Halftime Thoughts: Iowa 10, Wisconsin 3

It's just a one-score difference. But the mood in Madison is indigo.

After having relative success moving the ball via pass for the first 1.5 quarters, turnovers wounded Wisconsin deeply.

A Joel Stave interception, and a Stave lost fumble after Drew Ott stripped him of the ball, and Iowa had 10 points on a silver platter for a 10-3 lead.

Wisconsin had a 131-71 edge in yardage with 11:43 left in the half, but by halftime it was Iowa, 152-143.

More telling was this: Iowa had 99 rushing yards against a defense that allowed an average of 82 per game. Wisconsin, meanwhile, had just 44 yards on the ground.

The Badgers average 188 rushing yards, but had just 40 in their opener against Alabama. The next three games were against Miami (Ohio), Troy and Hawaii. Iowa's defense is not Miami's, Troy's, or Hawaii's

Is Iowa's Jordan Canzeri a 30-carry guy?

This week, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz seemed unfazed by the prospect of 192-pound Canzeri carrying a big load if necessary.

Well, the senior had 15 rushes for 79 yards in the first-half and easily was the Hawkeyes' offensive star of the half.

Stave had seven completions for 10 yards or more

with 5:30 left in the first half. That wasn't really to be expected.

But then Stave threw a rotten pass beyond his ace receiver, Alex Erickson. Iowa's Desmond King had the easiest of his four interceptions this year, and returned it to the Iowa 31 with 5:14 remaining.

Five plays later, Iowa led 7-3. And this game felt different.

Iowa's Matt VandeBerg is good

. His second and third catches Saturday were gems, plays of 20 and 21 yards that couldn't have been defended any better.

C.J. Beathard, who had a bad misfire of open Jerminic Smith in the end zone with under seven minutes left in the half, threw beauties on the two aforementioned passes to VandeBerg.

Beathard got off the hook for a bad interception of his own. He had time to throw, but then delivered a short toss that Badger linebacker T.J. Edwards stepped in front of for a pick in Iowa territory.

But fellow UW linebacker Jesse Hayes got called for a personal foul penalty, hands in the face of Beathard. I didn't see it from my press box perch, so I asked Tweeps if it was a deserved penalty. Most said no. Some said it was iffy.

It was a heck of a break for Iowa, even though it didn't convert the continuing drive to points despite driving to the Wisconsin 9.

I now don't know

what I'm seeing.

Iowa has gambled plenty this season. But going for the touchdown on 4th-and-2 at the Wisconsin 8 late in the first quarter when trailing 3-0 … color me surprised.

I'm not ripping it, though. If Iowa loses by three points or less, it will be talked about. But I like math, and the power of seven points is 2.3333 times greater than the power of three points.

Iowa had been 15-of-16 in getting points once it reached the red zone.

Seriously, though, what has gotten into Kirk Ferentz?

Iowa pipes in an excerpt

of Nile Kinnick's Heisman Trophy speech before the national anthem is played at Kinnick Stadium.

Wisconsin doesn't do the same at Camp Randall for Alan Ameche's or Ron Dayne's Heisman speeches.

Scott Dochterman of The Gazette pointed that out to me. Credit where credit is due.

I say this with confidence:

Iowa freshman wide receiver Jerminic Smith, who started this game and was targeted a couple times in the Wisconsin red zone, is the first Hawkeye to have the name 'Jerminic.'

If you Google 'jerminic,' the first page of results is nothing but references to Jerminic Smith.

When Wynn Las Vegas

set its opening lines Sunday for this week's college football games, it had Wisconsin as a 9-point favorite over Iowa.

That seems high, many of you tweeted back to me that night.

You were right. The number had been bet down to 6 at many Nevada casinos, and it was 5.5 at MGM properties.

I guarantee you there are people in the city of Las Vegas who have both Iowa and 9 points and Wisconsin and 5.5. It's called middling, and if you hit, you hit big.

But it's gambling, and gambling is for suckers.

You are vividly reminded

in Camp Randall Stadium, by way of signage, that Wisconsin went to the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Rose Bowls.

Trust me on this, Iowa fans. That's where you want to go.

It's been 25 years since Iowa's last visit to Pasadena. I've covered two of Iowa's Rose Bowls, and another that didn't involve the Hawkeyes. And they are different from the other bowls.

There is the Rose Bowl, and there is everything else. Iowa's two Orange Bowl invitations were great and all, but until you've been to the Rose Bowl you haven't been to a bowl.

The Capital One, Outback, etc., don't even begin to compare.

The Rose Bowl will take a Big Ten team this season. Even if two Big Ten teams reach the playoffs, the Big Ten will be represented in Pasadena. Which means that the winner of this game in Madison will certainly have a chance to go to the Granddaddy Bowl Game.

The traffic on southern California freeways isn't as bad between Christmas and New Year's as it is the rest of the year. Which means it's merely brutal.