Third downs were all Wisconsin

IOWA CITY - There seemed to be no third-down conversion too far for Wisconsin. Third-and-a-county felt like it was in play.

The third-down theme built early in No. 15 Wisconsin's 26-24 victory over the Hawkeyes on Saturday. Badgers converted four of six third downs while taking a comfortable halftime lead.

Two key conversions stung the Hawkeyes in the fourth quarter. After the Badgers took a delay-of-game penalty, they faced third-and-13 from their 32-yard line. Running back Melvin Gordon slipped out of the backfield, got behind free safety Jordan Lomax and took a pass from quarterback Joel Stave and cruised 35 yards.

'I had the running back on that one, that one's on me,” Lomax said. 'I was supposed to make sure he didn't go out. He leaked out and I didn't contain him.”

Two plays later, Gordon broke free for a 23-yard TD to give Wisconsin its winning margin.

'That third down pass he had to Melvin was huge,” Wisconsin offensive tackle Rob Havenstein said. 'He came on big at the end, but in terms of Joel's play, he played outstanding on third down, just absolutely outstanding.”

Iowa answered to pull within 26-24 with 5:01 left in the game, but again, the Badgers were money on third down. On third-and-8 from UW's 38, Stave pulled the ball down and scrambled for 12 yards. The only Iowa defender who could've made the play was linebacker Quinton Alston, but he had his back turned to Stave while trying to cover Gordon in the flat.

'He just made a play,” Lomax said. 'He used his legs and made a play.”

This forced the Hawkeyes to use their final timeout and the Badgers ran out the clock, clinching a Big Ten West Divison title showdown with Minnesota next weekend in Madison.

'We didn't do it today,” Alston said about third down before the question was even finished. 'We have to execute on third down like we did on first and second. That has to carry over to third down. That's your money down. That's where you make your money.”

That's where Wisconsin certainly made money.

In a game that was so close by every measure, the Badgers converted 7 of 13 on third down to Iowa's 5 of 12, which is terrific and maybe even winning on most days. That translated into a 33:24 to 26:36 edge in time of possession for the Badgers.

That was enough.

'That was one of our goals, to try to get them off schedule and make them play a little bit left-handed,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'During those third-and-manageables, they were really good at it. They rose up and did a great job converting those.”

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