No. 23 Iowa's sputtering offense finally broke through in the second half against visiting Purdue, lifting the Hawkeyes to a 26-20 win in Iowa City on Saturday.

Mekhi Sargent rushed 13 times for 68 yards and a touchdown, freshman Tyler Goodson added another rushing TD and Keith Duncan kicked four field goals for the Hawkeyes.

After Purdue's failed onside kick attempt, Sargent ran for a 14-yard touchdown run with 2:16 left to put Iowa up 26-13.

Purdue cut Iowa's lead to six on a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jack Plummer to tight end Payne Durham with 24 seconds left, but Iowa (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) recovered a second Purdue onside kick to snap a two-game losing streak.

Freshman David Bell had 13 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown for Purdue, but it wasn't enough as the Boilermakers (2-5, 1-3) turned the ball over twice in Iowa territory.

Plummer completed 30 of 50 passes for 327 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley was 23 of 33 for 260 yards with one interception.

Iowa entered the game having just scored one touchdown in its past two games -- back-to-back losses to Michigan and Penn State. The Hawkeyes continued that trend in the first half, settling for three first-half field goals on three drives that stalled inside the 30. Duncan connected from 30, 44 and 42 yards to give the Hawkeyes a 9-0 lead.

Purdue missed out on a potential scoring opportunity early in the second quarter when receiver Amad Anderson Jr. fumbled at Iowa's 9-yard line. But the Boilermakers managed to crack the scoreboard later in the quarter. Plummer led a seven-play, 78-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass to Bell with 38 seconds left in the half to pull within 9-7.

The Hawkeyes finally broke through for a touchdown in the third quarter, putting together a nine-play, 72-yard drive in the third quarter after a Plummer interception. Goodson capped the scoring with a 1-yard run to put Iowa up 16-7 with 7:26 left in the third. It was Iowa's first touchdown in the red zone in its last six red zone possessions.

--Field Level Media