Best for last

MADISON, Wis. - Kirk Ferentz is a stoic's stoical. He's seen all the whining about the flu around the Big Ten this season. He's not about to let his team fly that up the excuse flagpole.

The only thing that gave him away Saturday was cornerback Amari Spievey. Every time he coughed, reporters moved a few steps back.

Flu, schmu.

“It's reflective of our team,” Ferentz said. “We keep pushing forward.”

Eventually, they did.

After falling behind 10-0, the No. 11 Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) blanked Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2) in the second half, 20-10, before 81,043 fans at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Hawkeyes moved to 7-0 for the first time since 1985. They also raised their winning streak to 11 games, the second-longest in the nation behind Florida's 16. When you look at the Big Ten standings today, you'll see Iowa in first place and the only undefeated.

Flu, schmu.

“Yeah, I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to talk about that,” wide receiver Trey Stross said through a hoarsey voice. “But yeah, it's happening at campuses all around. We pushed through.”

Let's just go ahead and call the first half the Hawkeyes' flu half.

The Badgers played Wisconsin football and led 10-0 after running back Montee Ball capped an 11-play, 92-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run with 8:09 left in the second quarter.

The Badgers piled up 93 rush yards to just 23 for Iowa. The total offense was 172 to 79 in favor of Wisconsin. Quarterback Scott Tolzien, who finished with three interceptions, was 8 of 10 for 83 yards. Running back John Clay, who was in and out after an awful-looking ankle tackle, rushed 14 times for 69 yards.

“We have a very disappointed football team,” Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. “A big part of our demise was in the second half . . .”

The Hawkeyes managed just 23 rushing yards on 14 carries. Iowa was beat on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

“Coach (Ferentz) told us we've been here before, we know how it feels,” said linebacker Pat Angerer, who led the Hawkeyes with nine tackles and a sack. “We continued to believe in ourselves and continued to fight.”

They went into the locker room down 10-3 after Daniel Murray's 37-yard field goal. They looked as though they needed chicken soup and a comfy Snuggie.

They went into the locker room Erkel from “Family Matters.” They came out Rambo.

“It kind of goes back to the first game, when everybody was kind of throwing dirt on us for having a close game against UNI,” linebacker A.J. Edds said. “I think we figured out something about ourselves then and that came through today.

“We get into tough situations, it's not pretty but we find a way to get it done.”

But it was pretty.

On Wisconsin's first drive of the second half. Spievey's picked off the first of his two interceptions, setting Ricky Stanzi's 24-yard touchdown to tight end Tony Moeaki to tie the game at 10-10 with 7:58 left in the third quarter.

The Badgers blitzed, Moeaki had man coverage with UW cornerback Antonio Fenelus and Stanzi dropped a perfect pass on Moeaki's outside shoulder and just in bounds in the back of the end zone.

“Very proud of Rick, he's a competitor,” said Moeaki, who caught three passes for 55 yards, including a 27-yarder on third-and-13 that led to Murray's clinching 48-yard field goal with 5:17 left. “He takes a lot of heat when it's our fault. He's had a few bumps, but he's a winner. We're 7-0 and he's leading us.”

Stanzi finished 17 of 23 for 218 yards and a touchdown, including 11 of 13 in the second half.

Wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos caught season-high eight passes for 113 yards, including a 24-yarder where he was pushed out of bounds and then came back in play for the catch. That drive ended with running back Adam Robinson's 10-yard TD run and a 17-10 Iowa lead with 13:15 left in the game.

“It came down to playing Iowa second-half ball,” Johnson-Koulianos said. “If we learn to play the first 30, we're going to be good. If we play the full 60, we're going to be amazing.”

This was the “push forward.”

So was the Hawkeyes' defense holding UW to minus-2 yards rushing in the second half after allowing 89 in the first. So was clamping down on Clay, keeping him to just 6 yards in the second half. So was Robinson gaining 56 of his game-high 91 yards in the fourth quarter.

So was keeping the Badgers off the scoreboard after a fumble gave them a first down at Iowa's 25 at 10-10 with 2:36 left in the third.

When they cough, take a step back. When they push forward, just go with it.