NFL
By: Melo Williams
The Wisconsin Badgers (4-1) (2-0) football team will be hosting rival Iowa Hawkeyes (5-1) (2-1) at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin which has major Big Ten Championship implications and the Heartland Trophy on the line.
Wisconsin is riding a three-game winning streak after a 24-13 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last Saturday, while Iowa is coming off two straight conference wins.
This game between the Hawkeyes and Badgers features two of college football’s better defenses in the nation. The Hawkeyes rank 17th out of 130 FBS programs in scoring defense (16.3 PPG), while Wisconsin comes in at No. 26 (18.4).
The other main storyline is Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill will be facing the Wisconsin Badgers, the program he left after entering the transfer portal.
DEEP DIVE
Offense:
Wisconsin’s offense has been getting better each week despite the continuous slow starts each game so far.
The Wisconsin Badgers offense is averaging 31.4 points per game with 209.6 passing yards per game and 204 rushing yards per game while going 47.2% on third downs this year.
Iowa’s defense is giving up 16.3 points per game this year.
Badgers quarterback, Tanner Mordecai has thrown for 1,021 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions for Wisconsin this season.
Running back, Braelon Allen has rushed for 472 yards and seven touchdowns.
Wide receiver Will Pauling has caught 22 passes for 243 yards averaging 11.0 yards per catch.
This is the second game the Badgers will be without running back Chez Mellusi who is out for the year with a broken fibula. Mellusi was on a roll this season for the Badgers accumulating 307 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Now that he’s out, it has impacted the Badgers losing their rotational change-of-pace back.
Wisconsin got a huge contribution from backup running back Jackson Acker, who rushed for 65 yards on 13 carries vs. Rutgers.
I do think the Badgers game plan remains the same on offense vs Iowa. Put the ball in the hands of star running back Braelon Allen, who has shown he can carry the load in the past and wear down the Hawkeyes defense.
Keeping Iowa’s defense on the field for long periods will help Tanner Mordecai in the passing game. Mordecai should continue taking what the defense gives him but look for his shots downfield and continue minimizing mistakes protecting the ball.
Defense:
Wisconsin’s defense has been improving drastically each week. The Badgers are one of the best teams putting pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers.
Iowa’s offense is averaging 21.8 points per game with 129.8 passing yards per game and 119.3 rushing yards per game while going 26.9% on third-down attempts.
Wisconsin’s defense is allowing 18.4 points per game this year.
The Badgers are running a variation of the 3-3-5 defense, which initially was a 3-2-6 under Tressel over the first few weeks, with three safety looks being the norm.
Wisconsin changed its look to defend the run against Rutgers, removing that third safety to stack the box with an extra down lineman.
Iowa is a run-heavy offense so I’d expect Wisconsin to show the same looks and coverages with press-man coverage to the boundary side and off coverage to the field side.
As mentioned earlier, the Deacon Hill storyline. Hill came to Wisconsin as a three-star recruit, according to Rivals, however, his snap count was minimal which led Hill to enter the transfer portal and ultimately choosing Iowa this past offseason.
“We’re trying to get him back because he left and went to our rival,” said Jordan Turner. “We don’t like that over here in Wisconsin.”
Hawkeyes quarterback Deacon Hill has thrown for 274 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions for the Hawkeyes this year.
Iowa running back, Leshon Williams has rushed for 285 yards.
Wide receiver Erick All has caught 19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns.
I expect the Badgers’ run defense to step up and shut down the Hawkeyes’ running game, forcing Iowa into a lot of long third downs, where the defense will force 3 turnovers.
Badgers head coach Luke Fickell on the Hawkeyes and Badgers rivalry. “It’s really, really important because I truly believe to respect the rivalry, you’ve gotta do a lot of work,” Fickell said. “You’ve gotta know that you’re walking into something, the history behind it and the meaning behind it, and what’s gonna be a little different in those games.”
“I’m excited, obviously I’ve played Iowa a lot and coached against Iowa a lot, and I think every single game that I’ve ever coached in, maybe one that I played in that ended up being a complete battle as well, has been just that.”
PREDICTION:
Wisconsin Badgers wins 23-13
SERIES:
Saturday will be the 97th meeting between Iowa and Wisconsin in a series that began in 1894. Wisconsin leads 49-45-2, and Iowa is 19-29-1 all-time in games played in Madison.
The Hawkeyes have won two of the last three meetings against Wisconsin, winning 28-7 in 2020 and 24-10 in 2022. Both games were played in Iowa City. Iowa’s last victory in Madison came in 2015 winning, 10-6.
NOTES:
Junior tailback Braelon Allen needs 18 rushing yards to reach the 3,000-yard club for his career. He would be the 14th in UW history to hit that milestone, joining Ron Dayne (7,125), Jonathan Taylor (6,174), Montee Ball (5,140), Melvin Gordon (4,915), Anthony Davis (4,676), James White (4,015), P.J. Hill (3,942), Billy Marek (3,709), Brent Moss (3,428), Terrell Fletcher (3,414), John Clay (3,413), Alan Ameche (3,345) and Corey Clement (3,092).
Wisconsin vs. Iowa start time
Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Radio: FM-97.3 and AM-920 in Milwaukee and AM-1310 and FM-101.5 in Madison
Follow Melo on X and Instagram: @_MeloWilliams
