Not one member of the Wisconsin football team had ever defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes coming into Saturday's contest. For the seniors especially, the opportunity to exact some level of revenge against a team that had caused UW so much grief was one the Badgers couldn't pass up. Several players even went so far as to say they hated Iowa.
Who could blame them? Iowa stopped Wisconsin from going to the Rose Bowl in 2004 and then spoiled Barry Alvarez's home finale in '05. So the victory was sweeter than most.
"In the preseason, we sort of circled this game," senior linebacker Mark Zalewski said. "We really wanted this game, and we really wanted to get the victory against Iowa."
Another plus to ending the streak of Iowa dominance, however, was UW winning the Heartland Trophy for the first time since its inception in 2004. The trophy, consisting of a brass bull on a wooden base, was almost overlooked by several players.
"I totally forgot it was even a trophy game, I had to be reminded," senior safety Joe Stellmacher said. "It's nice to have whatever that is, the Heartland over in Wisconsin. That's nice."
Even head coach Bret Bielema had avoided the subject of the trophy, because the Badgers had yet to actually bring it to Madison, though he explained that it will become part of the lore very quickly.
"I had refrained from mentioning anything about that trophy, because we've never seen it," Bielema said. "Now that we have it in our locker room it will definitely be a point of emphasis to try and keep."
For Bielema, the win was especially sweet because of his ties to Iowa. Born and raised in Iowa, Bielema was a nose tackle for the Hawkeyes during his college career and began his coaching career in Iowa City under Hayden Fry.
"It probably did, deep down — you're not going to hear him say that probably — but deep down it has to feel great for him to come back to his alma mater and get a win," Stellmacher said.
Bielema also became the first head coach in Big Ten history to win 10 games in his first season.
"It's been a magical season," cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu said. "I don't think there is a better head coach [to get that record]. He earned it."
Strickland play
John Stocco wasn't the only starter who was forced to sit out Saturday's game due to injury, as cornerback Allen Langford couldn't overcome an ankle injury and was forced to watch from the sidelines.
"Allen Langford wasn't able to go," Bielema said, adding that Langford had sustained the injury Tuesday during practice. "He tried to go during warm-ups and wasn't able to."
In Langford's stead, junior Ben Strickland got the start and held up admirably, as UW's pass defense was once again stout, holding Iowa to only 170 yards through the air as Strickland led the Badgers in tackles with six.
"A corner doesn't get the notoriety that a quarterback does, but his play today spoke volumes about what he is all about and what our defense was able to do in a very, very tough environment," Bielema said of Strickland.
Strickland, all of 5 feet 9 inches and 175 lbs., was the victim of one of Tate's touchdown passes, but had tight coverage on the play and otherwise avoided giving up the big play. In fact, Strickland made one himself breaking up a pass on Iowa's last-gasp drive late in the fourth quarter.
"I'm super impressed with Ben," Ikegwuonu said. "No one doubted him. I thought he should've been playing a long time ago."
Strickland's preparation contributed to Wisconsin not missing a beat in pass coverage despite not having their second-best cover corner.
"He's one of the hardest working players," Ikegwuonu said. "He came into UW, earned a scholarship and has been on a roll ever since. There couldn't have been a guy more prepared than Ben today."
