From the start, the game was full of surprises.
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It may, in fact, be as good as last year’s attack, which averaged 320.14 yards per game.
Wisconsin outside linebacker Joe Schobert provided a late chance for a rally with a sack, forced fumble and recovery of Beathard’s bobble with 11:02 left.
Wisconsin’s last gasp came with 40 seconds to go when Stave’s pass on fourth-and-2 was incomplete to tight end Troy Fumagalli. It’s an inside running drill that includes a fullback leading a play to the weakside. On third-and-1 from the 4, Stave executed a quarterback sneak and picked up 2 yards. Two poorly thrown interceptions were. King intercepted the pass, which was underthrown, at the Iowa 11. Had he gotten the ball to Peavy, the redshirt sophomore had room to run.
The Huskers started out shaky in the second half, too.
Just how real is Iowa (4-0)? His 2007 Western Michigan squad beat the Hawkeyes 28-19. “That may have slipped a bit at times previous year”. The Bears gained 680 yards, 368 rushing. But Kittle has a single 1 yard touchdown catch, reps indicate to news.
Russell was 15 for 23 with one interception. True freshman WR Jerminic Smith will start in his place for the second straight game. Beathard ran the ball five times against Wisconsin. After all, their victories had come against teams like winless North Texas and FCS opponent Illinois State.
Stave had no time to react, and Iowa recovered the fumble and added a field goal for a 10-3 lead.
Why the Gophers will win it: Coach Jerry Kill has built an up-and-coming program around the old-school formula of running the ball and playing stout defense. “And that’s where you have to finish the season – that’s our goal as well”.
This strategy worked well against Iowa in the opening drive as the Badgers were able to put three points on the board. He had an 88-yard run that set up a field goal. His 13 tackles for loss are three more than the player with the second most in the country. It hasn’t allowed a touchdown on the ground yet. The Golden Gophers also failed to convert on all three of its fourth down conversion attempts.
After digesting Saturday’s loss to Iowa in the Big Ten opener, B5Q assesses where Wisconsin stands at this juncture and how they’ll fare against Nebraska.
Towards the end of summer, I wrote about how Iowa’s bad luck in recovering fumbles last year should regress towards the mean this year.
Grogan rebounded to make the victor after having an extra-point blocked.
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But Wisconsin is 0-3 at Lincoln, most recently losing 30-27 in 2012. Especially since it was taking place in one of the historic venues in college football, Memorial Stadium, and in front of one of the Big Ten’s most rabid fan bases. This season, that total was four. The status of wide receiver Alex Erickson (concussion) is to be determined. “You don’t have to look any further than our team two years ago”. This week’s depth chart lists the two as co-starters. If the Hawkeyes don’t hold onto the football, they will lose this game.
