[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]IOWA CITY, Iowa — With UW quarterback John Stocco unable to play Saturday, Iowa appeared poised to end the Badgers' six-game run in an upset win over No. 16 Wisconsin.

However, not only did the Badgers finish out their Big Ten schedule with an emotional 24-21 victory at a hostile Kinnick Stadium, they did it primarily off a surprisingly impressive performance from junior quarterback Tyler Donovan, earning the win in his first career start.

Despite getting just 77 rushing yards off of P.J. Hill's 28 carries — the freshman sensation had averaged 137 yards per game on the ground before Saturday — Wisconsin was still able to move the ball with reasonable efficiency, and much of it through the air despite missing Stocco, who had started the Badgers' last 35 contests.

The win marked two major milestones for the Badgers. It was UW's first win over Iowa — the only Big Ten team no current Wisconsin player had beaten before Saturday — since 2001, and it was especially sweet for UW seniors who exorcised those demons in their final conference game.

"It feels good," said senior Mark Zalewski, who sported a "black and electric lava" Mohawk for his final Big Ten game. "It was the last one to check off the list for all the Big Ten teams, and it just keeps this season going."

UW head coach Bret Bielema, returning to the Iowa City campus where he thrived as a player and longtime assistant coach, had spent the entire week of preparation downplaying his role in the Wisconsin-Iowa rivalry. But it was evident the win had extra-special meaning to the "1-0 mentality"-driven coach, who was emotional for the entire 15-minute post-game interview after his players awarded him the game ball.

"It was kind of special to get me a game ball at the end, that was pretty cool," said Bielema, who became the first Big Ten coach ever to win 10 games in his first year. "This is an environment that I grew up in, and it's fun to come back and visit, but it was also great to walk off that field knowing we got the 'W.'"

Donovan exceeded all expectations, completing 17-of-24 passes for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions or fumbles.

"The biggest thing I wanted to do was come out and play for my coaches and teammates," Donovan said. "I wanted to prove something to myself, but more so, I wanted to prove something to the team. This was a goal of ours from the beginning of the season, to beat Iowa, and it feels good to get that under our belts."

"I don't think you can say enough about a guy starting his first game, Big Ten finale, in a hostile environment," Bielema added. "The plays he was able to come up with today were amazing and gratifying to watch as a coach."

Hill's presence wasn't entirely missing, however, as he finished off the most impressive drive of the day with a 1-yard touchdown scamper. Wisconsin used 15 plays to go 97 yards to take 7:40 off the clock. The drive was powered by 35 rushing yards from Hill and a 48-yard completion to Luke Swan on third and 11.

Swan was the center of attention in big plays, amassing 118 yards on just four catches.

"Once that ball is up there, you have to be able to have the mentality that you have to be aggressive and go get that ball and say, 'that's my ball and I'm bringing it down,'" Swan said of hauling in a pair of throws for more than 40 yards.

Tight end Travis Beckum proved invaluable to Wisconsin's offense again, catching eight passes for 70 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

Senior safety Joe Stellmacher, from a defensive standpoint, attributed the win to improved play after allowing Iowa some strong scoring drives in the first half. Iowa managed just 91 offensive yards after halftime.

"We had a couple busts defensively, especially in the first half, which kind of gave them the first two touchdowns, which you can't have," said Stellmacher, who provided the hardest hit of the game with a mid-air smash of Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki to break up a potential Hawkeye first down. "We were fortunate enough to pull out the win by playing well [in] the second half."

The Hawkeyes took their first lead with quarterback Drew Tate's second passing touchdown of the game with 2:16 left in the first half, hitting Iowa fullback Tom Busch for a 3-yard score and a 14-10 lead.

However, Donovan quickly struck back in a calmly executed two-minute drill, driving the Badgers 73 yards on six plays in just 97 seconds. A 42-yard strike by Donovan to Swan capped the drive and got the lead back for UW at 17-14.

"We just managed to use his skills to his [advantage], to make sure that we could advance the ball and score points," Bielema said. "That throw at the end of the half was outstanding."

Zalewski reflected that not many people in August expected a first-year coach and a largely anonymous list of players to make much of an impact on the Big Ten — or the BCS standings, with other top teams losing Saturday around the country.

"Coming in to this season, we thought we should be higher in all the polls. We knew all the talent we had and the hard work we put in since the bowl game last year," Zalewski said. "We knew we were capable of doing some things if we just kept practicing hard. Every game, it's just fun to go out there and play."