UW rebounds from loss with big victory
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Wisconsin fans got to revel in the joys of college football as the Badgers rallied for a 28-17 victory over Iowa Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium.
The Badgers (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) opened Big Ten play with a critical victory, one that came one week after an ugly threepoint home loss to BYU.
“I think we needed the loss more than we needed the win,” said junior wide receiver A.J. Taylor, whose 17-yard touchdown catch with 57 seconds left gave UW the lead for good. “That loss, I think that really brought us together. It really showed us that nothing is handed (to you).
“We’re going to have to keep talking about working hard. We’re going to have to compete. We’re going to have to play this game hard.
“I’d say that is what helped us win this game.”
As a result, on Sunday they moved up three spots to No. 13 in the Amway coaches poll and three spots to No. 15 in The Associated Press poll.
Here is our Top-10 list from Game 4:
Road warriors
Unless you’ve been to Kinnick Stadium as an unwelcome visitor you can’t appreciate the degree of difficulty opponents face.
An unbeaten Michigan team fell there in 2016. Penn State, which went on to defeat UW in the ’16 Big Ten title game, scored on the final play against the Hawkeyes to escape defeat. Ohio State discovered last season you can be embarrassed there if you aren’t sharp.
Neither team was perfect Saturday night but for UW to come to Kinnick Stadium, one week after the loss to BYU, and win for the fifth consecutive time there was impressive.
A triad of success
One week after UW got below-average performances from its offense, defense and special teams, all three phases made critical plays against Iowa.
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook was outstanding, particularly on UW’s 88yard touchdown drive, UW got effective rushing efforts from several players, the defense gave up big plays but battled back to come up with several key stops and UW’s punt-coverage unit recovered two fumbles, with one leading to a 10yard touchdown drive.
Go Jumbo, stay Jumbo
The ankle injury that left senior tight end Zander Neuville questionable for the game and kept him on the sideline for most of the night led UW’s staff to turn reserve linemen Jason Erdmann and Logan Bruss into jumbo tight ends.
With that duo on the field, UW had seven offensive linemen and was able to run the ball when it needed against a solid front seven.
Neuville should be closer to being fully healthy after the bye but the staff should stick with that package the rest of the way. It causes schematic issues for opponents and UW can still throw the ball if other teams sell out against the run.
Meet Mr. Versatile
Hopefully, fans will appreciate the work Erdmann put in during the week to prepare for Iowa.
He had to be ready to line up as a tight end in the Jumbo package and also know the assignments at left guard and center because he was the No. 1 backup at both spots.
That isn’t easy and Erdmann finished at center after Tyler Biadasz was injured in the third quarter.
Meet Mr. Versatile II
Consider Garrett Groshek’s path to UW.
The former dual-threat quarterback from Amherst High School joined the program as a walk-on and was eventually moved to tailback. He has earned a role as a third-down back because of his ability to run, catch and block. He can also work in the Wildcat package.
Dude is just a football player.
Jim Leonhard’s hair color
UW’s second-year defensive coordinator is going to age this season as he continues to work with his young cornerbacks Faion Hicks, Caesar Williams, Madison Cone and Deron Harrell.
The growing pains Saturday were obvious and it should make fans appreciate the work last season of Nick Nelson, Derrick Tindal and Dontye CarriereWilliams, who left the program before the opener.
UW exploits mismatch
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said after the loss that having linebacker Nick Niemann cover a wide receiver is part of the team’s normal scheme.
That is fine. But A.J. Taylor was salivating when he saw Niemann in coverage on first down from the Iowa 17. To no one’s surprise, Niemann couldn’t stay with Taylor, who caught the winning touchdown pass.
UW vs. Iowa rocks
UW fans have enjoyed some lopsided victories over Nebraska and they’ll never grow tired of seeing the Badgers deny Minnesota Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
Yet the battles against Iowa over the years have been well-played, entertaining and meaningful.
Best divisional game on UW’s schedule year after year.
Finishing the deal
Tight end Kyle Penniston isn’t known as a dominating blocker. Yet the redshirt junior helped clear a path to the end zone on Alec Ingold’s 33-yard touchdown run by sealing defensive end Parker Hesse inside long enough to allow UW’s fullback to get around the corner.
Lotti on the rise
Junior punter Anthony Lotti is quietly off to his best season. He has hit a few Aussie-style punts a bit shorter than he usually does but he placed five of seven punts against Iowa inside the 20.