Spencer Petras has familiarized himself with Wisconsin football during his five-year career at Iowa. Petras is 1-1 in two starts against the Badgers.

Petras has thrown for 304 yards and two touchdowns against the Badgers. He recorded 211 of those yards when Iowa beat Wisconsin, 28-7, at Kinnick Stadium in 2020. In the Hawkeyes’ 27-7 loss to the Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium in 2021, Petras went 9-of-19 for 93 yards and was benched in favor of junior Alex Padilla in the second half.

Heading into his third battle for the Heartland Trophy, Petras knows what to expect from the Badgers. 

“Schematically, it’s Wisconsin’s defense,” Petras said. “Same as it has been for a while. Some new faces, but like always, they’re pretty solid up front. The front seven, they’re physical. They’re very well-coached, especially in the back end. 

“They do a really nice job of making some things confusing for a quarterback … For the most part, I know what they’re gonna play. Just have to be super disciplined with my eyes and not let their attempt to disguise fool me. Just taking what’s there.”

Petras added that safety John Torchio seems to make calls and audible for the Badger defense. Torchio, who has appeared in 35 career games for the Badgers, has a Big Ten-leading five interceptions this season, including two pick sixes. He’s also recorded 45 tackles in 2022.

Defensively, Iowa can expect to see a lot of Wisconsin’s running back Braelon Allen.

Allen’s 172 carries and 989 yards rushing lead the Badgers. He’s also gained over 100 yards in six of Wisconsin’s nine games this season. The sophomore from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, has scored 10 rushing touchdowns this year.

“They’re very talented, big, physical backs,” Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell said. “[They’re] not going to go down on first contact, so we’re going to have to swarm to the football. They’re going to run through arm tackles. This is going to be a challenge, but we’re excited for it.”

For Campbell, the 30-degree temperatures forecasted for Saturday aren’t cause for concern. Instead, the weather is a reason for excitement. 

“That’s what Big Ten football is about,” Campbell said of the wintry conditions predicted. “When you sign up to come to a Big Ten university, I feel like you’ve got to be thinking about a cold, physical game. We’re just all excited to have an opportunity to be a part of this one.”

Iowa and Wisconsin have identical 5-4 overall and 3-3 conference records. Both are still alive in the Big Ten West race and on two-game win streaks.

Iowa and Wisconsin could each reach the Big Ten title game if they win out and Illinois loses two of its last three contests. Whichever team loses on Saturday will face a significantly tougher climb to a West title. Illinois would have to go 0-3 in the last three weeks of the season for the loser of Saturday’s Iowa-Wisconsin game to advance to the Big Ten Championship.

Should Illinois go 1-2 in its last three matchups, the winner of Saturday’s game would hold the tiebreaker over the other in the division race. Iowa has lost eight of its last 10 games against Wisconsin. Five of the last 10 matchups between the Hawkeyes and Badgers have been decided by one score.

“It’s just going to be a classic Big Ten game,” Campbell said.