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Iowa Football: Keys to Defeating Wisconsin Badgers
Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
A look at how the Iowa Hawkeyes can upset the Wisconsin Badgers
It’s not the potential top-25 matchup some people expected at the start of the year, but Iowa football still has a chance to upset Wisconsin on Saturday. Both teams enter the game with two losses on the season, and another loss for either team would make it very hard to win the Big Ten West.
The Hawkeyes have won both of their trophy games so far this year. They beat Iowa State to win the Cy-Hawk Trophy and then took down Minnesota a couple of weeks ago to hold onto the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy for another year. The Heartland Trophy is on the line this week, and Iowa doesn’t want to give it back after one year.
Despite it coming against Purdue, Iowa’s 35-7 halftime lead and 49-35 win a week ago should instill confidence in the team. It’s the best they have looked since the beginning of the season, but they will have to play even better this week.
Wisconsin is a seven-point point loss to Michigan and an overtime loss to Ohio State away from being the second ranked team in the nation. They come into Iowa City battle-tested after facing four AP Poll top-10 teams in the first six weeks of the season. This is Iowa’s first ranked opponent of 2016, however they have a lot of veterans on the roster who won’t shy away from the spotlight on Saturday.
Here’s a look at how Iowa can upset Wisconsin at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Contain Corey Clement
Wisconsin’s offense runs through senior running back Corey Clement. After only playing in four games in 2015 due to injuries, Clement has played in five of six games this season for the Badgers and is starting to look like himself again. He got off to a somewhat slow start to 2016, although he had his breakout game a week ago against Ohio State.
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The bye week clearly helped him as he rushed for a season-high 164 yards on 25 carries — 6.6 yards per carry. If Wisconsin’s offensive line gives him holes to burst through this week, the Hawkeyes will have a hard time taking him down as he has great speed in the open field and is a tough, physical runner when taking on contact.
Despite teams knowing that Wisconsin wants to run the ball, Clement still finds ways to impact the game. His 4.5 yards per carry is underwhelming after averaging 6.5 yards per rush in 2014 as a sophomore. That being said, he scored at least one touchdown in each of the three wins he played in, including two against Michigan State when he only gained 2.3 yards per carry.
In the Badgers’ two losses, Clement didn’t find the end zone but combined to rush for 232 yards on 42 carries — 5.5 yards per carry. He might not have scored, however he still helped move the ball downfield when Alex Hornibrook struggled. Clement is underrated because it’s extremely hard to stop him and make him a non-factor, despite teams knowing his usage in the Badgers’ offense is high.
Every team wants to force Hornibrook to beat them with his arm. The Hawkeyes enter the game with a defense only allowing 51.5 percent of passes completed against them, compared to teams averaging 3.9 yards per carry. While neither is terrible, the Hawkeyes find more success when teams abandon the run and try to pass.
That being said, Iowa is coming off their two best performances against the run. They held Minnesota and Purdue to 149 rushing yards and a touchdown on 50 carries. Holding Clement to these numbers likely won’t happen, although if Iowa doesn’t let him gain chunks of yards on first down, and forces Wisconsin into obvious passing third downs, they’ll have a chance to stop this offense.
Corey Clement and Iowa have not seen a lot of each other. He only has one carry for -1 yards against the Hawkeyes in his career, however, Wisconsin wanting to run the ball is not new.
There is no stopping Clement, but if Iowa can contain him, and keep him out of the end zone, they will be able to force Wisconsin to rely on Hornibrook. Their offense goes as Clement goes, and they’re significantly better and harder to stop once Clement gains confidence and runs like he did a week ago.
Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
C.J. Beathard Controls the Game
C.J. Beathard is the unquestioned leader of Iowa’s offense. He makes adjustments and audibles at the line and is key to Iowa’s success. Keeping him on his feet and giving him time in the pocket to throw will be key, although, Beathard doesn’t need to be a superstar this week, rather he needs to play smart.
Beathard has taken a step back from his fantastic 2015 campaign. He is completing 1.5 percent fewer of his passes, is on pace to throw for more than 500 fewer yards and already has four interceptions through seven games after throwing five in 14 games last season. Not to mention Beathard has -18 rushing yards after running for over 200 yards in 2015, and his health has continued to be an issue.
