Wisconsin had some time to recover this past weekend, enjoying an off day on Saturday after two straight losses to Illinois and Ohio State. Now, after a week of rest, the Badgers are back on the field this weekend to take on Iowa in a huge B1G West showdown.

On Monday, Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst met with the media to talk about Iowa and the challenges the Hawkeyes present. He’s been most impressed with Iowa’s defense this season, which held numerous to season-low totals on the year.

Chryst understands the Hawkeyes have plenty of weapons defensively.

“Each week is different. Anytime you’re playing in the Big Ten you’re going to face really good players,” Chryst said. “You’ve got individual’s who you know about and get to know over time… if you go back and watch last year’s tape you know a lot of those guys and have some familiarity with it. They’re getting a lot of production out of a lot of different guys.”

Iowa’s defense has been superb this season, allowing just 87.8 yards per game on the ground and just 10.1 points per game on the season. Running on the Hawkeyes will be a chore for the Badgers.

After paying respect to the defense, Chryst also had some words on senior quarterback Nate Stanley, who has been a solid player in Iowa City the last three seasons.

“Nate’s a heck of a player. Enjoyed getting to know him and his family. He competes and is obviously really talented… he’s got good weapons around him and uses it well,” Chryst said. “He gets football… the way he competes and his toughness, he’s a really good player.”

Stanley is currently the B1G’s leading passer, throwing for 1,950 yards through the first eight games. He has struggled with accuracy a bit, though, throwing just two touchdown passes with five interceptions over the last four games.

The winner of Saturday’s game will still have a shot to win the B1G West, while the loser is essentially eliminated.