Iowa gets another shot at a trophy game on Halloween, and this one brings No. 25 Wisconsin to Kinnick for the 100th meeting between the programs.
After losing the Floyd of Rosedale to Minnesota in week eight, the Hawkeyes are back home for Homecoming weekend, with Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” also on campus. If Iowa wants to finish October the right way, it has to clean up a few obvious problem areas.
The first order of business is getting Tony Diaz more involved. Since Big Ten play began, the wide receiver has been a ghost in the offense, even though Hank Brown and the Iowa attack targeted him 13 times in week one.
Diaz still leads the program with 386 receiving yards, but he hasn’t scored since the opener against Northern Illinois. They call Diaz “The Boogeyman” for a reason, and Iowa is long overdue to use him like it.
That lack of production isn’t all on Diaz. The quarterback situation has been in flux, and Iowa has leaned heavily on the run.
Neither Hank Brown nor Jeremy Hecklinski has consistently pushed the ball downfield, which has limited what Diaz and Reece Vander Zee can do on the perimeter. But this matchup gives Tim Lester a chance to change that.
With Wisconsin bringing a solid run defense and Kamari Moulton out for the season, Iowa needs more ways to create offense. Screens, quick slants, and even designed runs for Diaz could help shake things loose early.
The Hawkeyes also have to own the rushing battle. Iowa and Wisconsin usually want the same kind of game: run the ball, defend hard, keep it tight.
That’s where this one will be decided. Iowa’s ground game hasn’t matched past seasons, and inconsistency up front has been a real issue.
If the Hawkeyes want a win, they need to keep the score down and find enough production on the ground to control the tempo.
Wisconsin’s offense is built around Colton Joseph, who is more comfortable running than throwing and leads the Badgers in both categories. He gives them an extra body in the run game, much like Mark Gronowski did for Iowa last season.
If Iowa can slow Joseph and bottle up Wisconsin’s rushing attack, that changes the whole feel of the game. The Hawkeyes’ defense has been strong against the run, so the bigger question is whether Iowa’s offense can hold up its end.
If the run game stalls, Brown and/or Hecklinski will be asked to do more, and that’s not a spot Iowa wants to live in.
Then there’s the turnover margin, which has to swing back in Iowa’s favor. The Hawkeyes coughed it up four times against Minnesota, one of the roughest turnover games of the Kirk Ferentz era.
That kind of night can’t happen again, especially against a Wisconsin team that held USC to seven points. Iowa’s defense hasn’t created many takeaways this season, but this feels like the right time to change that.
The formula doesn’t need to be flashy. Iowa doesn’t need a turnover avalanche or a perfect offensive performance.
It just needs to protect the ball, force at least one takeaway, and avoid the kind of mistakes that buried it a week ago. If the Hawkeyes do that, they give themselves a real shot to grind out a much-needed win.
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