Passing offense: D-
The only reason this mark isn’t a failure is the fact that the Hawkeyes once again lost their top pass-catcher to a brutal leg injury, this time with tight end Erick All. While head coach Kirk Ferentz said he didn’t have any concrete update on the Michigan transfer, it’s safe to assume that he will be out for at least a few weeks, if not the entire season. All’s right knee was struck hard by a Badger helmet, causing the knee to bend in the other direction. With both him and fellow TE Luke Lachey most likely out for the significant future, it’s going to be a rough road for the Hawkeye passing game. Even with All on the sidelines for the majority of the contest, he still finished as the Hawkeyes’ top receiver for the game, as quarterback Deacon Hill completed just six passes for less than 50 yards. While the stat sheet said the Wisconsin transfer didn’t throw an interception, he could’ve easily had two if Badger defenders knew how hands work. Hill said after the game that his footwork in the pocket looked better, and in my opinion, he looked a lot more comfortable under center but still has a lot of room to grow. Yet part of that growth is the Iowa coaching staff trusting in him to use his legs and open up the playbook, but based on the more than 40 rushing attempts in this game, such conviction isn’t there yet. As of now, Hill is trusted as a capable game manager who won’t be replaced so long as Iowa keeps winning. I wouldn’t be surprised if Iowa doesn’t exceed 150 yards in the air for the rest of the season.
Rushing offense: B-
Yes, the stat sheet might indicate a strong game on the ground for the Hawkeyes, who ran for 200 net yards on 48 attempts, but those contest totals are deceiving, as a significant chunk of Iowa rushing yardage for Iowa came on one play: the 82-yard TD ru from Leshon Williams. While his dash was a thing of beauty, its presence masks the ugliness of the Iowa run game. Taking away that big gain, Iowa rushed for 2.5 yards per carry with a long of 16 yards. The big play is evidence that the unit has potential, but as of right now, it needs to be way more consistent. Kirk Ferentz and Co. shouldn’t have to wait on one big play to pad the stats and put points on the board. With top offensive weapon Erick All out for the near future, the ground game is essentially all Iowa has right now, and when opponents can just expect 40 runs a game, finding success will be even more difficult.
Passing defense: A
I’m sure plenty of the Black and Gold faithful were sweating bullets during Wisconsin’s opening drive, as the Badgers were slicing and dicing the Hawkeyes like no tomorrow. Quarterback Tanner Mordecai and Co. were snapping the ball before the first down chains had been fully set, and even targeted Cooper DeJean twice, each with success. Yet after DeJean stuffed Badger running back Braelon Allen on fourth-and-one, the potency of the Wisconsin passing game evaporated, as Wisconsin threw for just x yards and an interception following that opening drive. Granted, the Badger had their redshirt freshman backup quarterback in the game for the second half, but to hold a team averaging more than 30 points per game to just six with a 12 percent conversion rate on third down is something to behold.
Rushing defense: A+
In all of the success the Iowa “D” had on Saturday, its containment of the top rushing attack in the Big Ten was truly phenomenal, as the Badgers rushed for just 96 net yards, with 87 of those from star running back Braelon Allen. The two-time consensus All-Big Ten second-teamer was averaging more than six yards per rush heading into Saturday, but leading tackler Jay Higgins and Co. held him to less than five on 18 attempts. Defensive back Sebastian Castro nearly forced a fumble from Allen late in the fourth quarter. Some will say that the RB wasn’t 100 percent, as he suffered an upper-body injury in the first half, but the Fond Du Lac native looked plenty healthy to me when he bodied Iowa safety Qunn Schulte to the turf on one of his runs. Heading into Saturday, Allen had been held under 90 rushing yards just seven times over three seasons. With its performance in this contest, the Iowa run defense has accomplished that feat twice. Over the past two meetings, Iowa has held just the 14th Badger with 3,000 career rushing yards to 3.7 yards per carry.
Special Teams: A+
The Hawkeye special teams had a bit too many penalties for my liking, but that’s literally all the bad I have to say about coordinator Levar Woods’ unit. Everything else was just spectacular. I mean, who else but Tory Taylor has a nearly two-minute-long package of punts posted by Big Ten Network on social media? With 506 yards of punting on the day, Taylor has solidified himself as the sole frontrunner for the Ray Guy award, especially considering that he has to deal with Midwest weather compared to the 70 degrees and sunny conditions that his SEC counterparts face every weekend. Taylor even said it himself in his postgame press conference, that days like Saturday are when punters find out what they’re made of and determine “who’s legit.” Taylor did that and then some. I would also be remiss not to mention Iowa kicker Drew Stevens, whose bloodstream needs to be checked this week; doctors may find a lot of ice in those veins. After a shaky performance last week, Stevens stepped up, nailing two clutch field goals that proved the difference for the Hawkeyes.
Coaching: B+
This would be much more applicable to new Badger head coach Luke Fickell, whose election to go for it on fourth-and-one within field goal range on Wiscconsin’s opening drive will never make sense to me. The Badgers could have had all the momentum, but that choice flipped the script in favor of the Hawkeyes. Obviously, the playcalling of Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz was at its usual levels of ugliness, as the Hawkeyes finished 0-for-17 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth. Rather than actually throwing the ball to the line to gain, Hill would just hit a crossing Nico Ragaini near the line of scrimmage for a gain of next to nothing. Calling more routes where receivers actually got off the line of scrimmage and crossed deeper downfield is a start, but it’s also up to Hill to complete those throws.