The University of Wisconsin football team (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) continued their on-again, off-again form, this time losing 42-10 away against the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2) Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Badgers were coming off of a disappointing fourth-quarter performance against No. 3 Penn State, in which they gave up 14 unanswered points in a 28-13 loss, but looked to bounce back against an Iowa team whose offense has scored an unprecedented number of points this season.
First Half
The first quarter flew by largely thanks to a 6:29 Badger drive that ended in a 38-yard Nathanial Vakos field goal, giving the Badgers a 3-0 lead. The kicking wasn’t perfect, though, as Iowa drove down the field and missed an ambitious 56-yard field goal attempt.
The offensive struggles began late in the first quarter as Badger quarterback Braedyn Locke threw an interception at midfield, setting the Hawkeyes up for a quick seven points. The next four offensive drives for the Badgers all resulted in punts, and the Hawkeye’s star running back Kaleb Johnson rushed the ball 16 yards for Iowa’s second touchdown, bringing the game to 14-3 by halftime.
Second Half
Things went from bad to worse in the second half for the Badgers. The Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on each of their four drives of the second half, quickly taking the game out of hand on the way to a 32-point win.
Locke threw a second interception halfway through the third quarter, but he was able to put two great passes on back-to-back plays later on in the third quarter, finding receiver Vinny Anthony II on 33 and 15-yard passes respectively. His good passing play led to a 14-yard passing touchdown to receiver C.J. Williams on a risky fourth-and-4 play.
Postgame
Locke struggled through the air on Saturday, completing 15 of his 29 passing attempts for 137 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Running backs Darrion Dupree and Tawee Walker both rushed for 52 yards on seven and 16 carries respectively.
On the other side of the ball, linebackers Christian Alliegro and Jake Chaney led the team in tackles, with Alliegro getting 16 tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss and Chaney making 10 tackles.
The Hawkeyes dominated the game on the ground, as they rushed for 330 yards, their most in a game this season. Quarterback Brendan Sullivan only attempted 10 passes during the game, completing seven of them for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Looking ahead, the Badgers only have three games remaining before a potential bowl appearance. Following a bye week this week, the Badgers host the undefeated, No. 1 Oregon Ducks (9-0), led by star quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
The Badgers then travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-4, 2-4) on Nov. 23 before returning to Camp Randall on Nov. 29 to end the season with a border battle against the Minnesota Gophers (6-3, 4-2).