No. 24 Iowa 30, Wisconsin 0 | Instant takeaways from humbling loss
· Yahoo Sports
IOWA CITY – Wisconsin arrived at Kinnick Stadium with its first ranking in three years and a level of confidence that came from victories in five of its last six season games.
It didn’t matter. Iowa still smacked them around.
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The Hawkeyes remained undefeated against Luke Fickell’s Badgers, scoring a 30-0 victory on Oct. 31.
The loss dropped Fickell to 0-4 against Iowa during his tenure. This one came after a 42-10 loss in 2024 and a 37-0 loss last season.
This is the Badgers' longest losing streak to Iowa since a 10-game run from 1986-96.
Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) entered play ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. Iowa owned the No. 24 ranking in the USA Today US LBM coaches poll.
One week after a dominating defensive performance against USC, Wisconsin strugglled to stop the Iowa pass game, couldn't get off the field on third down and allowed 362 total yards, the second-highest for Iowa against the Big Ten this season.
The Badgers, meanwhile, were held to 222 yards, their third-lowest total of the season.
Here are takeaways from the game.
Colton Joseph suffers repercussions for poor play
The Badgers coaches saw enough of senior QB Colton Joseph by late in the third quarter and replaced him with freshman Ryan Hopkins.
Joseph finished with 90 yards passing and an 89.7 pass efficiency rating. He was held to 6 yards rushing in seven carries and fumbled late in the first half to set up an Iowa field goal with 28 seconds left.
With the performance, Joseph has completed 55.6% of his passes (104 of 187) for 1,346 yards.
Hopkins completed eight of 13 passes for 93 yards.
Fourth-down call perplexing
Wisconsin’s best drive of the afternoon came on its third possession. The Badgers moved 86 yards in 12 plays, converting two third downs along the way, taking 6 minutes 51 seconds off the clock.
They almost reached the end zone on a third and 3 play, but Joseph was tripped up one yard from the end zone.
Wisconsin was down, 10-0, at the time. A field goal would have got the team on the board, but it wasn't a bad decision to go for the touchdown on fourth and 1. The play call, however, left a lot to desired.
Rather than run right at the Hawkeyes defense, UW tried a jet sweep to Abu Sama to the short side of the field. He was hit instantly, dropped for a 1-yard loss by Jayden Montgomery.
Adding insult to the injury was the seven-play, 98-yard touchdown drove by Iowa that followed. Hank Brown’s 2-yard pass to Tony Diaz gave the Hawkeyes a 17-0 edge with 1:30 left in the half.
The Badgers were on their heels all afternoon, but this momentum swing embodied their struggles.
Pass defense struggles
Put Hank Brown in the Ty Dieffenbach book of struggles for the Badgers defense.
This marked the second time UW was carved up by a somewhat unheralded quarterback. Dieffenbach, UCLA's quarterback, threw for for 264 yards against Wisconsin in his first start for the Bruins.
Brown, a 61.4% passer, hit 16 of 18 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. His pass efficiency rating was 214.2 compared to the 127 rating entering the game.
The Hawkeyes passing game was a big-play outfit. producing two 45-yard gains plus a 23-yard play.
Brown finished the day with 222 passing yards on 20-for-24 passing. He had two touchdowns.
Third down woes strike UW again
A key component in Iowa’s success in the first half was its ability to extend drives.
The Hawkeyes converted on five of their first six opportunities, plays that kept alive a 67-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard field goal by Caden Buhr and a 75-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brown to tight end DJ Vonnahme.
After the two drives, Iowa owned a 142-0 edge in total yards. The Badgers weren’t done yet, but the seeds of defeat were planted due to their inability to get a key stop early.
UW continues to search for right mix on offensive line
This marked the fourth straight game the Badgers changed their starting offensive line due to injury and/or ineffective play.
This time fifth-year player Austin Kawecki, the starting center before he suffered a broken hand against Michigan State, started at right guard.
There were changes in game, too. Stylz Blackmon was replaced by junior Ryan Cory at center, though Blackmon returned late in the third quarter.
In the third quarter junior Colin Cubberly was replaced briefly by sophomore Blake Cherry at left guard. Cherry moved to right guard after Cubberly's return. PJ Wilkins also got a shot at right guard spot.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: No. 24 Iowa 30, Wisconsin 0 | Instant takeaways from humbling loss