Game Report: Iowa Hawkeyes 24, Wisconsin Badgers 10

IOWA CITY — A look at the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 24-10 win over the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Turning point

Iowa’s offense had gotten booed after consecutive plays early in the first quarter, presumably for the play calling and execution.

The Hawkeyes punted on fourth-and-17 from their 39 to the Wisconsin 20, where the Badgers promptly gained a total of minus-1 yard on three plays and lined up to punt itself.

Iowa defensive end Deontae Craig blocked Andy Vujnovich’s punt, teammate Jay Higgins recovered it, and the Hawkeyes took over at the Wisconsin 17, trailing 3-0. A 14-yard pass from Spencer Petras to Sam LaPorta preceded a 4-yard touchdown run by Kaleb Johnson, and Iowa had points. Seven of them.

Seven points were a lot of points in this game. Fourteen were really a lot. Iowa doubled down when cornerback Cooper DeJean picked off a Graham Mertz pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, his second pick-6 of the season.

By the way, Craig was a force outside of special teams as well. He recorded career highs in tackles (5) and sacks (1.5).

By the numbers

4 — Teams tied for first place in the Big Ten West, with two games left to play. They’d be Iowa, Purdue, Illinois and Minnesota.

6 — Six of Iowa’s first-quarter plays lost yardage.

13 — Number of consecutive wins in November for Iowa. The last November loss was to Wisconsin in 2019.

21 — Summer Schmuecker’s 21st birthday was noted on the Kinnick video boards.

146 — Iowa’s yardage total. It’s the fewest amount of yards for a team that has won a Big Ten Conference game this century.

Notebook

— Iowa didn’t eclipse the 100-yard mark offensively until the final play of the third quarter, when Petras connected with LaPorta on a 9-yard pass. That gave the Hawkeyes 103 total yards going into the fourth. Iowa still led the game at the time, 14-10.

— Wisconsin sophomore running back Braelon Allen had rushed for at least 113 yards in the Badgers’ previous four games. Iowa held him to just 40, on 17 carries. His long run was 8 yards.

— Iowa secured the Heartland Trophy, which goes annually to the winner of this game. The Hawkeyes lost the Cy-Hawk Trophy to Iowa State in September. It has two more trophy games upcoming the next two weeks, with games against Minnesota and Nebraska. Iowa has not lost back-to-back trophy games since 2014.

— What a difference two months makes weather wise. Temperature at kickoff Saturday was 33 degrees. That’s 44 degrees colder than for Iowa’s season opener Sept. 3 against South Dakota State. Do the math there, and that tells you kickoff temperature that day was 77 degrees.

— Five-star offensive tackle prospect Kadyn Proctor took an official visit to Oregon for its Saturday home game against Washington. The Southeast Polk senior has verbally committed to Iowa. Proctor’s Southeast Polk team won its Class 5A state semifinal game Friday night over Johnston. Proctor is considered the top prep tackle in the country by many recruiting services.

— Koen Entringer made his season debut Saturday, marking the eighth true freshman to play this season. Entringer is a defensive back from Ypsilanti, Mich.

— Kicker Drew Stevens made a 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, marking his fifth make from 40 yards or beyond this season. Stevens is 13-for-15 overall in field goals this season.

Injury report

Iowa right guard Beau Stephens was hurt in the second quarter after a helmet-to-helmet collision with a Wisconsin defender and left the game late in the first half. He did not return, with Nick DeJong taking over his position.

Iowa wide receiver Arland Bruce was not in uniform. Wide receiver Brody Brecht returned after a one-game absence due to injury.

Next game

Iowa plays at Minnesota, with the time and TV for next Saturday’s game to be determined.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com