MADISON, WIS. -- The Heartland Trophy returned across state lines as Wisconsin grounded No. 9 Iowa in a 27-7 win on Saturday inside Camp Randall Stadium.

UW (5-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) now holds the all-time series lead by a 49-44-2 margin over Iowa (6-2, 3-2).

BadgerBlitz.com presents its key takeaways from the win that allows Paul Chryst's program a self-controlled path to Indianapolis.

Not sure what more can be said about this defense, folks. We have seen some fine performances from coordinator Jim Leonhard and his players over the years, and this unit once again smothered an opponent with pressure.

Wisconsin held Iowa to 156 total yards. That included 24 yards rushing on 0.8 yards per carry. The Hawkeyes longest rush went for 12 yards (twice).

Iowa only moved the chain on third downs 15.3% of the time (two of 13) Quarterback Spencer Petras completed only 9-of-19 throws for 93 yards on the day, while running back Tyler Goodson only gained 27 yards on 13 carries.

UW accumulated six sacks and 10 tackles for loss while holding Iowa to just 2.8 yards per play on Saturday. Outside linebacker Nick Herbig tallied 2.5 sacks and six total stops on the day, including a forced fumble in the first half.

Piggy-backing off of the above observation, Wisconsin's duo of inside and outside linebackers each played a huge role in stopping Iowa's offense. We already mentioned Herbig's big day, but fellow edge rusher Noah Burks registered three tackles, two for loss, and also came away with a fourth-quarter sack.

The inside linebacker tandem of Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn combined for 16 tackles (nine and seven each, respectively), one sack and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Combined, these four players contributed to eight of the team's 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 of the team's six sacks.

The outside linebacker room also received a contribution from redshirt junior C.J Goetz, who recorded a late second-quarter sack.

Iowa came into the game one of the best in the nation in turnover margin (+12). On Saturday, Kirk Ferentz's program lost that critical phase of the game with three turnovers of its own. Wisconsin, to its credit, did not cough up the ball once on Saturday, which greatly assisted its victory.

Wisconsin's defense came away with turnovers on back-to-back series in the second quarter. Herbig's strip-sack placed UW at the Iowa 8. Though the Badgers' offense came away empty-handed on a 4th-and-goal stop by the Hawkeyes, running back Ivory Kelly-Martin fumbled the ball at the Iowa 1 two plays later. Outside linebacker Noah Burks recovered, and quarterback Graham Mertz crossed the goal line on the snap immediately thereafter to put the home team up 17-0.

Iowa's special teams did not help in that quarter, either. After the defense held UW, returner Max Cooper -- who was in for Charlie Jones -- muffed an Andy Vujnovich punt that was recovered by Wisconsin safety Travian Blaylock at the Iowa 18.

Collin Larsh converted a 32-yard field goal to make it 20-0.

Credit Wisconsin's offense line here for giving Mertz time in the pocket and for not allowing pressure that forced errant throws that changed the game. Credit also goes to UW's QB1 in this regard.

Wisconsin's offense put up 20 points and 192 yards in the first two quarters against Iowa, and one can definitely argue it left points on the board before heading to the locker room. There was a solid balance (102 rushing yards, 90 passing yards) that dissected Iowa's defense.

Mertz, was 9-of-10 and 10-of-12 passing at different points in the first half. That included going 5-of-5 on Wisconsin's first touchdown drive which ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson.

However, the second half saw the offense stumble outside of one scoring drive. Wisconsin gained only 78 yards and averaged 2.6 yards per snap. 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.

Mertz cooled off a bit as well, in one stretch from the second quarter to the third throwing nine straight incompletions. All four of UW's 3-and-outs came in the second half, including three consecutive to start the third quarter.

That being said, Wisconsin put the game away after its defense stopped Iowa on fourth down. An 11-play, 60-yard drive culminated with a Mertz one-yard touchdown run.

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