It’s a sad state of affairs when a two-possession lead feels insurmountable for the University of Wisconsin to overcome. Then again, that’s an apt term to describe the sudden downfall of the Badgers’ offense.
No.25 Wisconsin delivered another miserable offensive performance and saw its defense get gashed in the second half in a 28-7 defeat to No.19 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.
The Badgers (2-3) head into next Saturday’s “champions week” the further thing from that moniker. On a three-game losing streak for the first time since losing four Big Ten games in a row in 2018, Wisconsin generated only 225 yards of offense and its only touchdown coming off a special teams mishap in the third quarter.
Receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette had seven catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa (6-2), which won its sixth in a row and broke a four-game losing streak in the series
A struggling Wisconsin offense was handicapped for the start. Not only did senior receiver Danny Davis miss his third straight game, but senior receiver Kendric Pryor was not active for the second time in three weeks and leading rusher Jalen Berger was inactive.
The result was predictable. The Badgers gained only 56 rushing yards and averaged 1.7 yards per play.
Not only have the Badgers struggling to move the ball, they’ve put their defense in bad spots. On UW’s first drive of the game, receiver Chimere Dike knocked the ball out of quarterback Graham Mertz’s hands with his left arm as he ran past in motion. Iowa recovered at the UW 32 and converted the field position into a field goal.
UW had the ball eight more times in the half, resulting in six punts and a turnover on downs. The Badgers had only two drives that resulted in first downs.
Facing an offense averaging 37.2 points over its five-game win streak, Wisconsin’s defense delivered a clinic in the first half. The Hawkeyes managed only 112 total yards on their 35 plays, not to mention gaining just 18 yards on the ground. As luck would have it, the only poorly defended play resulted in three points when the Hawkeyes covered 20 yards on a second-and-25 screen pass seven seconds before halftime.
The beginning of the second half dug Wisconsin’s hole deeper. The Badgers had their best drive in terms of yards (46) and plays (9) but saw kicker Collin Larsh come up short on a 47-yard field goal attempt. Iowa didn’t waste time capitalizing, capping a 71-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Smith-Marsette and converting the two-point conversion.
UW got a gift after its next drive petered out, recovering a muffed punt at the Iowa 29 and quickly converting it into seven point off a 1-yard rush by Nakia Watson. The play was set up by a 21-yard pass play by Jack Dunn, the longest play from scrimmage for UW, and was the Badgers’ first touchdown in 10 quarters.
The momentum was short lived, as Smith-Marsette beat safety Eric Burrell from the slot on a simple corner route for a 53-yard touchdown late in the quarter to regain the 14-point lead.
Wisconsin had two chances to get back in the game in the fourth quarter but saw Mertz miss open receivers on both.
Reaching the red zone on a 16-play, 56-yard drive, the Badgers chewed up 8 minutes, 39 seconds and got nothing for it when Mertz threw behind Jack Dunn on fourth-and-11 in what could have been an easy touchdown.
Getting another special teams gift when Iowa punter Tory Taylor was whistled for illegal kick, giving the offense a first-and-goal from the 5, Mertz missed an open tight end Jake Ferguson on first down and underthrew an open Mason Stokke on a play-action rolleout on fourth down, resulting in an interception.
After playing turnover free in his first two starts, Mertz has five interceptions and two lost fumbles in the last three games.
Iowa delivered the final nail in the coffin following the television timeout, as Tyler Goodson ran 80 yard up the middle through four missed tackles on the first rushing touchdown the Badgers had allowed this season.
