Iowa City, IA -- (Sports Network) - Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi left the field with an ankle injury after taking a hit in the second quarter of Saturday's game against Northwestern.

Stanzi did not return to the game and the Hawkeyes, who led 10-0 when the junior signal-caller left the field, went on to drop a 17-10 decision for their first loss of the season.

X-rays were negative and Stanzi returned to the Iowa sideline in the second half on crutches with a walking boot.

Stanzi was hurt when he was sacked in the end zone by Corey Wootton and fumbled. Northwestern's Marshall Thomas recovered for a touchdown with 11:46 remaining in the first half as Stanzi remained on the turf.

After a few moments, Stanzi was able to walk off the field under his own power while appearing to favor his right leg.

Stanzi threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Marvin McNutt on the third play from scrimmage on Saturday for the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes. He finished 4-of-9 for 134 yards with an interception.

Entering Saturday's action, Stanzi had completed 56.4 percent of his passes for 2,052 yards with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in the first nine games.

Redshirt freshman James Vandenberg took over under center for the Hawkeyes and finished 9-of-27 passing for 82 yards with an interception.