Michael Penix, Jr. never looked comfortable when he threw three interceptions to open the 2021 season at Iowa.
And he certainly didn’t look like the quarterback who had thrown for at least 320 yards in two straight games the year prior in wins over Michigan and Michigan State, and 491 after that against Ohio State.
Penix was just nine months removed from a second torn ACL when he led Indiana into Iowa City two years ago. So it was reasonable to expect it may take some time for him to regain his rhythm. And Kinnick Stadium is no kind of easy place to do that.
But even with all of that in mind, something wasn’t ri
ght. Penix had come back from injury before and looked relatively sharp doing it. But against the Hawkeyes, he was skittish.
