Kinnick Stadium – Iowa City, IA
Kickoff: Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET
Line: Wisconsin -3.0, Total: 42.0

#10 Wisconsin will be looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses with a win over Iowa on Saturday.

The Badgers have lost each of their past two games, but they have also proven that they are one of the nation’s best teams in the process. Wisconsin stood toe-to-toe with the Wolverines in Michigan two games ago, losing 14-7 as an 11.5-point road underdog. The Badgers had a shot to win that one, but they couldn’t come up with a big play late in the game and came up just short. They then followed that loss up with a 30-23 overtime loss at home against Ohio State. Both Michigan and Ohio State are currently in the College Football Playoff picture, so coming so close to victory against both of those teams helped Wisconsin show the world that it is as talented as anyone in the country. Iowa, meanwhile, has responded to a 38-31 home loss against Northwestern with road wins over Minnesota and Purdue. The Hawkeyes will surely be up for this one as well, and they are actually 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS when facing Wisconsin over the past three seasons. Last year’s game was an ugly one, as Iowa went into Madison and won 10-6 as a six-point road underdog. One trend that sticks out in this game is the fact that the Badgers are 42-18 ATS when playing teams with a winning percentage of 60% to 75% since 1992. LB Vince Biegel (Foot) is expected to return for Wisconsin in this game and that would be a big addition, as he is the best player on a stout Badgers defense.

One of the main reasons that Wisconsin was able to come so close to beating OSU was the reemergence of the running game. RB Corey Clement (483 yards, 5 TD) had failed to rush for over 70 yards in each of his past two games heading into that meeting with the Buckeyes, but he rumbled for 164 yards on 25 carries in that game. That helped QB Alex Hornibrook (680 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT) a ton, as defenses weren’t able to just focus on stopping the pass. It’d be big for Wisconsin if Clement can help loosen up this Iowa defense. The Hawkeyes normally have an incredible rushing defense, but they did allow 190 yards or more rushing in games against North Dakota State, Rutgers and Northwestern. That bodes well for the Badgers and you can expect a heavy dosage of Clement on Saturday. Defensively, Wisconsin is playing against an offense that is similar to its own. The Badgers are going to need to stop the run in this one, but it should have no problem doing so. Wisconsin is allowing just 106.2 YPG on the ground this season (13th in NCAAF) and has the personnel to take the Hawkeyes’ running backs out of this one.

If the Hawkeyes are going to find a way to beat a very good Wisconsin team then RBs Akrum Wadley (592 yards, 8 TD) and LeShun Daniels Jr. (589 yards, 6 TD) are going to need to find some holes in what has been an impenetrable Badgers rushing defense. Iowa is not the type of team to beat its opponents through the air, so it will need to find some success on the ground. QB C.J. Beathard (1,227 yards, 11 TD, 4 INT) is a good decision maker, but he does not like to make any plays that are out of character. He takes what the defense gives him and there won’t be much there if Wadley and Daniels are not running the ball well. Defensively, the Hawkeyes need to do exactly what Wisconsin will be trying to do. Iowa must find a way to shut down the Badgers’ running game and force Hornibrook to make some passes down the field. Hornibrook’s passes take a long time to get to his receivers, so there’s a good chance that Iowa’s secondary will make him pay for a bad pass at least once in this one. If the Hawkeyes can capitalize offensively then they could pull off this upset.