The Hawkeyes would love to see the 2015 C.J. Beathard resurface this week, although that’s not what they need. Iowa needs Beathard to play smart and not turn the ball over.
The Hawkeyes don’t need 75-yard touchdowns, but Beathard has to control the tempo of the game, complete short passes to help move the sticks and be the captain orchestrating drives down the field. Simply put, don’t play hero ball.
Prior to last week, Beathard had three interceptions in two games. It’s by far the worst stretch of his career, especially when considering he never threw an interception in back-to-back games in the 2015 regular season. In fact, Iowa is 1-2 in the three games he’s thrown an interception in this season and only scored 14 points in the win.
Wisconsin has the secondary to make Beathard pay for a poor throw. The Badgers have intercepted eight passes on the year and will bring pressure all game. Even though Beathard can’t always help getting sacked, he has to be smarter in the pocket.
Whether it’s stepping up so he doesn’t get hit, scrambling out of the pocket or throwing the ball away, Beathard can’t take costly sacks. It seems like at times Beathard is too dedicated to finding an open receiver when there are none. It doesn’t hurt to throw the ball away every once in a while, or scramble for a short gain, rather than taking a big sack eight yards back or throwing a 50/50 ball in the air.
When it comes down to it, Beathard can’t over think when he’s out there. He’s an underrated runner and he’ll need his legs this week against a stifling defense. He flashed his speed and football IQ a week ago at Purdue when he scampered in for a 15-yard touchdown. Iowa doesn’t need to rely on his legs, but his ability to scramble creates problems for opposing teams and helps open up the run game for Iowa.
Beathard tries to do too much at times and that gets him in trouble. He needs to play within himself and can’t worry about making big plays. Time of possession and long drives will be key for Iowa, and it starts with the quarterback play.
Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Don’t Commit Penalties
Penalties usually suggest an undisciplined or poorly coached team. That makes Iowa’s 12 penalties a week ago and 5.7 per game very surprising. Kirk Ferentz usually has a more disciplined team and Iowa has a lot of veterans that should know better.
Either way, penalties have become costly for the Hawkeyes. Three potential rushing touchdowns from LeShun Daniels Jr were wiped out by chop block calls. Ferentz has already voiced his displeasure with the inconsistency of that call. Either way, it’s been a hurdle Iowa has yet to clear this season.
On the first play of the second half against North Dakota State and Rutgers in back-to-back weeks, LeShun Daniels Jr ran for a long touchdown but both were called back. Sure, they were questionable calls, but Iowa ended up punting on both drives and it changed the flow of the game at the time.
Then last week, the dreaded chop block call haunted Iowa again on a short Daniels touchdown. C.J. Beathard ran it from 15 yards out a couple of plays later in a rout of Purdue, but the frequency that Iowa’s offensive line gets called for it on big plays is concerning, nonetheless.
Wisconsin gives up a mere 3.4 yards per carry and has only allowed one offensive touchdown longer than 20 yards and three longer than 10 yards in 2016. It’s evident that big gains against the Badgers don’t happen often, so Iowa can’t afford to lose a big play because of a penalty.
Even though Iowa managed to score 49 points against Purdue with 12 penalties, they’ll have a much harder time converting third and longs against Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes can’t hurt their chances of an upset by giving free first downs to Wisconsin or making third downs harder on themselves.
Also, star linebacker Josey Jewell was ejected in week one for targeting. It was blatantly obvious and losing a player like Jewell would have been costly if it happened this week rather than against Miami (OH). Iowa can’t afford to lose key players on either side of the ball, which means careless targeting calls can’t even be in the gray area for Iowa this week.
In conference play, Iowa has committed at least six penalties in three of four games. On the other hand, Wisconsin only has six or more penalties once all season. The Badgers capitalize when opposing teams shoot themselves in the foot.
Holding onto the ball is the most important thing, but Iowa can’t stop drives on offense or prolong drives on defense because of penalties. They’re a more disciplined team than they showed a week ago, and they will have to prove that on Saturday.
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