Iowa 42 Wisconsin 10: Four losses

Change is underway. Brendan Sullivan made his first career start for Iowa – and led Iowa to its most lopsided win over Wisconsin since a 41-0 Hawkeyes victory in 1968. The Hawkeyes' running game went over, through and around the Badger defense and piled up 300 yards and led Iowa to a 42-10 loss in the rivalry game. The win secured bowl eligibility for Iowa (6-3) and was also the 700th win in program history.

Brendan Sullivan made his first career start at Iowa on Saturday night – and the Iowa offense picked up where it left off after scoring 37 points against Northwestern last week under Sullivan. It didn't show up in points right away – Iowa's first two drives ended in a punt and a missed field goal, but neither drive was a three-and-out either. In fact, Iowa only had two three-and-out drives all night, both at the end of the second quarter.

As the game progressed, Iowa rolled up 422 yards and 42 points, with 329 yards on the ground. The ground game has been Iowa's biggest strength on offense all season, and arguably the best running back in a Power 4 conference and an experienced, talented offensive line have been a big part of that – but Sullivan's presence played a role big role factor also against Wisconsin.

Sullivan's own abilities as a runner open up opportunities for the Iowa offense and give the defense another running threat to consider – preventing the defense from crashing the line and suffocating Kaleb Johnson. It's been a long time since Iowa had a quarterback who could do that The:

Sullivan finished the game 7 of 10 for 93 yards and a touchdown pass through the air – and 58 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. That 58-yard rushing total also includes 14 yards lost to a sack.

The running element that Sullivan brings to Iowa's offense is something the Hawkeyes haven't had since at least CJ Beathard's tenure as Iowa quarterback – and probably since then Brad Banks led the most dominant offensive of the Kirk Ferentz era in 2002. Sullivan's mobility extends plays, creates better match-ups for Kaleb Johnson and the rest of Iowa's running backs, and makes the Iowa offense look more like a 21st century attack.

Wisconsin entered this game with a 1-3 record in allowing 150 yards or more on the ground this season. Make that a 1-4 record after being pounded by the Iowa running game with 329 yards and five touchdowns. Iowa-Wisconsin games are often defined by the performance of each running game, and this was the most lopsided in Iowa's favor in several years.

Iowa outscored Wisconsin 329 to 124 in that game, which includes a total of 77 rushing yards that Wisconsin racked up in the second half, most of them after the game was no longer a tough contest. Kaleb Johnson was once again the star of the show as he dominated Wisconsin with 135 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 24 carries (5.6 YPC).

With all due respect to Kaleb Johnson, who put together the best single-season rushing performance in Iowa history, this rushing performance was notable for its comprehensive and team-wide nature. At least non-Kaleb Johnson players managed nearly 200 yards on the ground.

Kamari Moulton had 74 carries on nine carries, Jaziun Patterson finished with 56 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and Sullivan also added 58 yards and a score on nine carries. The most remarkable thing about Iowa's run may have been its inevitability: Wisconsin knew exactly what was coming, and they were helpless to stop it, especially in the second half, when three of Iowa's four drives went for 8 yards and all four of their drives went for 8 yards ended up touchdowns.

Iowa also simply stopped passing the ball after the first quarter because it didn't really need to. After throwing the ball six times in the first quarter, Sullivan only threw four more passes the rest of the game, including one pass each in the third and fourth quarters. Meanwhile, the rushing stats per quarter:

1st: 9 runs, 60 yards, touchdown
2nd: 16 runs, 92 yards, touchdown
3rd: 10 runs, 86 yards, touchdown
4th: 19 carries, 91 yards, two touchdowns

Iowa had two shots on goal in the second half that went nowhere But running. Iowa kept sliding down Wisconsin's throat – and encountered very little resistance. Needless to say, when Iowa can run the ball well The The Hawkeyes are becoming a very difficult team to beat.

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Wisconsin gained 59 yards in 12 plays on its first drive of the game, culminating in a 38-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The Badgers gained a total of 67 yards on their next six drives. Those drives ended with an interception and five consecutive punts.

The Badgers had 146 yards rushing in the second half, but several of those yards came after Iowa had already built a lopsided lead and taken full control of the game. Braedyn Locke finished the game with 15 of 29 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The second interception, a spectacular individual performance by Nick Jackson, reminiscent of Tyler Sash's famous pinball pick-six on Halloween 2009.

Jackson wasn't able to return his interception for a touchdown, but that didn't matter – Iowa still scored one play later, on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Brendan Sullivan to Jacob Gill.

This was a boa constrictor-like performance by the Iowa defense in the middle of the game; When they needed stops, they got stop after stop, squeezing the life out of the Wisconsin offense.

With Luke Lachey and Addison Ostrenga out due to injuries, Zach Ortwerth, nominally the third tight end, took over the tight end duties. Not a problem for Tight End U as Ortwerth showed off his skills as a blocker and pass catcher, suggesting he can continue Iowa's tradition of strong play at tight end.

The highlight of Ortwerth's night was a 52-yard catch-and-run that was not only Iowa's longest pass play of the night, but also its longest pass play of the season. Ortwerth intercepted a laser from Sullivan, deflected a tackle and rumbled several yards after the catch, showing off some real big-play ability at tight end. Ortwerth finished the night as Iowa's leading receiver with three receptions for 66 yards and staked his claim to be the next in line to become Iowa's tight end factory.