The Wisconsin Badgers came in to Kinnick Stadium riding a two-game losing streak. It left the home of the Iowa Hawkeyes hoisting the Heartland Trophy thanks to a stifling defense in a 17-9 victory.
It felt like this was a game Wisconsin should’ve dominated, and it did that everywhere but on the scoreboard. UW put up 423 yards of total offense on the Hawkeyes, while the defense did its part in holding Iowa to just 236 total yards on the day.
The Badgers also had the ball for a whopping 37:02 to Iowa’s 22:58 of the game.
None of that mattered much though, as the Badgers well-documented offensive struggles in the red zone continued.
Wisconsin got in the red zone five times on the day, but converted just two of those chances in to touchdowns. Luckily, the second of those touchdowns came at the exact right time for the Badgers.
Following a struggle in the opening drive of the second half, quarterback Alex Hornibrook found fellow freshman wide receiver Quintez Cephus open deep and it ended in a 57-yard completion down to the Iowa 5-yard line.
Two plays later and Corey Clement, who had another 100-yard day on the ground, punched it in from one yard out. It was redemption for the senior, who fumbled the ball on the goal line earlier in the game.
Clement would finish the day with 35 carries for 134 yards and the touchdown.
The story of this game was red zone opportunities for both teams. For Wisconsin, it was three conversions on five drives inside the opposing 20-yard line. For UW’s defense it was allowing Iowa just three opportunities inside its 20-yard line all game long.
UW’s offense came in to the game ranked 92nd in red zone touchdown percentage, and in the first half the team converted on just one of its three opportunities inside the Iowa 20-yard line.
After marching down the field on the first drive of the game, Wisconsin stalled out at the Iowa 14-yard line. UW would have to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt, only to see Andrew Endicott slice it wide right.
Later in the half, the Badgers marched down to the shadow of Iowa’s end zone, only to see running back Corey Clement fumble in to the end zone while trying to extend for a touchdown of his own.
Wisconsin got lucky on both possessions, as Iowa came away with just three points on the ensuing possessions off those two missed opportunities.
Iowa took the ball right down the field following Clement’s fumble and nailed a 47-yard field goal to make it 7-6 to end the first half.
Wisconsin racked up 246 yards of total offense, including 85 yards on the ground in the first half, while holding Iowa to 137 yards including just 69 yards through the air.
The Badgers also threw a few wrinkles in to the game plan in the first half, with senior quarterback Bart Houston purposefully coming on for one drive. It was a successful move for Chryst and Co. as Houston led an 8-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Houston to Troy Fumagalli.
Houston wouldn’t see the field again in the first half, despite going 3 of 3 in the series he did see.
For his part, Hornibrook went 7 of 12 for 123 yards in the half as well.
Hornibrook would continue to take the majority of the snaps in the second half, with Houston getting one series of play.
The redshirt freshman would finish the day 11 of 19 for 197 yards, while Houston was able to make the easy throws and not hit anything down the field in his two drives at the wheel of UW’s offense.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin made Iowa look real bad at times and largely took control of this game with its play on third down situations on the defensive side of the ball.
Iowa converted on just 2 of 13 third down attempts in the game and stalled too many drives out before they ever got going.
Even though Vince Biegel was back, an injury to T.J. Watt meant an increased role for the red-hot Garret Dooley. He didn’t disappoint, putting up seven tackles, 0.5 a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Twice Dooley was part of crucial third down stops for the Badgers in the second half, first stuffing LeShaun Daniels for a 3-yard loss on 3rd and 1 late in the third quarter and then teaming up with Watt for a sack on 3rd and 8 for a 5-yard loss.
Those types of plays were crucial throughout the second half, and Wisconsin combined for 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss on the day.
Wisconsin’s defense allowed just 99 yards of total offense in the second half.
The victory puts the Badgers back on strong footing in the Big Ten West division race as well, and faces a likely top 10 matchup next week as Nebraska comes to Camp Randall for a do-or-die game.
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