THE BASICS

The teams: The No. 25 Wisconsin Badgers (2-2) at the No. 19 Iowa Hawkeyes (5-2)

The time: 2:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday

The place: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa

The TV coverage: FS1 with Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman on the call.

The last time: Wisconsin stuffed Iowa on a late 2-point conversion to preserve a 24-22 win in Madison last season.

The series: Wisconsin leads 48-43-2

The line: Wisconsin -1

The Badgers injury report:

OUT

OL Kayden Lyles

DOUBTFUL

WR Danny Davis
WR Kendric Pryor

QUESTIONABLE

OL Cormac Sampson

THE BREAKDOWN: 5 THINGS TO WATCH

1) Offense?

Wisconsin has lost two-straight games and hasn’t looked good on offense in doing so. The Badgers didn’t score a touchdown in last week’s loss to Indiana, the first time that’s happened in five years. Their 13 combined points is the fewest in back-to-back games since 1991, when Barry Alvarez was still in the early stages of reviving the program.

The biggest problem is there isn’t just one thing that is going wrong. Inconsistency in the run game, inexperience in the pass game, a lack of big plays, back-breaking turnovers and the inability to get into a play calling rhythm have all impacted the unit over the last two games.

Can they figure it out against an Iowa defense that has been stout against the run and forced the second-most turnovers in the Big Ten?

2) Feed Jalen Berger

Paul Chryst dismissed the idea that they have Jalen Berger on a carry limit, saying things like a pitch count are reserved for baseball. If that’s true, and the fact he’s carried the ball exactly 15 times in each of the three games he’s played is a coincidence, then the Badgers need to figure out a way to increase that number.

The true freshman is averaging 5.9 yards per carry, almost two yards better than the other members of Wisconsin’s backfield. If they are worried that he can’t hold up running between the tackles more than he is, then getting him involved in the pass game makes sense, as that was a big part of his success in high school.

However it happens, Berger is the closest thing Wisconsin has to a big play guy on offense right now and 15 touches a game should probably be the minimum, not the max.

3) Jack Coan?

Graham Mertz is the future of the program, but the offense he’s led against Northwestern and Indiana put together the worst two-game scoring stretch by a Wisconsin team in close to 30 years. In the two losses, he was responsible for six of the Badgers seven turnovers, completed fewer than 60% of his passes and hasn’t thrown a touchdown since the first quarter against the Wildcats.

If the offense struggles again, will Chryst and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph turn to Jack Coan? The senior suited up against the Hoosiers for the first time since suffering a foot injury in fall camp. Chryst said this week that the potential for him to play rested in his health and whether he would be ready to be thrown back into the fire and not be thinking about the injury.

It’s entirely possible, and maybe even likely, that with the lack of playmakers on offense, Coan would have struggled just like Mertz has the last two weeks. But it’s also possible that throwing one of the team leaders back in would give the offense a jolt of energy.

4) Historic effort

The best defense in Wisconsin’s program history is the 1951 unit that was referred to as the “Hard Rocks” defense. That group allowed only 154.8 total yards per game and just 66.8 yards per game on the ground — both marks being the best in UW history. While the 2020 defense won’t top those totals, it does have a chance to be right behind them.

Right now, the Badgers lead the country in total defense at 229.3 yards per game and rushing defense at 72.3 yards per game. Both figures would be the second-best in school history.

Iowa could present the biggest challenge to this point. The Hawkeyes are second in the Big Ten in averaging 32.3 points per game and have scored at least 35 points in four of their last five games — all wins.

The key for Wisconsin will be stopping the Iowa run game, which ranks fourth in the conference. If the Badgers do that, it will force first-year quarterback Spencer Petras to beat them. Can he do it? Maybe. He was really good against Illinois, but UW will provide a much stiffer test.

5) Stop beating yourself

Wisconsin’s two-game losing streak has been marred by similar issues — turnovers and penalties. The Badgers have seven turnovers and 16 penalties in the games against Northwestern and Indiana, while their opponents turned it over twice and were called for just two penalties.

Now comes Iowa that has been called for the third-fewest penalties in the conference and has just three turnovers in its five-game winning streak.

If the Badgers can come out on the positive side of those two stats it will go a long way to avoiding the first three-game losing streak of Paul Chryst’s tenure.

NUMBERS TO CONSIDER

Since 1997, Wisconsin owns a 14-7 record against Iowa, including winning four straight and seven of the last eight. The Badgers haven’t lost in Iowa City since 2008.

Wisconsin is just 2-4 in its last six games, with all four losses coming against ranked teams. Going back to 2018, the Badgers are just 3-7 against teams ranked in the top 25 of the AP poll.

The Badgers have lost two-straight games. Wisconsin hasn’t had a three-game losing streak within the same season since 2008. That year is the only time it’s happened in the last 15 seasons.

ZONE PREDICTIONS

Zach Heilprin’s prediction: Iowa 17, Wisconsin 7
Ebo’s prediction: Wisconsin 21, Iowa 20
Nelson Raisbeck’s prediction: Iowa 23, Wisconsin 20