MADISON, WIS. -- Wisconsin took care of business inside Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, taming the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes in a 27-7 win.

UW (5-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) registered another victory against a ranked opponent in consecutive weeks. It is the first against a foe placed in the top 10 since upending No. 9 Minnesota in November 2019, according to the program's game notes.

BadgerBlitz.com presents its grades and game balls from the win that elevated Wisconsin but leaves Iowa (6-2, 3-2) in a position where it needs help to win the Big Ten West.

It definitely became a tale of two halves for Wisconsin in this phase of the game. The first two quarters saw UW score 20 points and gain 192 yards. During the final two frames, the Badgers produced just seven points and 78 yards.

Wisconsin averaged 2.6 yards per play in the second half, and its third-down conversion percentage dropped from 44% (4-of-9) in the first two quarters to 29% (2-of-7) in the final two.

That being said, UW's offensive line asserted itself in a strong way, even without starting left guard Josh Seltzner. The run game picked up 166 yards on 3.5 per carry to an Iowa program allowing under 90 per outing. True freshman tailback Braelon Allen went over 100 yards yet again and averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

Iowa was non-existent in its pass rush, and quarterback Graham Mertz stayed upright and comfortable throughout the afternoon affair. The redshirt sophomore finished 11-of-22 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers do not pop out, but he started strong in the first half. At one point, he had hit 10-of-12 throws before a string of nine straight incompletions between the second and third quarters.

Wide receiver Danny Davis had five receptions for 59 yards, while tight end Jake Ferguson reeled in three passes for 13 yards and a touchdown.

There's still work to be done, but against a physical Iowa defense, it did enough to put points on the board and get the win.

Keeping this short and sweet because I'm not sure how many more words we need to describe how Jim Leonhard and his defense stymied yet another opponent. Iowa gained just 156 yards on 2.8 yards per snap on Saturday. The Hawkeyes converted on 2-of-13 third downs, and they finished 0-of-3 on fourth downs.

Overall, the Badgers racked up six sacks and 10 tackles for loss in the win. Hawkeyes quarterbacks completed only 12-of-25 passes for 132 yards, and the rushing attack mustered just 24 yards on 30 carries.

Six of Iowa's 13 drives resulted in 3-and-outs, and UW came up with two defensive turnovers off of fumble recoveries.

The one scoring drive it allowed in the second half came on a shortened field, as Iowa drove 40 yards in six plays. UW gave up only two carries that went over 10 yards for the contest overall -- both were 12 yards.

Chris Haering's kickoff coverage unit allowed a 44-yard return to Iowa's Charlie Jones on the first boot off the leg of Jack Van Dyke, but it calmed down thereafter. That held true especially when it sniffed out a potential trick play on one later kickoff.

The recovery of the muffed Iowa punt return by safety Travian Blaylock led to a Collin Larsh field goal. The redshirt senior connected on both of his field goal attempts, his longest being from 32 yards.

Punter Andy Vujnovich averaged 40.5 yards per attempt, with three of his six punts going inside the 20-yard line. UW allowed Jones to gain 39 yards on four punts.

The return units again did not provide much of a boost. Dean Engram recorded one punt return for six yards, while Chimere Dike took back a kickoff for 21 yards.

Wisconsin's starting four linebackers contributed to 4.5 of the team's six sacks and eight of the defense's 10 tackles for loss.

That being said, Herbig's day stands out the most on the stat sheet with his six-tackle, 2.5-sack performance against the Hawkeyes. He has made an impact throughout the season, though the stats sheets may not necessarily show it fully before today.

The Badger back went over the century mark once again, carrying the ball 20 times for 104 yards. His long went for 28 yards during a first-half scamper which ended with him going out of bounds and (humorously but without incident or injury) into a kicker's net.

This season through seven games, the 17-year-old tailback has gained 532 yards on 6.8 yards per carry and five touchdowns.

Both lines deserve kudos for their play this weekend.

Iowa came in allowing 89.7 yards per game rushing on fewer than three yards a carry. UW ran for 166 yards on 3.5 yards per carry, and Allen went over 100 yards on the day. Also, Joe Rudolph's room allowed no sacks.

The defensive line helped allow its linebackers to accumulate bountiful stats, but it also held Iowa to 0.8 yards per carry. Nose tackle Keeanu Benton recovered a fumble on Herbig's strip-sack while defensive end Isaiah Mullens recorded half a sack.

Wisconsin tight end Clay Cundiff exited Saturday's contest against Iowa due to a right leg injury suffered near the end of the third quarter. Trainers attended to the redshirt sophomore for an extended period of time with an ambulance quickly being sent onto the field.

Cundiff eventually held a thumbs up and pumped his right fist before heading into the ambulance, and many teammates came up to him prior to being transported to a local hospital.

UW released an update on Cundiff later on Saturday:

Wisconsin sophomore TE Clay Cundiff was transported to UW Hospital for evaluation and treatment after suffering an injury to his right leg during the third quarter of Saturday’s game vs. Iowa.

Cundiff was released from the hospital this evening. Further treatment for his injury and a timeline on his recovery are to be determined.

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