Wisconsin vs. Iowa 2nd Half Game Thread: Will the Badgers win another game this season?

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.