Grading Wisconsin football in its win over the Iowa Hawkeyes

1 of 7

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Fullback Alec Ingold #45 of the Wisconsin Badgers breaks a tackle in the first half by linebacker Kristian Welch #34 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Wisconsin football pulled out a clutch win over the Iowa Hawkeyes last weekend.

It wasn’t pretty, but Wisconsin football got the job done in Iowa City over the weekend. The Badgers now hold firm control of the Big Ten West lead and continue to control their own destiny to the Big Ten Championship.

Some position groups didn’t perform as well in this game as they have in prior weeks while others stepped up like we haven’t seen yet this year. It all culminated in a win for the Badgers and that’s what matters. Heading into the bye week with that momentum is huge.

The Badgers host Nebraska the week following the bye then head to the Big House to face Michigan in a rematch from last year. The game against Nebraska seemed like one Wisconsin would have in the bag. After a strong team effort and clutch win over Iowa, it feels like a sure thing.

Badger of Honor will break down the game against Nebraska more next week after we see what the Huskers do this weekend against Purdue. We still have some things to talk about from Iowa.

On the surface, the game was ugly. Iowa connected on several big plays and Wisconsin could hardly get any consistent drives going. Wisconsin’s youth in the secondary really showed with all of the penalties and inability to play the ball in the air.

Turnovers swung momentum into Wisconsin’s court twice on special teams. That went a long way in keeping the game close enough down the stretch. Alex Hornibrook was able to take care of the rest.