Wisconsin football locks up with Iowa this weekend in another edition of the historic western border battle. The Badgers share some recent similarities with the Hawkeyes.
Wisconsin football is still struggling at present to impress national college football pollsters despite racing to a 9-0 start. The weak strength of schedule is an anchor at the moment.
Iowa knows something about that. In fact, the 2015 Hawkeyes know the feeling all too well.
Just two years ago, Iowa won the Big Ten West, undefeated during the regular season. The Hawkeyes were #4 nationally entering the Big Ten title game.
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Yet, much like Wisconsin is experiencing this season, Iowa wasn’t winning new converts with each victory. Iowa wasn’t impressing anyone despite the spotless record.
In part, a defensive-minded team that focuses on controlling the clock with a strong running game isn’t built to pile up points. It isn’t going to always deliver aesthetically pleasing outings.
The Hawkeyes only beat two ranked teams that season #20 Northwestern. The other? They survived in Madison beating #19 Wisconsin 10-6 after the Badgers turned the ball over four times.
Iowa’s average margin of victory during the regular season was 15 points. Through nine games, Wisconsin’s average margin of victory is 22.8 points. So slight edge to the Badgers.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes gave up an average of 18.7 points per game during the regular season. So far this year, the Badgers are giving up just 13.3 points per game on average.
Of course, Iowa then lost a heartbreaker to Michigan State 16-13. The Spartans marched on a 22-play (yup, 22 plays) 82-yard drive spanning 9:04 of the 4th quarter. RB LJ Scott scored the game winning touchdown with :27 left.
Michigan State went to the College Football Playoffs where it lost 38-0 to Alabama. Iowa went to the Rose Bowl where Christian McCaffrey and Stanford humiliated Iowa by a 45-16 score.
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So obviously, the Badgers are hoping for a better conclusion than 2015 Iowa. The chorus of 2015 Iowa critics swelled by the week. And the Hawkeye haters definitely enjoyed seeing Iowa drop its final two games. It appeared to validate the doubts all season that undefeated Iowa was a hollow corn husk.
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Wisconsin is facing similar questions with its underwhelming slate and failing to rout some suspect opponents. With the Badgers a near lock for the Big Ten title game (a win Saturday would do it), they’ve earned the chance to silence the doubters. These next two weeks with Iowa and Michigan are easily the Badgers toughest opponents and thus best opportunity to justify a move up the polls.