Wisconsin headed into Iowa with the fate of the Big Ten West on the line. After another Illinois loss, this afternoon’s game suddenly became bigger than it already was. A tough day at the office for the Badgers, they lose to Iowa 24-10, and here are three things.
Turnovers
One way Iowa beats teams is by forcing turnovers and capitalizing off of those turnovers. Today, it was the only reason Iowa scored on the Badgers. A blocked punt gave them the ball in the red zone. Followed by a pick-six, gave Iowa their 14 first-half points. Wisconsin was able to create one Hawkeye turnover, but it only led to 3 points. The Badgers would lose the turnover battle 3-1 and ultimately decided this game.
Dominant Defense
A positive from this game for the Badgers was their defensive performance. It might have been their best of the entire year and kept Wisconsin in this game. They were flying around all afternoon and completely shut down this Iowa offense. Unfortunately that it doesn’t result in a win, but gotta give a shout-out to them they did all they could.
Iowa up to 131 yards…on 61 plays.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) November 12, 2022
Special Teams and Offense Struggle
It can be hard to win a trophy game on the road when two out of the three phases play awfully. Wisconsin’s offense was out of sync from the start of the game. If it weren’t for a fluke touchdown to Keontez Lewis on 3rd and 18, the Badgers were completely shut down. Mertz played his worst game of the year, the run game was nonexistent, and special teams were a letdown.
Iowa scoring drives:
17 yards
INT return
18 yardsThey've got 108 yards of offense and are up 21-10.
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) November 12, 2022
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