The Wisconsin football team faced off with Iowa today in Iowa City, and even though it’s Halloween, the scariest thing the Badgers saw was the Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes controlled this game from the jump. The typical Iowa offense was nowhere to be found this afternoon. After the Badgers shut down Jayden Maiava and USC’s high-caliber passing attack, Hank Brown and Iowa’s passing game did just about whatever they wanted to the Wisconsin secondary.
Here’s what stood out from Wisconsin’s 30-0 loss to Iowa.
Game recap
The Hawkeyes capitalized on a 45-yard completion to tight end DJ Vonnahme after Matt Jung fell down in coverage. Iowa got it down deep into the redzone, but Wisconsin’s defense held strong, as they have all season, and forced a field goal.
After a three-and-out from the Badgers, Iowa marched down the field again, but this time they scored when Hank Brown found Vonnahme in the back of the end zone.
The Wisconsin offense finally got into a groove midway through the second quarter, driving all the way down to the Iowa 1-yard line. The Badgers took a risk, going for it on 4th-and-1, but the misdirection running play got stuffed a yard behind the line, and the Badgers came away empty-handed after their first promising drive.
Iowa, starting at its own 2-yard line, marched right down the field on the Badgers, going 98 yards in 1:30 to put the Hawkeyes up.
Wisconsin tried to play it conservatively before the half and run the clock out, but a botched handoff between Darrion Dupree and Colton Joseph led to an Iowa recovery at the Wisconsin 17-yard line. The Hawkeyes hit a field goal as time expired in the first half, giving them a 20-0 lead over the Badgers at halftime.
The Badgers got the ball to start the second half and did almost nothing with it. After gaining 16 yards in three plays, the Badgers were forced to punt. And just like the first half, the Hawkeyes went right down the field and capped off a 10-play drive for another score; this time, Vonnahme took an end-around carry for a 2-yard touchdown run, his second score of the game, putting Iowa up 27-0.
Iowa followed that possession up with another one that went into Wisconsin territory. After getting stopped, the Hawkeyes converted a 54-yard field goal that probably would have been good from 60.
The 30-0 score held for the rest of the game.
What stood out
• Wisconsin is still playing catch-up to Iowa football
Over the past five games now, the Hawkeyes have owned the series, and nothing changed today. Iowa’s football program has it figured out. They spend less on their roster, and their recruiting classes don’t consistently rank among the top teams in the country.
Yet, they win.
The Badgers, despite the infusion of money into the program this offseason and all the names they brought in through the transfer portal, can’t seem to catch up with the Hawkeyes, and honestly, don’t seem to be particularly close.
• The Wisconsin offense is officially a problem
Yes, the Iowa defense is a very good unit. But the Wisconsin offense has looked completely inept just about every time they play a good defense.
Fortunately for the Badgers, they don’t play high-powered defenses like this anymore for the rest of the season. But if they want to finish this season on a run, they will need to get something going, whether its the running game or the passing game. But right now, they can’t seem to do either well.
Game Balls
WR Jaylon Domingeaux: Domingeaux is probably the only offensive player that did anything consistently for the Badgers. He had 4 catches for 74 yards, leading the team in both categories. In a day where pretty much nothing happened offensively, Domingeaux was the lone positive.
LB Cooper Catalano: Catalano led the Badgers in tackles with 16, plus 1.5 tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. He was one of three players to record double-digit sack totals.
Stats of the game
36: Colton Joseph completed just 36% of his passes against Iowa, completing 5-14 passes for 90 yards.
83.3: Iowa QB Hank Brown completed 83.3% of his passes against the Badgers today for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He came into the game with a 61.4% completion rate for the season.
4: Wisconsin converted just four 3rd-down conversions on 13 attempts today.
12:42: The time of possession disparity between the Badgers and Hawkeyes was 12 minutes and 42 seconds in favor of Iowa. They had several long, sustained drives, while Wisconsin had multiple short possessions that got the defense back on the field.
What’s next
Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) will be back home next week to host Rutgers (2-6, 1-4 Big Ten). The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 28-21 loss to Michigan.
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Looks like Wisconsin f football I remember under Alvarez and Chryst. They dont haveca qb who can beat you if they cant run the ball