Rapid reaction: Wisconsin takes advantage of stagnant Iowa offense to upset Hawkeyes
A sputtering Iowa offense stumbled through a nightmare of a first half en route to a 27-7 loss to unranked but resurgent Wisconsin.
The Badgers forced a trio of Iowa turnovers, all in the Hawkeyes red zone, while holding Iowa to a single first down in the first half of their surprising win. Meanwhile, the Badgers leaned on a big game from freshman running back Braelon Allen and efficient work from QB Graham Mertz to put up enough points to outlast No. 9 Iowa. Allen was particularly outstanding in posting his 4th consecutive 100-yard rushing performance.
After a trio of punts to open the game, Wisconsin put together an 8-play, 65-yard scoring drive late in the first quarter. Mertz went 5-for-5 passing on the drive, and his 4-yard TD strike to tight end Jake Ferguson with 3:08 remaining in the opening stanza jumped the Badgers to an early lead. Collin Larsh’s extra point extended the lead to 7-0. After a third consecutive three-and-out from Iowa, Larsh extended the Badgers’ edge to 10-0 on a 29-yard field goal with 12:18 to go in the first half, largely set up on a 28-yard rush from Allen to open the drive.
Then came a bizarre series that defined the first half of the game. Two plays later, Iowa QB Spencer Petras was sacked on 3rd-and-17 and lost the ball. Wisconsin took over on the Iowa 8, and had a great opportunity to break the game open. But Iowa’s defense was stout and stopped the Badgers on a John Chernal carry on 4th-and-goal from the 1 yard line. Given a sudden burst of momentum, Iowa then fumbled on the 2nd play, losing the ball on the exchange between Petras and his running back, this time on their own 1-yard line. Wisconsin would not be denied twice, as Mertz punched the ball into the end zone on a QB sneak, making it 17-0 Wisconsin with 7:40 left in the half.
When it seemed that things couldn’t get worse for Iowa, they did. After another 3-and-out, the Hawkeyes defense forced a punt, only for the Iowa returner to muff the punt and turn the ball over to Wisconsin for the third time in the half in the Iowa red zone. This time, the damage was a 32-yard Larsh field goal with 2:51 to go in the half. Trailing 20-0, Iowa did not score, but did at least manage their initial first down of the half shortly before intermission.
After the half, Iowa did get some momentum as they took a short punt and converted it into their first score of the day, with Spencer Petras closing a 40-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run, moving the Hawkeyes to within 20-7 with 8:21 to go in the third quarter. Iowa gained more momentum with a 3-and-out and drove to the Wisconsin 40, where Kirk Ferentz elected to go for a 4th-and-1. But Wisconsin stuffed Monte Pottebaum shy of the line to gain, and then turned that short field into a game-clinching scoring drive.
On the ensuing 11-play, 60-yard march, Allen did most of the work, but it was Mertz whose 1-yard QB sneak stretched Wisconsin’s edge to 27-7 with 12:54 to play.
After opening the season 1-3, Wisconsin picked up its 4th consecutive win. Next week, the Badgers travel to Rutgers. With no ranked teams left on the schedule, Wisconsin could well finish the season 9-3. With only Minnesota ahead of the Badgers in the Big Ten West, and the Badgers now holding a tiebreaker over Iowa, Wisconsin has an excellent shot at winning the division.
Meanwhile, Iowa suffered its 2nd consecutive loss after opening 6-0. That said, the Hawkeyes also don’t have another ranked team left on the schedule. But absent another loss for Wisconsin, Iowa will not be able to control their own destiny within the West.