Wisconsin Badgers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Game Thread: Can Wisconsin run the ball?
· Yahoo Sports
The first key rivalry game is here for the Wisconsin Badgers, as they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday morning, with kickoff set for 11:00 a.m. on FOX.
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Wisconsin comes into this game after a 24-7 win over the No. 16 USC Trojans, marking their second ranked win of the season. That was good enough to get them ranked in the AP Top 25 at No. 25 for the first time since 2023, and Wisconsin has a big chance to climb here, facing the top team out of the rankings on Saturday.
The Badgers’ response was going to be after the team laid a dud the week before in a 17-7 loss to the UCLA Bruins, as the offense really struggled to move the ball in the air, while the defense couldn’t get off the field.
Last weekend, the defense was dominant, sacking Jayden Maiava five times, while forcing two turnovers, and making USC one-dimensional offensively. On the other side of the ball, Wisconsin fully committed to the run, putting the ball on the ground 43 times as they were able to score 24 points.
Now, we’re in for a low-scoring affair on Saturday morning. The total for the game has continued to drop from 39.5 points all the way down to 35.5, while the Badgers have also seen the spread trend in their favor. Wisconsin entered the week as 4.5-point underdogs. That was down to as low as 1.5 points, while it’s settled at 2.5 points ahead of kickoff.
Wisconsin has Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, and Minnesota left on its schedule. With a win on Saturday, it’s not hard to envision them making a run to end the season. But the Badgers will need to win the line of scrimmage, something they’ve really struggled with against Iowa over the last few games, leading to 37-0 and 42-10 blowout losses in the last two years.
The Badgers have a chance to snap a four-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes on Saturday. Can they get it done? Join us as our game thread is officially open!