Wisconsin embarrassed by Iowa: Where is the Badgers' progress under Luke Fickell?

When Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell met with reporters to preview his team's game against Iowa, he tried to set the tone with his opening remarks by acknowledging that it would be a tough, hard-fought and physical football game. Before answering questions, he ended that statement by saying that the game would “probably go until the fourth quarter.”

It turned out that Fickell was far too optimistic.

By the time the fourth quarter came, Iowa led by 25 points and ultimately beat Wisconsin 42-10 on Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium. The Badgers were embarrassingly pressured in a game that continually showed how far they are from being a legitimate Big Ten contender. Iowa beat Wisconsin by its largest margin since 1968.

Iowa has now won three games in a row in the fight for the Heartland Trophy. It marks the first time the Hawkeyes have won at least three straight games in the series since they won four straight games from 2002-05.

Here are three initial takeaways from the Badgers' performance.

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1. There's no need to sugarcoat it: Wisconsin's offense against Iowa was atrocious. The Badgers needed to establish the rushing attack because this wasn't the type of game you could put on the shoulders of quarterback Braedyn Locke. Instead, Wisconsin repeatedly found itself in third-and-long situations early and recorded more passes than rushing attempts. Wisconsin managed 48 yards in the first half, the team's fewest yards in the first half of a game this season.

Locke just can't get out of the way because he continues to lose the ball too much. He threw two more interceptions, the first on a first-and-10 at midfield late in the first quarter when his pass intended for receiver Quincy Burroughs was intercepted by Iowa cornerback Deshaun Lee, whom Locke failed to break up on the pass saw. Iowa turned that turnover into a touchdown on a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Brendan Sullivan, giving the Hawkeyes a 7-3 lead.

In the third quarter, Locke made another bad throw into coverage when Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson stepped in front of Wisconsin receiver Trech Kekahuna and intercepted a pass that led to another Iowa touchdown and a 28-3 lead.

That means Locke has now had at least one interception in all six starts this season since replacing injured starter Tyler Van Dyke. Locke had a total of nine turnovers during that period – eight interceptions and a lost fumble. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo's results have been less than inspiring compared to good competition, and Saturday's performance certainly won't do much to quell the outside noise about whether he's the answer going forward.

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2. It was no secret to Wisconsin's defense what Iowa's offensive plan would look like on Saturday. The Hawkeyes had one of the best running backs in the country in Kaleb Johnson and a mobile quarterback in Sullivan, who was making his first start of the season. Still, the Badgers played like they were unequipped to handle anything that had to do with the ground game.

Wisconsin gave up a 30-yard rush to backup running back Kamari Moulton, allowed Sullivan to escape the pocket and gain nine yards, and then gave up a 16-yard rushing touchdown to Johnson. The score gave Iowa a 14-3 lead with 8:49 left in the second quarter. Iowa continued to dominate up front with a 10-play, 86-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter that saw the Hawkeyes run the ball on every play.

Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) was able to completely take the burden off Sullivan as a passer because he established the run so well – something Wisconsin couldn't do. Johnson finished the game with three rushing touchdowns and the Hawkeyes surpassed the 300-yard rushing mark as a team.

3. The positive vibe that Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3) generated during a three-game winning streak against Big Ten teams that are now 3-13 in conference play is completely gone. Wisconsin is a team that looks lost as its second season under Fickell nears its end. The Badgers were down by double digits six minutes into the second quarter against the Hawkeyes and weren't even competitive the rest of the way.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Wisconsin's next game is at home against No. 1 Oregon in two weeks. Wisconsin closes out the regular season at Nebraska and at home against Minnesota and could find itself in the same situation as last year under Fickell – 5-5 and needing to win one of its final two games to secure bowl eligibility. Wisconsin's schedule was always going to be challenging this season, but that can't be an excuse. Meaningful progress remains elusive.

(Photo: Jeffrey Becker / Imagn Images)