Play of the game: Faith at the goal line

DOWN, DISTANCE:

Wisconsin faced second and goal at the Iowa 1

SCORE/TIME

: Iowa led 10-6, 7:50 left in the game

FORMATION, PERSONNEL

: Iowa — 6 defensive linemen, 3 linebackers, 1 safety, 1 cornerback; Wisconsin — 2 tight ends, 2 fullbacks, 1 running back

WHAT HAPPENED

: Wisconsin QB Joel Stave fumbled while handling off to running back Taiwan Deal, and Iowa defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie recovered at the Badgers' 5-yard line.

WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT:

The play preserved Iowa's lead at 10-6, and the Hawkeyes ultimately won by the same score.

THE QUOTE 1

: 'I have no clue. I had my eyes on my man and what he was doing. He didn't really do much so then I rallied back inside and I noticed the ball was loose and went after that.' — Iowa DT Faith Ekaktie

THE QUOTE 2

: 'We got low and we got some good pressure and Faith came up with that huge fumble recovery. It was good. Our coaches always harp on us to have a low pad and everything and shoot the gap as hard as you can.' — Iowa DE Nate Meier

THE QUOTE 3

: 'It was just an amazing play by Nate and the rest of the defense came in. They could have recovered the fumble, but everybody went 100 percent like they did the whole game and we got it.' — Iowa LB Josey Jewell

THE QUOTE 4

: 'Nate is a tough guy to block, even though he's not the biggest guy on the field, but he's got a heart that's really big. He plays hard, and he he's extremely tough.' — Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz

THE QUOTE 5

: 'Absolutely it takes the wind out of your sail ... Joel got stepped on, and we still had a chance to recover it even when it was on the ground, and we didn't.' — Wisconsin Coach Paul Chryst

IOWA vs. WIS - IOWA fumble recovery - ESPN Video

THE ANALYSIS

: Iowa defensive end Nate Meier shifted from the edge to inside as part of Iowa's goal line defense. Meier exploded into the 'A' gap at the snap between Wisconsin center Dan Voltz and right guard Micah Kapoi. Meier's burst caused Kapoi to step back, and Kapoi's left foot stepped on Stave as soon as he tried to reverse pivot and hand off to Deal. Stave fell, the ball grazed Deal and squirted to the 4-yard line. Meier slammed Deal into the ball, which rolled to Iowa defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie at the 5-yard line. Ekakitie recovered the fumble and Iowa stopped Wisconsin's best scoring threat.

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