BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series for the 2024 season, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin's upcoming opponent. We look at UW's ninth opponent of the season in the Iowa Hawkeyes, who the Badgers will travel to play Saturday evening in Iowa City at 6:30 p.m. on NBC.

QUICK PROGRAM FACTS

Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz (208-140 career record, 28th season)

Iowa All Time Record: 668-551-34 (.533)

2024 Record: 5-3 (3-2 Big Ten)

Rankings: N/A

Series vs. Wisconsin: 46-49-2

Iowa’s offense is led by running back Kaleb Johnson, who’s turned into one of the best backs in the country this season. He sits near the top of every national rushing leaderboard, averaging 143 rushing yards on 7.8 per carry and two touchdowns per game, and will almost surely have another strong performance.

We’ve yet to see a defense figure Johnson out. His lowest yard total this season was 86, against Ohio State, and he only finished with 15 carries that game.

Simply put — he’s inevitable.

Wisconsin’s defensive front showed during the three-game winning streak that they’re capable of shutting down run-first offenses, but Johnson will give them their biggest challenge of the season. The outside linebackers, namely Darryl Peterson, should prove especially useful against Iowa’s stretch run scheme.

But against a back of Johnson’s caliber, it’ll have to be a team effort.

Wisconsin’s top defensive linemen — Elijah Hills, Ben Barten and Curt Neal — can’t tire out at the end of the game like they did last week against Penn State

Most importantly, it’ll be up to the coaches to roll out a balanced rotation. If the line doesn’t stay fresh, they could allow Johnson to break off a major run that ends up being the difference maker, similar to Leshon Williams’s 82-yard touchdown run in this matchup last season.

Iowa’s offense could be even tougher to limit given their change at quarterback. Starter Cade McNamara left last week’s Northwestern matchup with a concussion, and will miss Saturday’s game. Brendan Sullivan, a transfer from Northwestern, isn’t as experienced as McNamara, but adds a new dimension to Iowa’s offense with his mobility.

The Badgers struggled against a backup mobile quarterback last week in Beau Pribula, who completely opened up Penn State’s offense and made the defense second-guess themselves. It’ll be up to Wisconsin’s linebackers to either pressure Sullivan before a play can develop, or offer reinforcements if he does break free. Christian Alliegro has been used as a quarterback spy before, and could fill that role once again.

Like most matchups between these two teams, Saturday’s game will likely end up as a rock fight, and will mostly be fought on the ground.

The Badgers will hope that running back Tawee Walker bounces back from his rough outing against Penn State. After averaging 139.9 rushing yards per game over their three-game winning streak, he was shut down by Penn State’s front, finishing with just 59 yards.

Walker’s first obstacle will be up front, with the defensive tackle duo of Yahya Black and Aaron Graves. But the real threat is at mike linebacker, where lies one of the best players in the country.

All-American linebacker Jay Higgins has logged a whopping 84 tackles already this season, the highest total in the Big Ten by a decent margin and the fourth-highest in the entire country. He’s one of those players who will find a way to be involved on nearly every single play.

However, if quarterback Braedyn Locke doesn’t find a way to make some plays and take the pressure off of Walker, the Badger offense will be much too easy to defend. He’s struggled mightily against strong defensive fronts this season, as we saw against Penn State and Alabama, and Iowa should pose a similar threat.

Iowa has four different players who have registered 19+ pressures this season, per Pro Football Focus. It’ll be up to Wisconsin’s offensive line to try and play as well as they did during the three-game winning streak.

If they can, Locke could have an impact in the air, given some of Iowa’s struggles at cornerback. Sixth-year cornerback Jermari Harris has become one of the best lockdown corners in the Big Ten, but they can’t seem to find a worthy partner on the other side. Teams have stayed away from Harris completely and have still found success through the air.

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