Iowa football Game Report: No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers 17, Hawkeyes 9

Notes, grades and anecdotes from Iowa's 17-9 loss to No. 10 Wisconsin on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Play of the Game

The Set Up – Pick your favorite 'dude hanging from a ledge' movie scene. Let's go with the end of 'Blade Runner,' when Harrison Ford is hanging on with two fingers on a tall building in the rain. That was the Hawkeyes for much of the second half against the Badgers.

In 'Blade Runner,' a menacing replicant stood over Ford's character and threatened to watch him fall into the abyss. For the Iowa defense, it was the Iowa offense stepping on its fingers while wearing cleats.

Anyway, trailing 14-6 with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter, the Hawkeyes just finished an 11-play, 60-yard drive that set up a 38-yard field goal attempt for freshman Keith Duncan. He missed. Iowa's defense trotted onto the field and it, once again, was the Hawkeyes' two fingers clinging to the ledge.

On a third-and-1, the fingers finally broke.

What Happened – On third-and-1 from Wisconsin's 26, running back Corey Clement took a handoff for what looked to be an iso play, following the fullback up the middle and pushing for a first down. The Badgers only needed a yard. Clement didn't like what he saw and so he bounced the play outside, a definite tendency of his.

This looked like a bad decision. Iowa middle linebacker Josey Jewell was right there. He's been Iowa's most reliable tackler for the last two seasons.

This was good on good and Clement won it. Jewell lost outside leverage and tried to tackle the 227-pounder up high. Clement pushed him to the ground and dashed 34 yards to Iowa's 37.

As painful as it was, Jewell owned it.

'There were a lot of missed tackles out there today, me included,' said Jewell, who led Iowa with 16 tackles to go along with a forced fumble, pass breakup and QB hurry. 'We really have to keep on working on that.'

The Result – The drive ended with Andrew Endicott's 37-yard field goal and that gave the Badgers a 17-6 lead with 1:24 left in the game.

Iowa's offense was going to have to generate two scores in that amount of time. Iowa's offense against a sterling Wisconsin defense was a turtle stuck on its back, unable to flip over.

So much pressure funneled toward Iowa's defense all day, it had too many chunks out of the dam not to spring at least one leak. This was the play that officially ended things, but Iowa's offense is a null set right now. Whether it's injuries, lack of explosion, a passing game that consistently crumbles, the offense keeps setting fire to everything Iowa and it's just not any fun to watch.

-Marc Morehouse

Report Card

D – At least the quality of team that's beating Iowa in Kinnick keeps improving.

-Mike Hlas

D – If you remain watching that offense, you're going to have to go back on your meds.

-Marc Morehouse

D- – At a certain point, the 'small details' the players keep talking about aren't small anymore.

-Jeremiah Davis

Tailgate Tour

The Big Ten Network staged a 90-minute pregame show outside Kinnick Stadium, and a crowd of fans gathered near it.

But it was just one more thing in the hubbub of the bigger-picture tailgate, and no one could hear BTN panelists Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Anthony Adams while the Iowa marching band was playing alongside them.

Someone in the cluster of people near the BTN set held a sign that said '3 letters that say it all: ANF + BTN.'

That's actually six letters.

-Mike Hlas

Old home week

It was old home week in the Iowa press box. Bob Elliott and Dan McCarney, Iowa City natives who were Hawkeye teammates in the 1970s, watched the game from a press box suite

Elliott, formerly Iowa's defensive coordinator, has been on Notre Dame's coaching staff since 2012. McCarney is a former Iowa assistant coach and the former head coach at Iowa State and North Texas. Elliott was on McCarney's coaching staff at Iowa State.

Elliott is the son of former Iowa athletic director Bump Elliott.

-Mike Hlas

By the numbers

236

– Iowa's total yards; the second lowest total this season.

14:04

– Time of possession advantage for Wisconsin.

57

– Longest play from scrimmage for Wisconsin

21

– Longest play from scrimmage for Iowa.

6

– Streak of trophy game wins for Iowa before it was broken Saturday.

6

– Straight wins by the road team in the Iowa-Wisconsin rivalry.

3

– Straight losses at Kinnick Stadium for Iowa.

3

– Plays of more than 10 yards for Iowa.

2

– Plays of more than 50 yards for Wisconsin

2

– Missed field goals for Wisconsin.

– Penalties called against Wisconsin.

-Jeremiah Davis

Injury report

Headed into this week, three members of Iowa's offense were up in the air in terms of being able to play on Saturday against No. 10 Wisconsin, and two of the three managed to give it a go against the Badgers.

At the beginning of the week, offensive lineman Cole Croston was not listed on the depth chart, dealing with an ankle injury, while fellow lineman Boone Myers was listed while also dealing with an ankle injury. Croston was able to start and play the whole way at right tackle, while Myers did not play against Wisconsin.

Tight end George Kittle, who Ferentz was doubtful about on Tuesday, was able to start Saturday and play in the first half, but did not in the second.

The only noteworthy injury during the game was to defensive lineman Natan Bazata, who injured his right ankle defending a quarterback sneak. He missed a few series before making his return to the field, something Ferentz applauded after the game. The upcoming bye week, Ferentz said, is a chance for the original three injured players to get back to full strength.

'Well, I hope so. Two of them played today. They don't have broken legs, that's the good news,' Ferentz said. 'I'm optimistic. I can't guarantee it, but all those guys should be feeling a little bit better as we move forward. Nathan (Bazata) got a sprained ankle today on the quarterback sneak. We can't stop a quarterback sneak without getting an injury. It's almost comical in some ways. Injuries are weird that way. You just never know.

'Can't say enough about him gutting it up and going back out there. Same thing with George, same thing with Cole.'

-Jeremiah Davis

Up next

The Hawkeyes have a bye week next week. Iowa (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) returns to action Nov. 5 at Penn State. The Nittany Lions will have faced Ohio State and Purdue by the time the Hawkeyes come to Happy Valley for the cross-division showdown at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN.