By Tyler Devine

MADISON, Wis. – The Iowa football team dropped the ball literally and physically against Wisconsin on Saturday.

A mixture of dropped passes and lost fumbles resulted in just 66 yards of total offense and a 38-14 loss to drop Iowa to 3-4 in Big Ten play and 6-4 overall.

Both fumbles lost by Iowa resulted in Wisconsin touchdowns.

The one that hurt the most was on a premature snap by junior center James Daniels.

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Stanley was still making calls at the line of scrimmage when Daniels snapped the ball, which ended up hitting an unprepared Stanley in the stomach and falling to the ground.

The ball ended up in the hands of a Wisconsin defender, who scooped and scored to extend the Badgers’ lead to 24-14 in the third quarter.

“It was just a miscommunication,” Stanley said. “They came out and played super well and played a great game.”

Saturday was a far cry from just a week ago when Iowa routed then third-ranked Ohio State 55-24, forcing four turnovers and committing none.

Iowa’s receiving corps didn’t help its sophomore quarterback out either, dropping passes which for the most part would have resulted in first downs.

Throw in that element and you’ve got a recipe for disaster for a young offense, according to head coach Kirk Ferentz.

“That’s kind of been us this season,” Ferentz said. “We’re not good enough offensively not to execute cleanly. Little misthrows, little inches make a difference there and when we’ve got a catchable ball we’ve got to catch it. And when we do play clean football we’ve got a chance to do some good things. You drop the ball, especially against a team like this, you’re going to pay for it.”

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Daniels said after the game that it’s difficult to beat anyone playing the kind of football Iowa played on Saturday night, let alone the sixth-ranked team in the country.

“We just have to play consistent,” Daniels said. “Wisconsin, the way they were playing today, their defense was everywhere. They played a very good game against us and when we have mistakes there’s no chance we can beat, not just Wisconsin’s defense but any defense, the way we did today.”

Injury report: Iowa was without sophomore free safety Amani Hooker on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury.

The 6-foot, 210-pound Hooker was seen warming up before the game but did not dress in pads.

Senior Miles Taylor filled in for Hooker, who had previously replaced Taylor early in Iowa’s game against Illinois.

Junior Jake Gervase started for the second straight game at strong safety in place of injured junior Brandon Snyder.

The 6-foot-1, 214-pound Snyder made his season debut against Illinois but aggravated the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered during spring practice in April and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Ferentz said that Hooker had a chance to play on Saturday but was scratched just before kickoff.

Ferentz also said that he is hopeful that Hooker will be able to return next Saturday against Purdue.

“We thought Amani had a chance today but he didn’t make it,” Ferentz said. “What he’s got just didn’t respond, but hopefully next week (he’ll play). I’ll probably know more on Tuesday but we’ll take it iday-by-day.”

Sophomore defensive lineman Matt Nelson exited the game in the first quarter while cornerback Manny Rugamba exited the game in the third quarter.

“I think those guys will be okay, but I don’t want to speak prematurely,” Ferentz said.

Honoring veterans: Iowa switched up its uniform for the second week in a row, this time it was in recognition of Veteran’s Day.

The Hawkeyes wore helmets with a red, white and blue Tigerhawk on one side with the other side left blank.

Jackson does it again: Junior cornerback Josh Jackson was about the only positive note for Iowa on Saturday.

Jackson accounted for all of Iowa’s points, recording the first two interception returns for touchdowns of his career. He is the first Hawkeye to do so in a Big Ten game.

Jackson also forced the first fumble of his career.

Iowa has four pick-sixes on the season, tying a single-season team record.

Taylor said that it’s what Jackson does off the field that makes him successful on the field.

“I think it’s his preparation and I think it’s his work ethic,” Taylor said. “Over the summer and spring he worked really hard at perfecting his craft and trying to get better at his movements at corner. 

“I think he’s been doing a really good job with film study. We’ve been going over a lot of film and recognizing formations and getting a feel for receivers.”

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Jackson now has seven interceptions on the season, five of which have come in the last two games.

Ferentz isn’t sure how Jackson could top his performance the last two weeks.

“What he’s done the last two weeks just statistically, I don’t know how you could do better than that,” Ferentz said. “It’s almost video game-type numbers.”

The last Hawkeye to return two interceptions for touchdowns was B.J. Lowery against Western Michigan in 2013.

Sophomore defensive lineman Brady Reiff also recorded his first career sack on Saturday.

Jewell passes Morris: Senior linebacker Josey Jewell had 12 tackles, marking his 20th career game with double-digit tackles. 

Jewell now has 405 career tackles, passing James Morris for sixth all-time in program history.

Quick hitters: Wisconsin’s win snapped a six-game winning streak by the visiting team in the series…Iowa’s loss was the first this season by more than one possession…Iowa fell to 2-1 in trophy games this season. Iowa successfully defended two rivalry trophies, winning at Iowa State to retain the Cy-Hawk trophy and beating Minnesota to retain Floyd of Rosedale.