Wisconsin vs. Iowa; which team has the advantage at each position
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For much of the past three decades, ever since Barry Alvarez rebuilt the Wisconsin football program in the early 1990s, Wisconsin has been a better version of the Iowa football team.
The Badgers have won eight of the last 10 games in the series, and have won three Rose Bowls since the 1993 season, while Iowa hasn’t won a Rose Bowl since the 1958 season under Forest Evashevski.
Wisconsin has achieved this success by using a similar approach and philosophy as Iowa as both teams rely on having ball-control, run-oriented offenses, tough and fundamentally sound defenses, and reliable special teams.
Wisconsin has just been better at putting it all together on a consistent basis, especially on the ground where the Badgers traditionally rank among the best in the country.
“This is a rivalry game, has been for a long time,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, who has an 8-13 record against Wisconsin. “One thing that’s been pretty consistent over the years, it’s usually a really hard-fought game, very, very competitive against a really good program.
“Been probably about thirty plus of these now, and it’s been pretty much that way for most of the time other than maybe the late ’80s. Wisconsin is a program that we’ve had a lot of respect and admiration for. When I got back here in ’99 they were at the top of the league and then clinched that Rose Bowl our first year when they beat us in their last game of the season.”
The current Wisconsin team isn’t as dominant on the ground by its high standards, but still averages 183.33 yards per game, which is 80 yards more than Iowa averages on the ground.
These games are won on the field, but the path to victory starts with how the teams stack up against each other.
Here is a look at which team has the advantage at the nine positions, including special teams. It shows that this should be a competitive matchup between two teams that are good, but that have fallen short of being great this season, but for different reasons.
Quarterback: Spencer Petras and Graham Mertz have sputtered and stumbled along the way together.
They both have won a decent number of games as three-year starters, but neither has reached the level that was expected from them.
Inconsistency caused largely by inaccuracy as a passer has been the biggest problem for both.
Both quarterbacks have been blamed for most of the problems on offense, which goes with the territory.
From a statistical standpoint, Mertz has the advantage as he is ranked third in the Big Ten with a 151.21 pass efficiency rating, while Petras is ranked near the bottom at 110.2
Mertz has completed 123-of-205 passes for 1,701 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also has thrown six interceptions.
Petras has completed 127-of-228 passes for 1,401 yards and five touchdowns. He also has thrown five interceptions.
So, Mertz has thrown 12 more touchdown passes than Petras has in the same number of games.
That statistic alone should pretty much decide this one.
Advantage: Wisconsin
Running back: Sophomore Braelon Allen leads the Badgers with 989 rushing yards on 172 carries, and his average of 109.89 rushing yards per game ranks fourth in the conference.
Allen is averaging an impressive 5.75 yards per carry and he also has 10 rushing touchdowns.
The Badgers also have a reliable second option at running back in fifth-year senior Isaac Guerendo, who has rushed for 280 yards and scored five touchdowns. He also averages 6.7 yards per carry.
Guerendo had an 89-yard touchdown run in last Saturday’s 23-10 victory over Maryland, while Allen has a 96-yard touchdown run this season, making Wisconsin the only Power 5 team to record multiple touchdown runs from at least 85 yards this season. This also marks the first time in program history that Wisconsin has had two different players with touchdown runs from at least 85 yards.
True freshman Kaleb Johnson has emerged as Iowa’s top running back and is coming off a career-high 200-yard rushing performance in last Saturday’s 24-3 victory at Purdue, 75 of which came on a touchdown run.
Johnson leads Iowa with 553 rushing yards, with four rushing touchdowns, and with a 5.8 yards-per-carry average.
Sophomore Leshon Williams has rushed for 312 yards in eight games and has 10 receptions for 76 yards.
Advantage: Wisconsin
Receiver: Chimere Dike leads the Wisconsin receivers with 35 catches, 555 receiving yards and six touchdown grabs.
He is also averaging 15.8 yards per catch, and he leads the nation with 280 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns on third-down this season.
Redshirt freshman Skyler Bell has developed into a nice second option at receiver for the Badgers as he has 22 catches for 367 yards and four touchdowns.
Bell also has rushed 10 times for 105 yards.
Senior Nico Ragaini leads the Iowa receivers with 21 receptions for 279 yards despite missing the first two games of the season because of a foot injury. He also has one of Iowa’s five touchdown catches this season.
Sophomore slot receiver Arland Bruce has 17 catches for 177 yards and one touchdown, while redshirt freshman Brody Brecht has seven catches for 66 yards.
Redshirt freshman Diante Vines has played in the last three games for Iowa since recovering from a wrist injury and has five catches for 46 yards.
Advantage: Wisconsin
Tight end: The Badgers have been hurt by the loss of tight end Clay Cundiff, who suffered a leg injury in the loss at Ohio State on Sept. 24.
He has only played in four games this season, but still leads the Wisconsin tight ends with 142 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Hayden Rucci has played in six games and is listed as the starter on this week’s depth chart. But he only has four catches for 47 yards, while backup tight end Jake Eschenbach has nine catches for 85 yards.
Senior Sam LaPorta leads Iowa with 44 catches and 458 receiving yards. His 44 catches are the most by a Big Ten tight end.
LaPorta has started 28 games and played in 43 games overall.
His 139 career receptions and his 1,587 career receiving yards are the second most by an Iowa tight end.
Iowa also has a quality second option at tight end in 6-foot-6, 252-pound sophomore Luke Lachey. He has 12 catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns this season.
This was really a no-brainer.
Advantage: Iowa
Offensive line: Veteran coach Bob Bostad has taken over coaching the Badgers’ offensive line after having coached linebackers since 2017.
This year’s unit isn’t great by Wisconsin’s high standards, but it’s still solid.
Jack Nelson, a 6-7, 310-pound sophomore, anchors the line at left tackle after having started at right guard last season, while junior Joe Tippman starts at center for the second year in a row.
The fact that Wisconsin is averaging 183.33 rushing yards per game, while Iowa is averaging just 103.6 rushing yards per game says a lot about both offensive lines.
The Iowa offensive line has struggled for much of the season, although, progress was made in the last two games against Northwestern and Purdue.
The recent decision to switch sophomore Connor Colby from right tackle to left guard has helped to stabilize the offensive line.
Fifth-year senior Jack Plumb, who is from Wisconsin, has started the last two games at right tackle for Iowa.
The team that has rushed for more yards in this game has won 19 of the 21 games in the series since Kirk Ferentz became the Iowa head coach in 1999.
It starts with these guys.
Advantage: Wisconsin
Defensive line: Wisconsin senior nose tackle Keeanu Benton is in his fourth year as a starter and has made 33 career starts.
His ability to take on blockers is huge in Wisconsin’s 3-4 defensive alignment.
He has 23 tackles, including four for losses, and three sacks this season. He also has two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.
Sophomore James Thompson has 19 tackles, including 3.5 for losses, while junior Rodas Johnson has 15 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.
Iowa, meanwhile, has four starters on the defensive line that have combined to make 79 career starts, led by senior tackle Noah Shannon with 24 starts.
Sophomore Lukas Van Ness doesn’t start, but he might have the most potential of all the Iowa defensive linemen. He has 29 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries in limited playing time.
Senior defensive end Joe Evans, a former walk-on, and former high school quarterback, leads Iowa with five sacks.
Advantage: Iowa
Linebackers: Wisconsin has excelled for years while using a 3-4 defensive alignment, and its linebackers are a big reason why.
Junior Maema Njongmeta and sophomore Jordan Turner have started six games side-by-side this season and the duo has combined for 100 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
Njongmenta leads the team with 60 tackles, and he has had at least eight tackles in five games this season.
