Grading Wisconsin football in its win over the Iowa Hawkeyes

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Running back Jonathon Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs up the field in the first half in front of defensive back Jake Gervase #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Rush Offense: B+

Jonathan Taylor had a great game this week but you’d hardly know it. He carried the ball 25 times for 113 yards. It looked like he was well on his way to a huge night until he stopped getting consistent carries. It was baffling in the moment and I still don’t entirely understand why.

Taiwan Deal had six carries of his own go for 42 yards. He could’ve used more touches between the tackles too.

🎶 The More You Know 🎶

Jonathan Taylor has hit the 100-yard rushing mark in every game so far this season. Iowa was allowing just 42 rushing yards per game.

Even more impressive, JT has topped the century mark in 14 of his 18 career games. #JT23 pic.twitter.com/sdqcNZHhIV
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) September 24, 2018

The running backs and Alec Ingold combined for 225 yards on 41 carries. Ingold’s late touchdown run of 33 yards to put the game out of reach helped that total significantly but it felt like the running game was working all night.

This was the second straight game without any fumbles for Taylor. Any game without a fumble for the Heisman hopeful is a plus. I feel he still doesn’t get carries late into games because of this. That’s something he can only change by continuing to hold onto the ball.

The offensive line played great in this game. A poor showing against BYU left a lot of fans wondering what could be wrong but they answered the call against the Hawkeyes. I’m not completely satisfied with them just yet. A bye week to further improve as a team, plus a game against Nebraska could change that. This unit still isn’t ready for Michigan though.