Badger of Honor
Fansided

Wisconsin Football: Key matchups to watch vs. Iowa

By Steven Tondi

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 08: Elijah Lilly #19 of the New Mexico Lobos is brought down by Andrew Van Ginkel #17 and Zack Baun #56 of the Wisconsin Badgers during a game at Camp Randall Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 08: Elijah Lilly #19 of the New Mexico Lobos is brought down by Andrew Van Ginkel #17 and Zack Baun #56 of the Wisconsin Badgers during a game at Camp Randall Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
Wisconsin Football
MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 15: A group of BYU Cougars defenders make a tackle against the Wisconsin Badgers in the third quarter of the game at Camp Randall Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. BYU won 24-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Three matchups that will decide the outcome when Wisconsin Football takes on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

After a disappointing loss last week, the Wisconsin football program will have no time to dwell on its performance.  A road trip to Iowa City comes next, and it could be the deciding game for how the rest of the season plays out.

The Badgers struggled in many aspects against BYU and will have to take advantage of practice this week to clean up their mistakes.  A rivalry looms and Wisconsin better be ready for all the challenges that Iowa City brings.

BYU gave the Badgers fits in some of the most important facets of the game.  The Cougars had a great strategy and executed it very well.  They took full advantage of the inexperience in Wisconsin’s defensive line and secondary.  The freshman playing within those units periodically looked out of position and at times physically overwhelmed.

I am sure Iowa will be watching the tape this week and will look to take advantage of the same things BYU did.  Despite the deficiencies, the Badgers still have all their goals in front of them.

Quarterback Alex Hornibrook will need to be better this Saturday.  Despite his underwhelming performance against BYU, Hornibrook has what it takes to make big throws in big games.  One of Hornibrook’s best traits is his resiliency and ability to move on from his mistakes.  Countless times last year when Hornibrook would throw an interception or miss a receiver, he would come back with his best throw of the game.  I would not be surprised to see Hornibrook put this game behind him and turn in a strong performance against Iowa.

Hornibrook has a great outlook on this season. It is why Chryst supports his quarterback and believes he can get the job done.  Fans enjoy criticizing the quarterback’s performance, but the quarterback play was not the only aspect that contributed to the loss last week.  I am sure all the position coaches will be pushing the players really hard this week in practice and preparing them for what is store in Iowa City.  This team has the pieces to come out of Iowa with a victory, but they will have to be ready for an absolute slugfest on Saturday.

Let’s take a look at the most important matchups between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Iowa Hawkeyes.