A few month in the past, I described the Illinois soccer squad because the Jim Beam to Iowa’s Jack Daniels. If I can pressure the metaphor and my data of whiskey simply slightly additional, then on this situation Wisconsin is the bottle of Jameson you purchase when need one thing nicer. Not aged 50 years in a whale’s abdomen nicer, but one thing with higher taste, extra sippability, however that received’t eviscerate your checking account.
Or we will put this one other manner: The Wisconsin Badgers are Iowa squared. The Badgers use the identical philosophical mannequin that Iowa soccer has been utilizing since Kirk arrived in Iowa Metropolis — run-heavy, ball-control offense that includes modest play on the quarterback place, paired with a tough-as-nails protection that persistently makes life Hell for opposing offenses — solely they distilled that mannequin far more successfully, churning out groups that persistently run the ball and play higher protection than Iowa, all whereas a sequence of middling quarterbacks chuck the ball simply well-enough to maintain the machine rolling. I’ve at all times considered October twenty third, 2010, nonetheless essentially the most painful Iowa sport I’ve witnessed in particular person, because the darkish and evil day that Wisconsin zapped us of our mojo and left us wandering round Dubuque Avenue aimless and dazed, like Charles Barkley after having his expertise siphoned off by the Monstars.
I’m undecided how else to explain the transformation that occurred on this matchup between the primary and the second decade of the twenty first century. It is a type of bizarre statistics, however within the 21 instances Iowa and Wisconsin have performed throughout Ferentz’s tenure at Iowa, the workforce that finishes the sport with extra speeding yards has received the sport in all however two contests. (Wisconsin received in 2001 regardless of ONE fewer speeding yard. Iowa received the matchup in Madison in 2009, regardless of speeding for 65 yards to Wisconsin’s 87 yards.) It’s clearly manner, manner, manner too reductive to say both workforce received every of these video games as a result of they out-rushed the opponent, however the speeding yards on this match-up do inform an essential story about two groups that desperately need to management the sport on the line of scrimmage.
Between 2000-2009, Iowa out-gained Wisconsin in six out of their ten match-ups and got here away with six wins. Within the ten match-ups after that (we missed a pair in 2011 and 2012 due to the absurdity of the Legends and Leaders divisions), Iowa has out-rushed Wisconsin in two of these match-ups — and got here away with two wins. Once more, that stat isn’t the entire story, nonetheless, grinding out yards on the bottom, or making the opposite workforce suck greater than you at grinding out yards on the bottom is a large a part of this sport, and Wisconsin has had the higher hand in that a part of the sport for an excellent lengthy whereas.
On a macro-level, it’s pretty simple to diagnose why: 1) line play, and a couple of) superior operating backs. For the primary merchandise, I don’t know practically sufficient about improvement, scheme, teaching, and recruiting to elaborate on the distinction, however their dudes have simply been persistently higher at creating house for his or her operating backs. As to the second merchandise… recruiting, I suppose? Backs like Montee Ball, James White, Melvin Gordon, and Jonathon Taylor have all had various levels of success within the NFL, however as a lot as I like all of the hombres which have hauled the rock for the Hawks, none of them have been on that stage since Shonn Greene in 2008.
Why am I focusing a lot on the respective variations within the operating sport? As a result of so far as I can inform, that’s the significant distinction between these two applications over the past decade. Wisconsin has undoubtedly been the higher defensive workforce total throughout that point, with Wisconsin spending a variety of time as the very best protection within the Large Ten on a yards-per-game foundation, however it’s a must to return to 2017 to search out the final time Iowa wasn’t additionally within the high 4 for a similar class. (In the meantime Iowa’s operating sport hasn’t been in the identical stratosphere as Wisconsin’s.)
It certain isn’t Wisconsin’s passing sport that makes them scary. Let’s do the blind stat comparability bit from 2021:
Quarterback A, 165/288, 57.3% completion fee, 1880 yards, 10 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, QBR of 117.3.
Quarterback B, 169/284, 59.5% completion fee, 1958 yards, 10 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, QBR of 121.3.
Petras or Mertz, take your decide, however these stat strains are exceedingly comparable. Bear in mind, a type of quarterbacks had the benefit of taking part in with a operating sport that individuals really respect. (Except for Russell Wilson, is there a single quarterback at Wisconsin you’d have traded both C.J. Beathard or Nate Stanley for?) In case you put Spencer Petras on the Badgers, I’d guess his stat line would get considerably higher.
So right here we’re, with 2022 Wisconsin extra successfully embodying Kirk’s platonic very best for a Nineteen Eighties Large Ten soccer workforce than his Hawkeyes, a development whose solely blips had been a Wisconsin mistake-filled loss in 2015 and an Iowa victory over a 2020 Badger squad decimated by COVID and accidents. The sport is in Iowa Metropolis this 12 months, which is cool, although Wisconsin will most likely be a small favourite regardless. The Badgers misplaced a few nice linebackers, two corners, and a defensive finish to the NFL. Additionally they moved on a pair large receivers, a wonderful tight finish, and two offensive lineman. With a workforce as annoyingly constant because the Badgers, I don’t assume it would matter. Braelon Allen certain appears to be like like the following nice Wisconsin operating again and there hasn’t been a Wisconsin front-seven that couldn’t deal with Iowa’s operating sport in a very long time. I can be delighted if Iowa can lastly get their mojo again towards an actual Wisconsin squad. It has a been a very long time coming.
Homer Model: Graham Mertz is gonna really feel the hurtz child! Braelon Allen and the Badgers get subsumed and really feel the growth from Iowa’s superior protection because the Hawks grind Wisconsin into Badger-dust child!
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