Take me down to Iowa City, where they drink Busch Light and the offense ain’t pretty. This will be a Battle of Backup QBs for the prestigious Heartland Trophy. Avert your eyes.
Looking Back
Penn State – 28
Wisconsin – 13
Wisconsin was winning 10-7 at halftime. That feels like an eternity ago at this point.
Wisconsin has played 3 “good” football teams at this point. Penn State, USC, and Alabama. All 3 were embarrassing. Alabama smoked the Badgers. And Wisco blew halftime leads against USC and Penn State. I guess that’s a sign of progress, but blowing leads makes me think this is a coaching issue.
Wisconsin could not run the ball in the 2nd half, and that’s concerning. Is it on the OL? The play calling? Walker? Honestly, I have no idea. That’s something Longo and Fickell need to evaluate. If Wisconsin can’t run the ball, then getting even 1 more win will be difficult.
I will say that the environment in Camp Randall was amazing. The students were a bit late (blame the university, not the kids), but the crowd was loud and standing for most of the game. 9/10, please have more night games in Madison.
Looking forward
Game Preview: Iowa
Wisconsin at Iowa
Where: Kinnick Stadium
When: Saturday, 11/2 – 6:30 PM (CST)
How to Watch: NBC
Spread: Iowa -3.5
O/U: 41.5
Iowa Hawkeyes Record: 5-3
Best Wins: 40-16 over Washington and 31-14 at Minnesota
Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Nebraska are all 5-3. Who is the best of the old B1G West? It very well could be the winner in Iowa City this Saturday.
Iowa Beats Bad Teams:
Iowa is 5-3 and it looks a lot like Wisconsin’s 5-3. The wins are against bad teams, and anyone with a pulse they’ve played has taken them down.
I guess Washington is kinda good… But Michigan State is kinda bad and they beat Iowa 32-20 in East Lansing.
Run Da Bawl:
For Wisconsin, that’s an order. For Iowa, it’s an inevitability.
Brayden Locke is mid on good days and terrible on the rest. Just give the ball to Tawee Walker every play and see if that works. Iowa has a fantastic defense, so points might be hard to come by. I’m not against settling for a lot of field goals if that’s what it takes to win.
Cade McNamara was the starting QB for Iowa this season. *Was*. He is currently dealing with a concussion and Iowa will need to turn to their backup option: Brendan Sullivan. He played 2 weeks ago against Northwestern and did alright, but I have doubts that any backup QB at Iowa is lighting up quality B1G defenses.
Instead, if Iowa is going to beat Wisconsin, it will be because Kaleb Johnson ran all over the Badgers. Kaleb is the leading rusher in the B1G and a sure-fire NFL draft pick next Spring. Oh, and I’ve done nothing but complain about Wisco’s D-Line this season. Iowa’s best player vs Wisconsin’s worst position group, that’s a matchup Iowa absolutely will exploit.
Prediction:
After Penn State, I have lost a lot of faith in this team. Locke didn’t earn the starting job in August for a reason. Longo gotta go. And the defense was a massive let down in the 2nd half.
Iowa loses to good teams and beats bad teams. Wisconsin is a bad team in 2024.
Wisconsin 10
Iowa 23
#BuckyByaMillion
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This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene