Game time is nearly here as the Hawkeyes and Badgers prepare to square off from Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin in the battle for the Heartland Trophy.
Iowa looks to bounce back from their 20-15 home loss to the Indiana Hoosiers two weeks ago and collect their first hardware of the season after coming up short in their bid to win back the Cy-Hawk Trophy in the non-conference slate. They will face off with the Badgers who are looking to get off the struggle bus.
Wisconsin enters the day riding
a three-game losing streak overall and an 8-game losing streak against P4 opponents spanning back to last season. Making matters worse for the Badgers, they’re working with their third QB of the season after starter Billy Edwards Jr. was injured and backup Danny O’Neil was benched in favor of former SIU signal-caller Hunter Simmons.
Simmons failed to get the Badgers over the hump in his starting debut against Michigan a week ago, though Wisconsin did get out of the gates hot and jumped to an early 7-0 lead over the Wolverines. The question today is whether Simmons and the Badger offense can get things going against an Iowa defense that got things going themselves in their last outing.
Wisconsin is averaging fewer than 19 points per game on the season and it seems like the Hawkeyes are primed to keep that trend going today. But if they do, will the Iowa offense be able to keep up their end of the bargain? The Hawkeyes are averaging 29.4 points per game on the season, but managed just 13 points in their two matchups against high quality defenses. For all the issues on offense, the Badger defense has been solid this year, especially against the run.
Which offense will be able to do more? Which defense can create turnovers? And which of us will be able to watch this rock fight unblemished? We’ll know soon enough as the Hawkeyes and Badgers face off in Madison!
Here’s a quick reminder on the details for tonight’s Heartland Trophy matchup:
Date: Saturday, October 11th
Time: 6:05 pm CT
Matchup: Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1) at Wisconsin Badgers (2-3, 0-2)
Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
TV: FS1
Updated Weather Forecast: Abundant sunshine during the day, then increasing clouds over the course of the evening with a high in the 50s.
Updated FanDuel Line: Iowa – 3.5, O/U 36.5
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Go Hawks!
