiger defense was able to hold them to just a field goal. They were able to extend their lead to 5-0 after a safety.

Iowa Wesleyan?s special teams started the second quarter with a big play. Joseph Mosley blocked a Northwestern field goal and he recovered the ball for the Tigers. IW took advantage of the blocked field goal, taking the lead on a three-yard touchdown run by Collins. The extra point attempt was good, and Iowa Wesleyan took a 7-5 advantage over the Eagles.

The lead would not last for the Tigers as Northwestern would add two more touchdowns in the quarter. At the end of the first half, IW trailed 19-7.

The adjustments that both teams made in the locker rooms paid off for the defenses in the third quarter. Neither team was able to find the endzone, and the period would end with the Tigers trailing 19-7.

Northwestern would score the only points in the fourth quarter. They were able to get a field goal with just over eleven minutes to play, and added a touchdown with two and a half minutes remaining in the game. Iowa Wesleyan?s offense failed to move the ball, and they would go on to fall 29-7 to the Eagles.

Iowa Wesleyan ended the game with just 166 yards of total offense, compared to 259 total yards of offense by Northwestern.

Collins led the offense with seventeen rushing attempts for 82 yards on the day. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry for the Tigers.

The IW defense was led by Travaughn Durr. He recorded three solo tackles and assisted on nine others for a total of twelve tackles. Durr also had a sack, forced a fumble, and had 1.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards in the loss. Craig Wrenn and Daireon Smith each added eight tackles for the Tigers.

Iowa Wesleyan will return to Bob Evans field in next week?s game. They will host the Cougars of Minnesota Morris in their homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., on Saturday, Oct 21. The Tigers are now 1-6 overall and 1-5 in UMAC play.