Heading into Saturday, Week 7 was seen as a must-win game for the Wisconsin Badgers against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Not only because of the rivalry aspect and given that the Hawkeyes had taken the Heartland Trophy in three consecutive years, but also due to how difficult Wisconsin’s schedule was looking afterwards.

Yet, through 30 minutes, the Badgers are down 23-0 with little hope as the Hawkeyes had their way once again in the first half. This game was one that players frequently talked about ahead of the season after last year’s 42-10 beating, but the response wasn’t there on the field.

All week long, head coach Luke Fickell had talked about ‘competitive’ spirit. Well, the Badgers had three unsportsmanlike penalties in the first half, including one before the first kickoff even happened.

Offensively, Wisconsin was mute. They had three turnovers, all from Hunter Simmons, while struggling to generate any consistency. After punting on their opening drive on a 4th & 1 near midfield, Wisconsin had back-to-back interceptions, including one near pick-six.

Then, following another punt, Simmons had an ugly backwards pass over the head of his intended target that became a fumble recovery for Iowa. Wisconsin finally had some offensive life on its following drive, thanks to some tough Dilin Jones running, but a Lance Mason drop on 4th down turned it over.

Defensively, Wisconsin could not stop the run at all. Iowa had 113 yards and two touchdowns on over five yards a carry in the first half, with lead back Kamari Moulton going for 70 yards on 10 carries.

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski had an awful half. He missed two open third-down throws, including one that would’ve been a touchdown, and had a few other incompletions. But, he got some consistency on Iowa’s final drive with a lot of screens and short passes, as the Hawkeyes got a field goal to end the half.

Iowa had five scoring drives in the first half, starting three drives deep in Wisconsin territory.

The Badgers will get the ball to start the second half, but they have a big hole to climb out of after an ugly first half.

Coming off a bye week, Iowa football plays at Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 11. FS1 will televise the 6 p.m. CT contest live from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten Conference) lost 20-15 at home to Indiana last time out. A win over Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2) would be Iowa’s fourth straight in the series. 

Meanwhile, the Badgers are on a three-game losing streak to Alabama, Maryland and Michigan.

Here are the betting odds and what experts predict for the game:

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Iowa vs. Wisconsin odds, money line, over/under

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday evening.

• Spread: Iowa -3
• Moneyline: Iowa -165, Wisconsin +140
• Over/under: 36.5

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Iowa vs. Wisconsin predictions, picks for college football Week 7

Chad Leistikow, Hawkeyes columnist: “Look for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz to rely on his special teams and defense after gaining an early lead. Gronowski should have success against a Badgers’ pass defense that’s one of the worst in the country. Iowa’s first defensive TD of the season is on the table. Iowa 23, Wisconsin 13.” – (full prediction column)

Penn State’s Kennedy Martin outshines Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer as high-profile transfer additions face off

• No. 19 Penn State defeated No. 7 Wisconsin in three sets, ending the Badgers’ 10-match winning streak.
• Penn State transfer Kennedy Martin outperformed Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer, recording 23 kills.
• Wisconsin struggled offensively without injured star setter Charlie Fuerbringer, hitting an uncharacteristic .151.

Penn State’s Rec Hall continues to be one of the harder places for Wisconsin volleyball to win.

The seventh-ranked Badgers experienced that again on Oct. 10 as they suffered a three-set loss to No. 19 Penn State, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16, which snapped their 10-match winning streak. Penn State, meanwhile, gained some momentum and a quality win for its postseason résumé after losing two of its previous three matches.

Penn State is now 28-3 all-time against Wisconsin in matches at its historic Rec Hall. Here are three takeaways from the loss:

In battle between two transfer stars, Kennedy Martin outshines Mimi Colyer

Both schools had high-profile transfer portal additions at outside hitter.

Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer was a second-team All-American last year at Oregon. Penn State’s Kennedy Martin was a first-team All-American at Florida after leading the country in points per set.

As they faced off at Rec Hall, Martin clearly had the upper hand.

Martin finished the night with 23 kills while hitting .474. That included 10 kills during the first set — one more than Wisconsin’s entire team had at that point. She showed the ability to attack from a variety of places on the floor and did so with both power and finesse.

Colyer, on the other hand, struggled mightily against the Nittany Lions. She had eight kills while hitting .057, and both were season-lows. Wisconsin is now 0-2 when Colyer hits below .150. (The Oregon transfer also struggled at Rec Hall with the Ducks last year. She had two kills and five attack errors in that match.)

Wisconsin out of sorts offensively without star setter Charlie Fuerbringer