Hawkeyes Embracing Who They Are

Iowa Defense, Special Teams Lead Way in Upset of Badgers

Iowa's Cooper DeJean (3) tackles Wisconsin's Chimere Dike on Oct. 14, 2023 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. (Rob Howe/HN)

MADISON, Wis. - It's not figure skating or gymnastics. Style points don't matter in college football. You win or you lose. 

Iowa Football makes no apologies for how the victories come. Others can call it ugly. The Hawkeyes think it's beautiful. 

They continued defying the odds Saturday here at Camp Randall Stadium, winning  for the 24th time in 34 games despite fielding one of the country's worst offenses. They secured victory for 11th time in 13 games and improved to 6-1 this season. 

Their latest Houdini act occurred in a 15-6 triumph against Wisconsin. Iowa was a double-digit underdog due in large part to its inability to score points. 

Iowa won this game with 37 passing yards. Last week, it defeated Purdue, 20-14, without completing a throw to a wide receiver. They completed six passes in each game and are 12 of 35 through the air in those contests.

We know this isn't normal. One need only to look around the country to see what Iowa is doing, winning with exceptional defense and special teams, defies logic. 

"We're trying to win the game by any means," linebacker Jay Higgins said Saturday. "We don't care what it looks like. As long as we have the win at the end of the day, that's all that matters to us." 

The latest win moved the Hawkeyes into the driver's seat among teams pursuing the final Big Ten West championship. Each with just one conference loss now, Iowa gained the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Badgers, which still has a home game left with No. 3 Ohio State.  

Iowa should be favored against its remaining opponents. If it wins out, Hawkeye Nation is off to Indianapolis in December for a meeting with the champion from the East, which will be a heavy favorite. 

That the Hawkeyes sit in good position to win the division for the second time in four years with this offense is nothing short of amazing. Yes, it comes with context, but it's also a worthy accomplishment. Their three West titles would only rank behind the Badgers' four championships during the short history of the division. 

An ascending defense held a Wisconsin program ranked 16th nationally in rushing offense coming into the action to 96 yards and 3.4 per carry. Specialists Tory Taylor and Drew Stevens, returners and coverage teams outperformed their counterparts. 

Taylor averaged 50.6 yards on 10 punts with six of them pinning Wisconsin inside it's own 20-yard line. In the third quarter, the Badgers' starting field position was their own 11. That improved to the 15 in the fourth quarter. 

Good luck to teams trying to drive the field on this defense. 

"As a defense, that just opens up our playbook," Higgins said of Taylor pinning teams deep in their own end. "(Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker) is going to be aggressive when we're down there." 

It led to the Hawkeyes recording an important safety early in the fourth quarter.  Wisconsin managed just a pair of field goals. It's previous low-scoring output of the season was 22 points at Washington State. 

Iowa cash Sebastian Castro stood out with a pair of tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup. It seemed like all seven of his solo tackles were important.

The offense wasn't a complete lost cause, either. The Hawkeyes may have found a reliable running game. 

After rolling up 181 yards on 35 carries last week against Purdue, Iowa gashed the Badgers for 200 yards on 48 carries. Leshon Williams carried 25 times for a career-high 174 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown sprint to open the scoring. 

That's impressive work by the offensive line. It's opening holes when the opposition isn't threatened by a passing game. 

During the postgame locker room celebration, the Hawkeyes played Jump Around, the Cypress Hill song blared through the speakers here at the end of each third quarter. 

"You gotta play Jump Around when you win at Wisconsin," Castro said with a smile. 

The Hawkeyes earned that right despite the method being tough to watch at times. 

"Iowa Football is special teams and defense," Taylor said. "That's a no-brainer."