Iowa football benched Spencer Petras, inserted Alex Padilla in Big Ten Championship against Michigan
Trailing Michigan 21-3 with 8:23 left in the third quarter, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz attempted to spark the Hawkeyes' dormant offense with a quarterback change.
It turns out that change didn't mean much in terms of deciding the final score.
Alex Padilla entered the Big Ten Championship after starter Spencer Petras struggled in the first half of Saturday's 42-3 loss in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes punted on five consecutive drives before giving Padilla the keys to the offense.
Padilla completed 10 of his 15 passes for 38 yards and an interception. On Padilla's first drive with the offense, the Hawkeyes drove 60 yards on 14 plays, but came away with nothing after a turnover on downs at the Michigan 15. Padilla's lone interception came with a little more than 4 minutes remaining in the game.
Petras completed just nine of his 22 passing attempts for 137 yards before Ferentz decided to make the change in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Read more Iowa football news
- Leistikow's thoughts: Iowa football takes a historic postseason beating in its big-stage moment
- Iowa football instant analysis: Offense disappears as Hawkeyes no match for Michigan in Big 10 title bout
- Recap: Iowa football trounced, 42-3, in Big Ten title game against Michigan
- Iowa Buckeyes? Big Ten Championship scoreboard incorrectly labels Iowa football against Michigan
Adam Hensley is a digital producer with the USA Today Network. You can follow him on Twitter @A_Hens83 or reach him at ahensley@gannett.com.