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Football Report Card
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Also by Kevin Hagstrom:
- Family comes 1st for ex-Badger WR (December 11, 2007)
- Nothing special about UW power play (December 10, 2007)
- Confident UW squad faces off against Minnesota State (December 7, 2007)
- Sophomores to play for U.S.A. (December 6, 2007)
- Hill of a pickle for UW tailback (December 5, 2007)
Related Stories:
- P.J. Hill no 'Great Dayne' as of now (October 18, 2006)
- Report Card: Grading Wisconsin's performance (October 1, 2007)
- Wisconsin report card (September 17, 2007)
- Badgers outlast Hawkeyes (September 24, 2007)
- Henry turning heads on D (October 5, 2007)
by Kevin Hagstrom
Monday, September 24, 2007
Game Ball goes to: P.J. Hill, RB, Wisconsin
Freshman corner Aaron Henry played extremely well, picking up two and a half sacks. However, the consistency and success of P.J. Hill running the ball earns him player of the game honors.
Going against one of the nation's best run defenses and a unit that hadn't given up a touchdown all season, Hill ran the ball down Iowa's throat to score the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. His 113 rushing yards nearly doubled the amount Iowa had given up in its previous three games.
Overall: B
Inventing new ways to win all the time, the Badgers prevailed once more, this time against a terrific Iowa defense. Hill amassed 100 yards on the ground for the third straight game, and the Badgers picked up first downs when it mattered most. After three lackluster performances, the defense kept the Iowa offense at bay with tremendous pressure on Hawkeye quarterback Jake Christensen. Punter Ken DeBauche also rediscovered his game, helping Wisconsin get out of some tough jams in the field position game.
Although UW committed several turnovers and failed to force any, the Badgers stuck to their strengths and came away victorious.
Offense: C+
As was the case two weeks ago against UNLV, the offense did just enough to slip past Iowa Saturday.
For the better part of the first half, the unit struggled. It accumulated 72 yards on its touchdown-scoring drive, but just 69 yards otherwise. Two turnovers didn't help the situation, nor did 1 of 8 on third downs. The second half was a different story as Wisconsin used strong runs by Hill and big third-down conversions to march down the field and score the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
A credit to the Badger offense: They were facing a terrific Hawkeye defense that, entering the game, hadn't allowed a touchdown all season.
Defense: A-
Bret Bielema withheld his defensive players from the media last week, explaining that the first time that they'd talk would be with their play Saturday. Well, they had a lot to say: two-and-a-half sacks by freshman Aaron Henry, a lot of pressure on Iowa quarterback Jake Christensen and just 228 total yards allowed. The biggest difference from weeks past, aside from facing a more traditional Iowa offense rather than the spread, was UW's ability to stop IU on third downs. Iowa finished 2 of 16 in that department and 0 of 5 in the second half.
Special Teams: C+
Punter Ken DeBauche regained his form that tabbed him as a preseason third-team All-American, according to Street & Smith's. He booted eight punts for 381 yards (a 47.6 average), including a 58-yard boom and a pooch kick that was downed on the Iowa one-yard line. Kicker Taylor Mehlhaff remained perfect on field goal tries this season, nailing a 40-yarder, and defensive tackle Nick Hayden blocked a try by Iowa's Daniel Murray. However, the fumbles resurfaced: David Gilreath coughed up two balls to offset what would have been a very productive day for Wisconsin's special teams.
Up Next for Wisconsin: Michigan State
The Spartans are coming off a dominant 31-14 win over Notre Dame in which their quarterback, Brian Hoyer, passed for four touchdowns and tailback Javon Ringer rushed for 144 yards. Michigan State has now won six consecutive games in South Bend, Ind., and moves to 4-0 this season.
The last time these two teams met was 2004. Michigan State came away with a 49-14 win against then-fifth-ranked Wisconsin to end the Badgers' perfect season.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 11:38am):
There I was, watching the game on TV when the graphic came up: Wisconsin's offensive line outweighed the Iowa D line by 40 lbs and had 3" on them. Yet, even when they rushed only 3 or 4, they were able to put pressure on Donovan. Someone has to explain that logic.
Anonymous (September 24, 2007 @ 2:05pm):
Offense really stunk, but what's with the D not causing any turnovers!?!? How many dropped balls were there by Bucky's D? We won't survive handing the ball over three times and not getting turnovers caused by OUR D...
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