Wisconsin’s two other starting linebackers – C.J. Goetz and Nick Herbig – have 37 and 34 tackles, respectively.
Herbig’s biggest strenght is getting to the quarterback as he leads the Big Ten with 12.5 tackles for loss and with eight sacks. He plays outside linebacker in Wisconsin’s 3-4 scheme, but he pressures the quarterback more like a defensive end despite only being listed at 6-2 and 228 pounds.
With Petras’s lack of mobility, keeping Herbig away from him will be a top priority, and how that plays out could go a long way in determining a winner on Saturday.
Iowa will counter with one of the best linebacker duos in the Big Ten in seniors Jack Campbell and Seth Benson.
Campbell leads the team with 89 tackles and is a semifinalist for the Butkus, Lombardi and Bednarik awards. The Cedar Falls native has had at least 10 tackles in five games this season.
Benson is second on the team with 71 tackles and the South Dakota native will make his 31st career start on Saturday.
Iowa suffered a blow when linebacker Jestin Jacobs was lost for the season due to an injury.
However, junior Jay Higgins has helped to fill the void by making 31 tackles, including a career-high 11 stops in the win over Northwestern.
Advantage: Iowa
Secondary: Wisconsin fifth-year senior strong safety John Torchio leads the Big Ten with five interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns, including one for 100 yards. Torchio also has five pass breakups and ranks second on the team with 45 tackles, and is clearly playing at an All-Big Ten level.
Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard was a former All-Big Ten safety for the Badgers who would go on to have a successful career in the NFL.
So, it should come as a surprise that he has talented secondary that performs well against the run and pass.
Kamo’i Latu, who transferred from Utah, starts at free safety for the Badgers and is fourth on the team with 42 tackles, and with two interceptions.
Starting cornerbacks Jay Shaw and Cedrick Dort also transferred from UCLA and Kentucky, respectively.
Iowa’s secondary has performed well throughout the season despite having to replace three starters from last season.
Sophomore Cooper DeJean has played cornerback, safety and the cash position, and he has excelled at all three positions. He is third on the team with 50 tackles, and he has three interceptions, including a pick six against Rutgers, and seven pass breakups.
Junior Quinn Schulte also has 50 tackles in his first season as the starting free safety. The former walk-on from Cedar Rapids has six pass breakups and one interception this season.
Fifth-year senior cornerback Riley Moss has started 35 games and was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year last season. He has 38 tackles, seven pass breakups, and two forced fumbles this season.
Senior strong safety Kaevon Merriweather has started 21 games and played in 42 games overall. He has 38 tackles and three interceptions, and he returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown against Rutgers.
Junior safety Sebastian Castro has played in 23 games overall with five starts. His playing time has increased due to the injury to senior cornerback Terry Roberts as Castro becomes the fifth defensive back when Iowa uses the cash alignment.
Advantage: Iowa
Special teams: Both teams are traditionally strong on special teams and this season is no exception in both cases.
Wisconsin punter Andy Vujnovich is averaging 43.7 yards on 39 punts, and 15 of his punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line, while 13 have traveled at least 50 yards.
Wisconsin kicker Nate Van Zelst has made 5-of-7 field-goal attempts, but his longest made field goal is just 39 yards this season.
Wisconsin has two talented return specialists in Guerendo on kickoffs and Dean Engram on punts. Engram is the son of Wisconsin offensive coordinator Bobby Engram.
Iowa features one of the best punters in the country in junior Tory Taylor, and a rising star at kicker in true freshman Drew Stevens.
The 25-year old Taylor, who is from Melbourne, Australia, leads the Big Ten with a 45.9 average on 55 punts, while Stevens has made 12-of-14 field-goal attempts, with a personal best from 54 yards.
Stevens also handles kickoffs for Iowa and has 24 touchbacks on 38 kicks.
Wisconsin has the edge in return specialists, but Iowa has a bigger edge at kicker and punter.
Advantage: Iowa