Iowa blanks No. 25 Wisconsin, wins fifth straight over Badgers

Hank Brown threw two first-half touchdown passes and Iowa’s defense dominated No. 25 Wisconsin en route to a 30-0 victory in the battle for the annual Heartland Trophy on Saturday in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) have won five consecutive games against Wisconsin, outscoring the Badgers 109-10 in the last three meetings. Iowa also evened the historic series that dates to 1894 at 49-49-2 in the 100th meeting.

Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) previously lost only to No. 5 Notre Dame in the season opener and seventh-ranked UCLA.

Iowa, coming off its lowest scoring output in a 13-10 loss at Minnesota, matched that in its first two possessions. The Hawkeyes pushed the lead to 20-0 at the half as Brown torched the Badgers secondary, completing 16 of 18 passes for 190 yards and two scores.

DJ Vonnahme’s 2-yard touchdown run put the Hawkeyes up 27-0 midway through the third quarter. Caden Buhr added his third field goal, a 54-yarder, to make it 30-0 entering the final period.

Brown, who previously split time with Jeremy Hecklinski, completed 20 of 24 passes for 222 yards. Xavier Williams, who took over the top spot this week after the season-ending injury to Kamari Moulton, rushed for 78 yards on 20 carries.

Iowa outgained Wisconsin 362 to 235 and held the Badgers to just 52 yards on the ground at 2.2 per carry.

Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph struggled, completing 5 of 14 passes for 90 yards before being replaced by freshman Ryan Hopkins, who completed 8 of 13 passes for 93 yards and an interception.

Iowa took a 3-0 lead on its opening possession when Brown hit Vonnahme wide open up the left side for 45 yards to set up Buhr’s 24-yard field goal.

After forcing a three-and-out on Wisconsin’s first series, the Hawkeyes went 75 yards in 12 plays, capped by Brown’s 4-yard toss to Vonnahme. Brown kept the drive alive with a 15-yard keeper on third down to the Wisconsin 25, then hit Tony Diaz on a 17-yard crossing route.

The Badgers drove 86 yards to the Iowa 1-yard line, but the Hawkeyes defense stuffed Abu Sama III for a 1-yard loss on fourth down with 4:22 left in the half.

Iowa responded with a 98-yard touchdown drive, capped by Brown’s 4-yard pass to Diaz with 1:30 remaining before halftime. After Jayden Montgomery recovered a Wisconsin fumble, Buhr connected on a 28-yard field goal as time expired to extend the lead to 20-0.

–Field Level Media