The Badgers looked flat in every area in a major game over the weekend.
The Wisconsin Badgers had an embarrassing 42-10 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, falling to 5-4 on the season and 3-3 in the conference.
It was an ugly outing for the Badgers, who had no answers to Iowa’s rushing attack, while they failed to get any form of offense going against the Hawkeyes’ stout defense, leading to the blowout loss.
With as many problems as there were on Saturday, what is Wisconsin’s biggest concern after the 42-10 loss to Iowa?
“I don’t know if there is one thing that you can point out,” head coach Luke Fickell acknowledged after the game. “To be able to stop the run, no matter what you do, you’ve got to do a better job of. You’ve got to be able to run the football.
“To come on the road, in an environment like this, if you don’t play complementary ball, you’re going to be in trouble. We didn’t play great in the first half, but, we at least found ways to feed off of each other a little bit, and put ourselves in a situation, make a few plays and adjustments, and okay you come in at halftime, re-group, you’ve got to play a hell of a lot better, and we did the exact opposite.”
When it comes to the run game, Fickell had mentioned on multiple occasions during his weekly press conference that it was going to be important to play tough and physical, and the Badgers just couldn’t meet that challenge on gameday.
Did Wisconsin expect something different from the Hawkeyes? Or was it more execution-related?
“Obviously, you know Iowa is going to make it difficult to [run the ball],” Fickell said. “And, you thought you had a good plan coming in, with the ability to create some seams and find ways to loosen them up a little bit. But, we were not able to do that. Just like on the other side of the ball, we were not able to put ourselves in position to stop the run as well. It doesn’t go much further than looking in the mirror right there, and finding ways that we have to do a hell of a lot better job than that.”
“We’ve got to be able to loosen some people up on the outside, and get to the edge a little bit more. We’ve got to block on the perimeter more, so when we do get the ball to the edge, it’s not a one-yard gain or two-yard gain. But, this is where Iowa is really good. They do a great job of creating and setting edges, and make you work for everything. Obviously, we didn’t work hard enough to get it done tonight.”
But, there was also the aspect of Braedyn Locke’s turnovers, which have been a common theme this season.
“It’s hard. They’re gonna make some plays,” Fickell said of Locke’s interceptions. “The first one probably is a tough one, didn’t see the guy on the other side in a Cover 2, think the guy might be open. The other ones are bad decisions. But, I think that’s where that complementary ball has to come in, and that’s where we’re not. You know, everybody starts to put pressure on themselves to make some plays, and I’m sure Braedyn, as the quarterback of our offense, is going to put pressure on himself.
“When you can’t run the ball, you don’t help yourself. And when you can’t stop the run, you can’t help yourself. It can’t go much further than right there. There are other things too but when you can’t stop the run game and you can’t get going in the run game, I don’t care what the hell else you do. You’re not going to win on the road in this league, and sure as hell not going to win here.”
Locke’s first interception was a big killer for the Badgers, as the offense got great field position and was looking to strike before the quarterback locked on to his receiver and made a late throw that fell into the hands of a defender.
Iowa swiftly responded with a touchdown and never looked back from there, starting off what would be a miserable night for the Badgers.
Ultimately, there were one too many problems for Wisconsin against Iowa, and they’ll need to find answers quickly, as the No. 1 Oregon Ducks come to town after the bye week in what could be the Badgers’ toughest challenge yet.