Home sweet homecoming. After starting the season 1-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play, the Wisconsin Badgers have now rattled off four straight victories and secured their biggest win to date, toppling the No. 9 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in a dominating 27-7 victory.
In a battle between two stout defenses, the Badgers defense proved to be superior, forcing 3 turnovers on the day. Iowa did not have a first down on offense until 1:15 left in the second quarter.
Iowa fumbled twice within 10 yards of their own endzone in the second quarter on back-to-back possessions. The Badgers were only able to score off one of those turnovers, but still took a commanding 20-0 lead into halftime.
After trading a few punts to start the second half, Iowa was given a short field and started at the Badgers 40 yard line and were able to scratch across some points and finally get on the board against a Badgers defense that had been giving the Hawkeyes' offensive line fits all day.
The Badgers offense was able to take an 11 play, 60 yard drive into the 4th quarter and punch it into the endzone on a Graham Mertz QB Sneak from the 1 yard line, giving Wisconsin a 27-7 lead.
Wisconsin's defense had another banner day, holding Iowa's offense to just 7 points on the day. They allowed just 24 rushing yards on 30 attempts. That's 0.8 yards per rush for Iowa.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin's offense gained 166 yards on the ground. The leading rusher was Braelon Allen, carrying the ball 20 times for 104 yards. Graham Mertz completed 11 of 22 pass attempts for 104 yards, a TD pass, and two TD rushes. Danny Davis led the receiver group with 5 receptions for 59 yards.
Wisconsin moves to 2nd place in the Big Ten West conference standings, behind rival Minnesota. Next week, the Badgers are on the road to take on Rutgers.