Hlas: Red zone ‘D’ gives Iowa bright red ‘W’

MADISON, Wis. – 'Once you hear them be quiet, that's what you want to do,' Iowa cornerback Desmond King said about Wisconsin's fans Saturday.

That didn't make sense and was perfectly logical at the same time. Which was a good reflection of what the Hawkeyes' defense did in Iowa's 10-6 win over the No. 18 Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.

You had six defensive series in the second half, all of them with Wisconsin at least as deep as the Iowa 34-yard line. One got all the way to the 1. The last one reached the Iowa 16. Yet, the Badgers scored just one field goal over those six trips.

That defies logic. Yet, it was what the Hawkeyes wanted to do. And did.

King called Iowa's defense 'malicious.' Really, Des?

'Yes. Just vicious. Vicious defense out there. ... That's my term of it.'

Malicious or vicious, the Hawkeyes heard Wisconsin be quiet when it mattered most.

There will be much chatter in Iowa about polls Sunday, since the Hawkeyes are likely to hop into a Top 25 or two with their 5-0 mark and win at a place where the Badgers have lost just eight times in 79 games here since 2004.

But this was bigger than that. This was going on the road and beating someone everybody knows and respects.

'Beating a ranked team in their environment and getting a 'W' — especially a trophy game — that's what matters,' King said.

The burden placed on Iowa's defense was extreme. Iowa managed but 69 yards and four first-downs in the second half, and just 221 yards overall. On top of that, C.J. Beathard had second-half turnovers at the Wisconsin 45 and Iowa 27.

Beathard can tell you what kind of cologne Joe Schobert uses, and if the Badger linebacker needs a manicure. Schobert covered, smothered, diced and peppered Beathard Saturday. But the quarterback still somehow emerged unbeaten as a starter.

Instead of treating his blockers like royalty in the week ahead, Beathard may instead want to bow to King and his defensive brothers.

After Schobert made a textbook punch-out of the ball from Beathard's grasp and Wisconsin recovered at the Iowa 27, the Badgers got 26/27ths of the way to the end zone. But from the 1, stellar Iowa defensive end Nate Meier shoved Wisconsin guard Micah Kavoi back into quarterback Joel Stave.

Stave tripped before he could hand the ball to running back Taiwan Deal and fumbled. Iowa's Faith Ekatite recovered the ball with 7:44 left.

It wasn't Wisconsin's last gasp, but it sucked much of the oxygen out of the stadium. You could hear Camp Randall get quiet for good when the Hawkeyes forced an incompletion on 4th-and-2 at the Iowa 16 on the Badgers' last drive.

King had two interceptions. One immediately preceded Iowa's second-quarter touchdown drive. That's five picks in five games for the junior.

Like everywhere else in football where things are going well, you heard a lot of one-game-at-a-time from Kirk Ferentz and his Iowa players. King was no different, saying 'When it's over, we put it in the past and go on to the next one.'

But he also said this: 'We've got a goal this year. We want the Big Ten West, and we want the Big Ten championship.'

And, the players aren't pretending it wouldn't be nice to be in the Top 25.

'It would be the first time I've ever been ranked,' said Iowa defensive end Drew Ott, who stripped Stave of the ball at the Wisconsin 15 late in the first half. 'That's what we're working for.'

It's 5-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big Ten. There are many games left to play. But players know if what's behind the numbers is substantial or not.

'It just feels right,' said Iowa tight end George Kittle, who had the game's sole touchdown.

'It feels good,' King said. 'It feels like we've got something special going on.'

Ferentz dismisses an Oct. 4 ranking as irrelevant, but even he allowed himself to revel a little.

'Five weeks into it, it's hard to get excited over anything than what we're doing as a team,' he said. Then his voice got a little softer and he added 'That can really excite you a little bit.'

Comments: (319) 368-8840; mike.hlas@thegazette.com

Twitter: @Hlas