The Iowa Hawkeyes’ Big Ten slate churns on with a matchup on the road out of their bye. The Hawkeyes have a trophy game on the line this weekend as they head to take on the Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin is 2-3 on the year and has struggled mightily against Power Four teams, but would love nothing more than to right the ship and get rid of last year’s 42-10 demons by knocking off the Iowa Hawkeyes, a team that seems to be growing more and more confident by the day.
Kickoff is 6 p.m. CT and will be airing on FS1. Pete Fiutak of College Football News dug into the matchup and offered a prediction on how each could win:
Why Wisconsin beats Iowa
Can Wisconsin drag Iowa into an old-school, boring slugfest? That is what they will have to do. They need to stop Iowa’s ground game from chewing up yards and make the Hawkeyes win this thing through the air.
It’s not like Iowa is The Greatest Show on Turf.The team has four touchdown passes on the year. One came against Albany in the opener, three against UMass, and that’s it.
For all of the issues and all of the problems, Wisconsin’s run defense is still fantastic. It hadn’t allowed more than 72 yards on the year, and then it gave up 175 against Michigan, with a bulk coming early. The run defense stiffened after the first quarter.
And yes, the offense isn’t clicking. But it wasn’t working against Alabama, Michigan, and the ground game didn’t produce against Maryland – no real shame there. The O is overdue. – Fiutak, CFN
Why Iowa beats Wisconsin
Iowa has more juice on offense than they have in years past. They don’t have to hold teams under 10 points to get a win. Although against a stagnant Wisconsin offense, they may be able to use that recipe this weekend with Phil Parker’s unit hitting its stride.
Again, Wisconsin doesn’t score, and now, Iowa does.It took a few games for the Hawkeyes to come out of their shell, but Mark Gronowski – who’s expected to play after getting banged up against Indiana – is one of the Big Ten’s best quarterbacks with the pop to do even more for the attack.
Iowa kept it close to the vest in the loss to Iowa State, and turned it over twice against Iowa, but 13 points – it was 15, but was gifted the last two on that safety; bless your heart to all those on the wrong side of that – might just get it done.The Badgers can’t run, aren’t setting themselves up for easy third down chances, and they’re simply not able to get that O going. – Fiutak, CFN
Who Will Win
This is a classic game that the Kirk Ferentz game plan can be dusted off and used for. Iowa should be able to suffocate Wisconsin for 60 minutes with defense, a few big special teams plays, and just enough offense to get the job done in classic Iowa fashion.
Hope for the shootout, prepare for the struggle.It’s Iowa. It won’t take any unnecessary chances, will rely on the defense and special teams, and it’ll be more than happy to keep the tempo low and play the long game.Both defenses will look great, but the Iowa offense will perk up when it’s past the Badger 40. – Fiutak, CFN
Prediction
Prediction: Iowa 23, Wisconsin 13
Fiutak likes Iowa in a low-scoring, defensive affair; a type of game that the Hawkeyes are comfortable playing in, and even welcome. The Hawkeyes won’t have to win this thing simply by outscoring Wisconsin. It is going to look like Iowa in previous years, trusting its defense, playing field position, and doing it the ugly way if it has to.
Iowa vs. Wisconsin Takeaways
Not all wins have to be pretty, high-scoring, or flashy. Wins are wins as long as you score one more point than your opponent. They all count the same. That is exactly what this game feels like as we approach kickoff.
Iowa is playing the health of Mark Gronowski very tight, not giving too much information on his status, talking about the defense more than anything, and going about their business in the Kirk Ferentz way.
The Hawkeyes are the better, more talented team on paper. They just can’t beat themselves in this one or be the reason Wisconsin hangs around.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: College Football News predicts Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Wisconsin in Week 7 matchup
Reporting by Riley Donald, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
