Wisconsin is bringing a different kind of test to Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, and Iowa’s defense is going to have to be sharp from the jump.
The Badgers have shown more juice this season than they had earlier in the Luke Fickell era, and the question now is whether they’re finally starting to sort things out. They may not be built to explode on the scoreboard, but they are efficient, and that efficiency runs through a quarterback who can stress a defense in more than one way.
That quarterback is Colton Joseph, the engine of the offense and the player Iowa has to account for on every snap. He leads Wisconsin on the ground with 365 yards and four touchdowns on 84 carries, and he has added 1,256 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions through the air. He is completing 57.2% of his throws, which is part of what makes this matchup interesting: there is production there, but there is also a clear opening for a defense that can force him into discomfort.
Penn State showed one version of that blueprint. Against the Nittany Lions, Joseph went 18-for-38 for 235 yards and three interceptions. That kind of stat line suggests Iowa can rattle him if it tightens the picture and makes him throw into tougher windows.
The run game behind him has enough support to keep the Badgers from becoming one-dimensional. Abu Sama, who Iowa fans know from his time at Iowa State, is one of Wisconsin’s main backs along with Darrion Dupree.
The two have combined for 100 carries, while Joseph has added his 84 rushing attempts. Together, Sama and Dupree have 510 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry and three touchdowns.
It’s not a punishing ground attack, but it’s good enough that Iowa can’t just brush it aside.
Out wide, the top name is Tyrell Henry. He leads Wisconsin with 343 receiving yards and a touchdown on 28 catches, which is 12 more receptions than the next-closest target.
He’s Joseph’s primary option, and Iowa knows what that means. Phil Parker knows it too.
The challenge for the Hawkeyes’ secondary is the familiar one: take away the No. 1 receiver and make somebody else beat them.
That has been an Iowa strength for a long time, and it figures to matter again here. Henry will get attention, but the Hawkeyes are built for this kind of assignment.
Then there is Jacob Harris, who sits second on the team in receptions and receiving yards while leading Wisconsin in yards per catch at 16.38. He has three touchdowns, and he brings a different kind of headache because of his size and his ability to turn catches into chunk gains. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, Harris gives Wisconsin a massive target, and that makes him a real factor for Iowa to manage.
Phil Parker is likely to have a plan ready for him, whether that means rolling safeties his way or using contact at the line to keep him from getting clean releases. However Iowa handles it, Harris is one more piece of this Wisconsin offense that can’t be ignored.
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