Week two games of interest to Wisconsin Football fans

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 01: Runningback Toren Young #28 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field during the second half between safeties Mykelti Williams #8 and Trequan Smith #24 of the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 1, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Iowa State at Iowa

5:00 p.m. ET

Iowa is Wisconsin’s first Big Ten opponent and will host the Badgers in just over two weeks. Iowa has some things to figure out before that weekend though. Playing in-state rival Iowa State won’t make that easy.

Iowa State had its opener against South Dakota State canceled last weekend due to weather, so there aren’t many notes on the Cyclones. The program is expected to perform well this season with the leadership of head coach Matt Campbell and star running back David Montgomery. Iowa State hasn’t won this game since 2014 but last season’s matchup was a thriller.

Iowa does have something to talk about from last weekend when it played Northern Illinois. The Hawkeyes took only a 3-0 lead into halftime before pouring it on in the second half. Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley completed less than half of his passes and didn’t have the strongest performance. The Hawkeyes did rush for over 200 yards, but only managed 4.4 yards-per-carry.

Winning the second half of the game by a margin of 30-7 was still impressive, but Iowa State is more well-equipped to take advantage of a slow start from Iowa.

The Cyclones and Matt Campbell are a trendy pick to do some big things this year. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see Iowa drop this one after three-straight wins in the rivalry. Iowa State is due, and Iowa hasn’t yet played its best football.