It was clear that the Iowa Hawkeyes were healthy and locked in for the Heartland Trophy game after the bye week. The Hawkeye went on the road and hung up a 37-0 win on the Wisconsin Badgers, which saw Iowa flex all of its classic muscles.
Iowa relied on a defense that forced turnovers and stifled the offense, paired with a running game that simply did whatever it wanted all game long. The Hawkeyes had this game wrapped up by the end of the first quarter, and by halftime, it was a formality to play the second half.
The win pushes Iowa to 4-2 (2-1 Big Ten) on the season and staring down a night game against Penn State, which has become a whole lot more interesting with the firing of James Franklin.
With the win, check out the grades for all of the Hawkeyes’ units.
Offense
Offense Grade: B+
This unit really didn’t have a ton of pressure the entire evening. This game was nearly wrapped up by the end of the first quarter due to the short fields Iowa was given by its defense. All the offense had to do was produce in easy situations.
That said, you cannot discount how well Iowa ran the ball. Against a Badgers’ defense that had been strong against the run, Iowa racked up 210 rushing yards and four scores, while going for 5.8 yards per carry. They dominated the trenches and used the full committee of Kamari Moulton (96 yards, 1TD), Xavier Williams (55 yards, 2 TD), and Nathan McNeil (40 yards).
The only thing holding this game back from a higher grade for the offense is the passing game. Gronowski completed 18-25 passes, but managed just 109 yards and threw a pick that was a greedy attempt to score more points in the first quarter. He was recovering from his injury, didn’t appear to be 100%, and this game didn’t need his arm. I wouldn’t look into it any more than that.
Defense
Defense Grade: A+
The name of the game is to not let your opponent score, and that is exactly what the Iowa defense did in this game, pitching a shutout. This was a clinical performance from the Hawkeyes’ defense, who have found their legs in the last two games and look like one of the best defenses in the country.
Iowa held Wisconsin to 8-21 passing for 82 yards with two interceptions and allowed Wisconsin to run for only 3.5 yards per carry. The most impressive stat of the day is that the defense held Wisconsin, a Big Ten team, to 209 total yards of offense.
Special Teams
Special Teams Grade: A
No news is good news, and for special teams units, that’s one of the biggest compliments you can say. Nothing went awry, and this unit showed its usual clean and crisp skills.
Kaden Wetjen quietly produced in the punt return game, averaging 11.3 yards per punt, which is essentially giving Iowa a first down each time they take over on offense. It may seem small, but it adds up.
Drew Stevens was 3-3 on the day with a long of 49, which was a great sight to see. If he can regain form and stay like this, he is a weapon for Iowa down the stretch. In the punting game, Rhys Dakin punted four times for 38.8 yards per punt with two down inside the Wisconsin 20-yard line.
Coaching
Coaching Grade: A
Is it possible that the way a game breaks can make it easier to coach? That feels like the case in this matchup. Iowa got out to a commanding lead so quickly that the coaching staff seemingly just had to manage keeping them focused. That is one area where Kirk Ferentz may be the best in the country. He kept Iowa engaged.
Phli Parker had all the right levers on defense pulled and made it a miserably long night for Wisconsin on offense. LeVar Woods had the special teams unit locked in and doing their jobs.
On offense, Tim Lester knew he needed to protect Mark Gronowski a little bit and not force the issue of taking hits. He did just that. He turned around and handed the ball off to his stable of backs and let his line churn out yards with ease.
Overall
Overall Grade: A
It isn’t often a Big Ten team goes on the road, pitches a shutout, and takes home a rivalry trophy in such dominant fashion. This was a special showing from the Hawkeyes that saw them be the better team from the first snap to the last.
Wisconsin may not be the best team on Iowa’s schedule, but winning games against inferior teams like this in such a dominant fashion is what good teams do. Don’t downplay this game because it was against Wisconsin. Rather, appreciate the complete performance from the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa Football: Report card passes with flying colors after Wisconsin
