Iowa football rewind: How Hawkeyes’ rushing attack asserted its will against Wisconsin

IOWA CITY — In a series where the team with more rushing yards had won the previous 12 games, there was no denying Iowa football’s dominance over Wisconsin on the ground.

“Whenever you can run the ball on a team, that’s really just taking the will out of them, honestly,” Iowa wide receiver Jacob Gill said after the Hawkeyes trounced the Badgers, 42-10.

Wisconsin second-year head coach Luke Fickell said it himself that Iowa’s “guys up front were the difference in this game.”

Iowa had many take-their-will-away rushing plays against the Badgers, including the first of star running back Kaleb Johnson’s three touchdown carries. He essentially went untouched on the 16-yard play, thanks to his well-executed cut on the counter play and outstanding blocking on the left side.

Perhaps the strongest message came in the second half, though, when Iowa put together a 10-play, 86-yard drive while exclusively running the ball. The type of runs varied from traditional halfback carries to read-options where quarterback Brendan Sullivan kept it himself.

The two times on that drive where Sullivan kept it were especially fruitful. The first one was good for 14 yards as he was far too quick for Wisconsin linebacker Aaron Witt to stop. On the other, Sullivan (figuratively) broke linebacker John Pius’ ankles while also evading former all-Big Ten safety Hunter Wohler for a gain of 19.

The result of Iowa’s varied approaches on the ground — with success in each approach, too — was Iowa’s highest rushing output (329 yards) against Wisconsin since 1990, according to Iowa sports information.

It also put very little burden on Sullivan’s ability to throw, as Iowa ran the ball on a whopping 84.4 percent of plays. (When Sullivan did throw, he was 7-of-10 for 93 yards, and most of those yards came on one play in the fourth quarter.)

Here are some other observations from rewatching the Hawkeyes’ 42-10 win over Wisconsin:

Deshaun Lee’s first career interception

Two weeks ago, cornerback Deshaun Lee did not play at all due to a coach’s decision. Fast-forward to Saturday’s win over Wisconsin, and Lee delivered a key defensive play late in the first quarter.

Wisconsin was at midfield with hopes of building on its 3-0 lead. Iowa was in a Cover 2 zone on the first-down play. Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke was looking for his top wide receiver Will Pauling. Lee read Locke like a book, deviated from his area, cut underneath Pauling’s route and athletically reached up to make the interception.

The pick set up a seven-play, 53-yard touchdown drive to give the Hawkeyes a 7-3 lead. (They did not relinquish that lead for the rest of the game.)

Lee had the highest grade from Pro Football Focus of any Iowa defensive player in the win. He appears to have a good grip on Iowa’s starting cornerback opposite of Jermari Harris (at least for now), as PFF tracked him taking 51 out of 58 possible snaps.

How Brendan Sullivan’s mobility helps Kaleb Johnson

Brendan Sullivan’s ability to run the ball affected the Hawkeyes in more ways than his 58 rushing yards — or 72 if you exclude the intentional grounding, which counts as a negative rushing play — would indicate.

Simply the threat of Sullivan gave the Badgers one more thing to think about defensively. That was particularly evident on a first-down run by Johnson early in the second quarter.

Sullivan handed it off to Johnson, but the threat of Sullivan keeping it on a read option caused Wisconsin’s Leon Lowery Jr. to momentarily pause rather than immediately pursuing Johnson. (Johnson’s ability to run through contact also helped as he gained 11 yards on the play.)

If Lowery had not hesitated, he would be risking the same fate of what happened on the read options during Iowa’s aforementioned 10-play touchdown drive with 10 rushing attempts.

Sullivan’s 52-yard completion to Zach Ortwerth

Sullivan, making his first start as a Hawkeye, had Iowa’s longest passing play of the season when he connected with tight end Zach Ortwerth for a gain of 52 yards. (It also was the biggest play Wisconsin’s defense had allowed this season.)

It was on a third-and-6 early in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin was showing blitz with plans to drop back into coverage, and Sullivan recognized that pre-snap.

“They’ve shown that look a few times on film,” Sullivan said. “I saw them flinch on the double cadence. Knew they were going to drop out to something, and (Ortwerth) found the lane. So it was a good play.”

Ortwerth got downfield faster than Wisconsin safety Preston Zachman was dropping back, and his fellow safety Wohler was occupied with Iowa wideout Jacob Gill. That left the second-year tight end with a huge opening, and Sullivan delivered a near-perfect throw.

Ortwerth, starting in place of injured tight ends Luke Lachey and Addison Ostrenga, broke Lucas’ tackle with ease as he turned what might have been a 32-yard gain into a 52-yard gain.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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