Wisconsin has gotten used to catching breaks on the injury front when opponents show up on the schedule, and Iowa just handed the Badgers another one before Halloween.
Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said starting running back Kamari Moulton is out for the rest of the season after suffering a hand injury in Iowa’s upset loss to Minnesota. That leaves Wisconsin to face a much different Hawkeyes offense on the road in one of the biggest games on its schedule.
Moulton was Iowa’s clear lead back. He carried the ball 86 times for 541 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per rush, and scored four touchdowns. The next-closest Iowa running back, Xavier Williams, has 25 carries for 187 yards and three touchdowns.
The timing matters because Moulton has been the engine of the Hawkeyes’ ground game. He already had 359 yards after contact and forced 28 missed tackles this season. For comparison, Wisconsin’s Abu Sama and Darrion Dupree have combined to force 24 missed tackles on 14 more carries than Moulton.
Moulton also produced against Wisconsin last season, when he posted 125 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
Now Iowa is expected to lean on some mix of Williams, LJ Phillips and Braeden Jackson. Williams and Jackson have each flashed big-play ability, with a 48-yard run and a 62-yard run, respectively, but neither has brought the same steady production Moulton provided.
The injury fits a familiar pattern for Wisconsin in recent weeks. Before the Badgers played then-No.
13 Penn State in Week 4, the Nittany Lions announced that wideout Koby Howard - who had 12 catches for 344 yards and two touchdowns through three games - would be out for an extended period. Michigan State then lost tailback Cam Edwards for the season before Week 5.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamleava suffered a season-ending injury before Wisconsin’s Week 7 matchup, though backup Ty Dieffenbach still threw for 264 yards and helped the Bruins win. Against then-No.
16 USC, Wisconsin also didn’t have to deal with Trojans tight end Mark Bowman, who had already been sidelined for weeks.
So once again, Wisconsin walks into a major matchup with an opponent missing a key offensive piece. If the Badgers want a real shot at the Heartland Trophy, stopping Iowa’s run game now becomes even more important.
In Other News...
Wisconsins Rotation Is Taking Shape Around One Growing Concern
Wisconsins exhibition slate offered enough to feel encouraged and enough to keep the staff measuring the depth chart with caution. The Badgers finished 3-0, capped by a win over Oklahoma State, and Owen Foxwell looked like the guard most ready to steady things early. He brought efficient scoring and a clear presence in the backcourt, the kind of start that can settle a team while the rest of the rotation sorts itself out.
The bigger question now is what happens in the minutes around him. Other players have flashed, but nobody has yet locked down a dependable scoring role, which leaves the Badgers with a real sense of possibility and a lingering concern as the season approaches. Wisconsin has a workable foundation, but the way those non-Foxwell possessions are filled in may end up shaping how quickly this group finds its rhythm once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Badgers Showed Real Promise But One Issue Still Stands Out
The Badgers closed the preseason with a convincing 82-65 win over Oklahoma State, a performance that offered a cleaner snapshot of what this group can be when the offense is clicking. Owen Foxwell led the way with 19 points and three assists, and he was especially sharp from deep, going 3-for-3 from three-point range as Wisconsin shot 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with the strong shooting night and a defense that held the Cowboys to 65 points, there was still a familiar issue sitting in the background. Wisconsin turned the ball over 15 times, and while that did not spoil the result in an exhibition setting, it remains the kind of detail that can undercut a promising night once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces Two Iowa Unknowns That Could Decide The Heartland Trophy
Wisconsin heads to Iowa this week with the kind of game that can turn on small details, and the matchup already has a little extra uncertainty baked in. The Badgers, now No. 25, are facing an Iowa team that slipped out of the AP Poll after its loss to Minnesota, but the bigger question is what the Hawkeyes will look like on offense with the quarterback situation still unsettled and Hank Brown set to start.
There is another layer of unpredictability around Iowas backfield, too, with star running back Kamari Moulton out for the season and the workload shifting elsewhere. For Wisconsin, that means preparing for a rivalry game in which the usual scouting report may not hold up for long, and the Heartland Trophy could come down to which side adapts fastest once the ball is kicked off. [Read more 🡒]