Here's what Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz had to say about Alex Padilla and the QB battle

Hawk Central

EVANSTON, Ill. — After watching Alex Padilla come off the bench to lead the Iowa football team to a 17-12 win at Northwestern, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz wasn’t ready to anoint his backup quarterback as the Hawkeyes’ new starting quarterback.

At the same time, Ferentz was asked if Spencer Petras — who was limited by a shoulder injury and replaced after three series Saturday — would be the starter next week against Minnesota (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Kinnick Stadium) if he was 100%.

Ferentz’s response?

“We’ll look at the film, see what we think,” Ferentz said. “I know this, Spencer has led us to a lot of victories. And tonight, Alex did. To me that’s a good situation.

“I’m really proud of Alex for what he did. I’m really proud of the things Spencer has done over the last two years as well. We’ll just take it a day at a time, but hopefully it’s — pardon the pun — a healthy situation for us.”

Padilla finished Saturday's game 18-for-28 through the air for 172 yards. While he didn't find the end zone with a pass, the added threat seemed to open holes for the running game, and Tyler Goodson capitalized with a touchdown rush on just the sixth snap with Padilla in the game.

Ferentz said Petras suffered a shoulder injury in last week's 27-7 loss to Wisconsin but progressed through the week. He said Petras had a good day Friday but didn't look good in pregame warmups.

"We were all confident he’d be able to go today," Ferentz said of Petras. "I don’t think it’s anything major, just something you’ve got to work through. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday, he’ll be back full speed."

More from Iowa's win over Northwestern:

Ferentz will meet the media again at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Iowa City.