Iowa Hawkeyes show they are real deal in Big Ten with win over No. 19 Wisconsin

By Michael Collins | Oct 3, 2015

The Iowa Hawkeyes are 5-0, and that means the Big Ten is in the midst of some interesting upcoming games to decide the participants in the conference championship game.

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With four wins over Illinois State, Iowa State, Pitt and North Texas, many wondered if this tough as nails Iowa team was for real, or if the start of conference play would expose some weaknesses. When you open against a team who has been as good as the No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers in recent years, that’s a legitimate test.

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It wasn’t pretty, but with the 10-6 victory over the Badgers, the Hawkeyes served notice that they are a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten West, and head coach Kirk Ferentz wasn’t quite ready to be shoved on his way yet.

The Hawkeyes defense, who had only given up 17.8 points per game coming into today, really put on a show, forcing four turnovers and keeping the Badgers out of the endzone, while keeping their streak of zero rushing touchdowns allowed on the season going strong.

Star of the day for the Hawkeyes was defensive back Desmond King, who picked off Joel Stave twice.

Offensively, it was a different story. The inefficiency of the Hawkeyes passing game combined with Wisconsin’s strong defense, kept the Iowa scoring to a minimum, but 10 points was enough to secure this huge conference win and the Heartland Trophy, which had resided in Wisconsin for the last three years.

Wisconsin had every opportunity to win this game, but quarterback Joel Stave couldn’t get the job done. The 5th year senior went 21 of 38 for 234 yards, and two crucial interceptions. Iowa’s defense is stout, but Stave missed several opportunities for putting this game away, including a 4th and 2 pass with just 40 seconds remaining that was poorly thrown and missed.

Iowa now sits atop the Big Ten West, along with the 5-0, No. 16 Northwestern Wildcats, who blanked the Minnesota Golden Gophers 27-0 in Evanston, Il. today.

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