Iowa’s win over Wisconsin didn’t go completely as planned, but that it made it through with a victory could ultimately characterize this team.
By Charlie Green
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MADISON, Wisconsin — Two contenders in the Big Ten West squared off on Saturday, producing what was far from a perfect game by either side.
Iowa narrowly edged No. 19 Wisconsin on a cold day in Camp Randall Stadium, escaping the border state with a 10-6 win.
“It wasn’t always pretty, it wasn’t always clean; that was really how the football game was,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We kind of anticipated it coming up here that it might be this type of football game.”
As Ferentz noted, it didn’t come easily or pretty. The passing game struggled immensely. Quarterback C.J. Beathard went 9-of-21 for 77 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He had another pick called back because of a personal foul in the second quarter.
Beathard also fumbled twice (losing one) and had a bad delay of game penalty early as the offense was driving in Badger territory, turning a third and 4 into a third and nine. That said, he and the Hawks stuck it out and moved to 5-0 on the season.
“You just have to stay focused … [assistant] coach Brian Ferentz was telling us in there, ‘This is a heavyweight fight,’ ” Beathard said. “It wasn’t clean on either side, but we got the win; the defense played great and stepped up.”
The Hawks were docked for 6 penalties totaling 54 yards. But they weren’t alone in their struggles. Wisconsin drew 8 penalties for 90 yards, turning the ball over four times.
Shifts in momentum popped up throughout the action. Iowa’s failed fourth-down attempt in the first quarter negated a solid drive. Desmond King’s 2 interceptions sent momentum back the other way. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave’s fumble within 5 yards of Iowa’s goal line destroyed the team’s best chance at taking the lead as time in the fourth quarter waned.
The Hawkeyes stuck with the run, and it worked. Jordan Canzeri finished with 125 yards in a pivotal performance. Iowa ran 40 times compared with 21 passes, possibly backing off from a monstrous Badger pass rush.
The team survived the performance of a lifetime from Wisconsin senior linebacker Joe Schobert, who finished with 3 sacks and forced both of Beathard’s fumbles.
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst ascribed the loss to missed opportunities on offense.
“Well, I think certainly the story line of the game, we didn’t make enough plays,” he said.
That’s a real credit to Iowa’s play on defense, which held the Badgers to 86 yards rushing.
The group was there to pick up the pieces every time the offense broke down. Defensive end Drew Ott had 2.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble. Linebacker Cole Fisher had a game-high 14 tackles. As a unit, the defense stopped the Badgers on fourth-and-2 from Iowa’s 16-yard line with under a minute left.
“It takes resiliency and 100 percent effort,” safety Jordan Lomax said. “There were times when we down in bad field position, but we had to make a stop, hold them, and get a turnover, which we did.”
For Lomax, the performance is indicative of what will be seen from this defense.
“So for us to be put in that situation, it just tells us a lot about the character our defense,” he said. “We’re not a ‘bend, don’t break defense,’ we’re going to go get it.”
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