Three takeaways from Wisconsin’s 42-10 loss to Iowa. – BadgerBlitz

The Wisconsin Badgers played their ninth game of the 2024 season and sixth conference game Saturday night, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium, 42-10.

Here are my three biggest takeaways from the Wisconsin loss.

Iowa’s offense didn’t throw Wisconsin any surprises.

The Hawkeyes have one of the best running backs in the country Caleb Johnsonand everyone knew that the game revolved around him. But I’m not even sure Johnson broke a sweat. It was the easiest 135-yard, three-touchdown performance I’ve ever seen. His offensive line created holes that coach Kirk Ferentz could pass through.

The Badgers stuck to their guns and mostly stayed in nickel, which Iowa took full advantage of.

“Obviously on the second level, [Johnson’s] tough because he’s a big back and has the speed to make you worry,” Luke Fickell said after the match.

“But I don’t think I’d go much further than to say the difference in the game was the guys up front.”

The Hawkeye offense started with a more balanced offensive approach in the first two snaps. But once they realized the Badgers weren’t much of a threat on earth, it was curtains.

Their second-quarter touchdown streaks spanned six and seven plays, respectively — consisting of one pass and 12 runs for an average of 9.7 yards per carry.

The dominance continued for the rest of the day. Overall, the Hawkeyes rushed 54 times for 329 yards, the most the Badgers have allowed since the 2012 Rose Bowl.

The Badgers aren’t deep enough up front, as Fickell acknowledged earlier this week.

“Maybe at the end of the game we were a little worn out defensively and I think that cost us in the long run,” Fickell said Monday.

However, they were immediately overwhelmed. We can call it what it is – a durability issue.

That doesn’t even compare to the Alabama or Penn State games. As programs, Iowa and Wisconsin are equal. They even entered Saturday’s game with the same record. Yet, against a good-not-great Hawkeye team, the Badgers were thoroughly embarrassed.

A rivalry game does a good job of showing where a team sits on the conference totem pole. Wisconsin can beat teams like Purdue and Northwestern, but has yet to threaten any team worth a shot.

“November is a time to find out what you’re made of, and that’s not a good testament to what we’re made of,” Fickell said.

“It was something that is your worst nightmare, to be overtaken, outmaneuvered and dominated, especially in the second half.”

Trench dominance took place on both sides of the ball.

Iowa’s defensive front was just as relentless as the offense. They completely stop the running back Towie Walkerwho finished with just 16 carries for 52 yards. The team as a whole rushed just 28 times for 124 yards.

If the Hawkeyes couldn’t penetrate the offensive line, they made it easy for the perimeter blockers.

“We should be able to cut some people loose.” We need to be able to keep the ball on the rim a little more. But we couldn’t do it tonight. We’ve got to block on the perimeter a little bit better so when we get the ball to the edge, it’s not a one-yard gain or a two-yard gain,” Fickell said.

“But Iowa is really good here. They do a great job of creating and placing edges and make you work for everything. And obviously we didn’t work hard enough to do that tonight.”

After Walker’s first few attempts were unsuccessful, offensive coordinator Phil Longo panicked and instantly gave up running. Through their first seventeen games, Longo walked 12 and only five runs. He put too much pressure on the defender Bradyn Lockewhich he proved incapable of dealing with.

But. in Locke’s defense, crime can do nothing right. The line couldn’t block, which closed the game, and the receivers didn’t give Locke many breaks.

This goes back to coaching. It seems to me that Longo’s days as a coordinator are numbered. Crime has no sense of identity. They only ever seem competent against bad defenses. When they are hit in the mouth, they immediately crumble.

“Everybody knows Iowa is going to make it difficult [run the ball]. You thought you had a good plan coming up, with the ability to create some seams and find ways to loosen them up a little bit, but we weren’t able to do that tonight,” Fickell said.

It was the type of performance that inspires real soul-searching.

Whether or not introducing an Air Raid Coordinator was the right decision is debatable. But we know Longo is not the right man for the job.

When running didn’t work, Locke’s weaknesses became incredibly apparent. Too much was placed on his shoulders to handle and he collapsed under the weight.

Locke just could never create a sense of rhythm. He didn’t complete more than two straight passes until late in the third quarter, leading to their first touchdown at 28-3.

He got off to a good start, leading a field goal kick to punt first blood.

But disaster soon struck. Late in the first quarter, Locke dropped back and attempted to throw a 25-yard pass to the receiver Quincy Burroughsbut didn’t see the boundary cornerback Deshaun Leewhich popped up for easy detection.

That killed all the Badgers’ momentum. And they couldn’t recover it at any point during the rest of the night.

After nine starts Locke showed us who he is.

He’s a quarterback who can look capable when his offensive line gives him time and the running game allows for an efficient play, which can be said for most quarterbacks in the FBS.

I don’t want to put all the blame on Locke because there are obvious issues at coordinator and receiver, but it’s clear that he’s not the right quarterback for this particular period of Badger football.

Locke just isn’t good enough to create wins on his own. He has become a product of his environment.

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