Iowa wins third-straight over Wisconsin to become bowl eligible

IOWA CITY, Ia. — The Hawkeyes put on a show at home in font of a sold out crowd Saturday night, and completely embarrassed their rival during the process.

Iowa’s 42-10 win over Wisconsin was the largest margin of defeat in the series at Kinnick Stadium since 1968. Now the Hawkeyes have won three-straight over the Badgers for the first time since 2003-05, and four of the last five overall.

Most importantly, Iowa is now bowl eligible for 12 consecutive years under Kirk Ferentz, and he couldn’t be more proud of his players for putting together a dominating performance.

“Yeah, I didn’t see this coming tonight, sometimes that just happens where things start clicking a little bit,” Ferentz said. “Just got to give our guys credit because they really came ready to go.”

The Blackout crowd set the tone from the start, and the players came with the intensity. Wisconsin (5-4) drew first blood after Nathanial Vakos nailed a 38-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, and the rest was history. Although the Hawkeyes went scoreless in the first quarter, they responded with 28 unanswered points.

Quarterback Brendan Sullivan put together a promising performance in his first career start with Iowa. He used his mobility to extend plays, and added another dimension to the offense. Sullivan led the Hawkeyes on two touchdown drives in the first half, including one that went for 10 plays and 80 yards.

Offensive Coordinator Tim Lester used bruising running back Kaleb Johnson as a battering ram, and he steamrolled Wisconsin’s defense with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown in the first half. The Hawkeyes’ offensive line mauled the opposition at the point of attack, and dominated the trenches, which Ferentz thought was impressive.

“I think they’re gaining confidence, they’re growing, and we certainly came into the season feeling like we were a little bit closer to where we want to be,” he said. “They’re making progress, perimeter blocking too, to get the run game going, it makes a big difference.”

Iowa (6-3) took a 14-3 lead into halftime, but came out and completely dominated the second half. Johnson looked stronger with every carry, and rushed for two additional touchdowns. The Badgers didn’t have no answers for Johnson defensively, and his teammates Kamari Moulton and Jaziun Patterson even got in on the action.

Sullivan was in full command of the offense, and kept Wisconsin’s defense at bay with his dual-threat capabilities. With the rushing attack doing damage, Lester was able to dial up some play-action. Sullivan connected with wideout Jacob Gill for a seven-yard touchdown.

The signal-caller also had a 19-yard run that should’ve been a touchdown, but the officials ruled him down at the one-yard line. Sullivan led Iowa’s offense on four touchdown drives in the second half, and clearly established himself as the top quarterback on the roster. Ferentz finds Sullivan’s outing encouraging, but understands that he’s still a work in progress.

“I thought he (Sullivan) played well, was in a hurry a couple of times, maybe if he slowed down some things would have been a little better for him,” the 69-year old coach said. “That’s lack of playing time, lack of being out there, he practiced well all week long, and I thought he did a really nice job, so I’m pleased for him.”

Iowa’s defense made a statement too. The Badgers were scoreless on offense in the second and third quarter, and didn’t even find the endzone until early in the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes made life uncomfortable for quarterback Braedyn Locke in the pocket, and completely shut down Wisconsin’s rushing attack. Locke was also picked off by linebacker Nick Jackson and defensive back Deshaun Lee.

Once the smoke cleared, Iowa led Wisconsin in total offense, plays, first downs, third down efficiency and time of possession. Not to mention the 42 points the Hawkeyes scored, was the most by them in Big Ten play this fall. It was also the third time this season that Iowa has scored 40 or more points in conference play.

Sullivan completed seven of his 10 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. His longest completion of the evening went for 52 yards to tight end Zach Ortwerth. He also added 58 yards on the ground and a score. Johnson finished with a game-high, 135 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It was the seventh time this season Johnson eclipsed the century mark in rushing.

Patterson and Moulton took care of business in the backfield too, and combined for 130 yards on the ground. Ortwerth caught three passes for a game-high, 66 yards, and Gill had Iowa’s only receiving touchdown of the contest.

Linebacker Jay Higgins racked up a game-high, 10 tackles. Jackson added eight stops, and defensive lineman Yahya Black tallied Iowa’s only sack of the night. Wisconsin finished with a season-low, 261 yards of total offense. On top of that, the Badgers committed eight penalties.

Keeping the brass bull in Iowa City for a third-straight year is an impressive feat, and Ferentz feels his team has much more to accomplish as they navigate through their final three games. He’s going to enjoy this blowout over a bitter rival, but the 24-hour rule is going to be in effect, and Iowa will be operating on a short week, with a road matchup with UCLA looming on Friday. After all, the Bruins are much improved, and have won their last two games.

“We’ll have a big challenge getting ready for next week, but we’ll enjoy this one tonight.”