Film room: How should Wisconsin football attack Iowa?
Where does the film say Wisconsin football has a good shot to do damage to the Iowa Hawkeyes?
Wisconsin football hosts Iowa on Saturday night in a critical turning point for the program.
The Badgers could take down a hated rival on primetime, snap a losing streak and get the team back to .500, inspiring confidence that all is not lost in 2025 — not yet. Or, head coach Luke Fickell could fall to 0-3 against the Hawkeyes as Wisconsin stumbles to its fourth straight loss, further cementing what the eye test has told us for weeks — he isn’t the man for the job.
Much ink has been spilled over how crucial this game is. But how should the Badgers go about attacking Iowa? What deficiencies show up on tape, and how can Wisconsin exploit them?
Below, BadgerNotes.com dives into the film:
Take advantage of poor QB play
South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski was once hailed as the savior of Iowa’s passing game; an experienced, talented, grizzled veteran of a quarterback the likes of which Iowa City hasn’t seen in years.
Yeah, I’m not so sure about that. He’s been respectable, tossing for 636 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 64.2 percent completion, adding 150 yards and seven scores on the ground. Still, he’s far too prone to misses like this one. He has time to set his feet, and just fires it into the dirt. The Badgers’ defense needs to be able to consistently turn his mistakes into stops, because he’ll hand you a few freebies.
Speaking of freebies, Gronowski gifted Indiana this interception on Iowa’s second play from scrimmage in its loss to the Hoosiers:
First of all, I’m not so sure what Iowa was trying to accomplish on this play. The offensive line slides left, while Gronowski immediately rolls out to his right. Instantly face-to-face with two Hoosier defenders, he tries to zip the ball past them to his receiver. The pass is tipped, and it results in an easy pick for Indiana.
Again, Gronowski will force some throws and give defenses chances to make a play on the ball. Wisconsin needs to capitalize; the Badgers’ defense hasn’t forced a turnover in three weeks.
Gronowski is a question mark for this week, however, after he went down against Indiana and was replaced by Auburn transfer Hank Brown, who looked even more erratic than Gronowski. The same logic applies; force Brown into bad throws, and capitalize on them.