In a game that Wisconsin football gave away in the second half, the Badgers have to re-group. This weekend, they travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes in Kinnick Stadium, one of the best college football atmospheres. Iowa is coning off a 40-14 home win over Northwestern, They enter this game 5-3 as well, but had College Football Playoff hopes early in the season. Kickoff is 6:30 PM on NBC, a second straight night game for Wisconsin football. Here is an early look at Iowa.
A One Man Wrecking Crew on Offense
Everything Iowa wants to do and will do on offense will be done by junior running back Kaleb Johnson. I think Johnson is a top two or three running back in the country. He is fast, physical, and can do anything from the backfield.
Johnson has over 100 more carries than the next Iowa running back and had more rushing yards (1,144) than Iowa does passing. This Wisconsin defense will not be fooled by the Iowa offense. The problem? Iowa has a very good offensive line and they don’t care. They will run the ball again and again.
A Stout, Veteran Defense
This Iowa defense is loaded with seniors and players who will play in the NFL. The hear and soul of this defense is All-American linebacker Jay Higgins. He chose to stay another year when he could have easily went to the NFL. He is one of the best true linebackers in the country.
Other seniors that will make an impact is linebacker Nick Jackson, defensive linemen Yaha Black and Ethan Hurkett, and secondary members Sebastian Castro and Quinn Schulte. These are all seniors. It’s a veteran group that has played a ton of collage football and will not beat themselves. This Wisconsin football offense has to beat them.
A Potential New Quarterback for the Wisconsin Football Defense
All signs point to junior Brendan Sullivan getting the start Saturday night. It has been senior grad transfer Cade McNamara, but he has not panned out the way Iowa fans and coaches expected. He did tear his ACL last year and has an injury now, but Sullivan has a that with his legs and has been the goal line quarterback.
I am not sure how well Sullivan will be in the pocket Saturday night, but this Wisconsin football defense will have to account for his ability to escape the pocket. The Badgers will have all week to prepare for this so it will be interesting to see how they adjust throughout the game.
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