Badger of Honor
Fansided

Grading Wisconsin football in its win over the Iowa Hawkeyes

By Tanner Nestle

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Running back Taiwan Deal #28 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs up the field in the second half in front of linebacker Jack Hockaday #48 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Running back Taiwan Deal #28 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs up the field in the second half in front of linebacker Jack Hockaday #48 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin Badgers - Isaiahh Loudermilk
MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 30: Isaiahh Loudermilk (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Rush Defense: B

The front seven came up massive in two very key spots in this game. There were two instances where Iowa had the ball inside the Wisconsin ten-yard line on separate drives and only managed to come away with three total points.

The first was early in the game. After Iowa marched down the field it faced a fourth-and-inches. A Nate Stanley quarterback sneak got stuffed and the Hawkeyes turned the ball over without scoring any points. The other time was on a third-and-short situation that Ryan Connelly blew up for a significant loss.

Had Iowa gotten a first down, or at least back to the line of scrimmage where Kirk Ferentz could have decided to go for it again, the Hawkeyes could have come away with more than just three points. In either case, that could have been the difference in the ball game. When it mattered, Wisconsin won those battles.

The standout in this group to me is Isaiahh Loudermilk. He had battled through an injury to get back in time for this game and actually made it back to the field for last week’s game against BYU. He played fine then, but it was easy to tell he was much more comfortable this weekend. He batted down a pass, recorded a tackle for loss, and was a huge cog on the defensive line all night.

Having Loudermilk plugged in next to Olive Sagapolu for the rest of the season is going to do wonders for this defensive front.