Sports Then and Now

Iowa won at Wisconsin in 2009.

When Iowa meets Wisconsin on Saturday fans will witness two highly skilled Big Ten teams with almost identical mindsets, the same coaching philosophy, and similar styles of play.

The two teams meet on the playing field in Iowa City at a crucial juncture in the season. The outcome of this game will shape their football fortunes for 2010––in the Big Ten and, perhaps, upon the more prominent BCS national stage.

This year both teams remain in contention for the Big Ten title, each with one loss––although Iowa has not lost to a Big Ten opponent. The Badgers fell to Michigan State in Week 5 in East Lansing.

This is a must-win game for both teams heading into the heart of the Big Ten season.

Although Iowa and Wisconsin are very similar, their differences will be revealed on Saturday as Iowa tries to capitalize on the advantages the Hawkeyes hold over their worthy rivals.

Iowa’s success will materialize from the following:

Key 1: Iowa’s Defensive Line Rules Wisconsin’s Offensive Line.

Iowa's Adrian Clayborn is not easily contained.

For the Badgers to win against Iowa, Wisconsin must flatten Iowa’s front four on defense.

That means overpowering DE Adrian Clayborn,  DE Broderick Binns, DT Christian Ballard and DT Karl Klug.

Keeping Iowa’s awesome foursome down long enough so that Wisconsin’s power running backs John Clay and  James White can work their magic on the scoreboard will fall squarely on the shoulders of the Badger offensive line.

Wisconsin must establish the running game to have any hope of winning this football game on the road in Iowa City.

But Iowa ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten in rushing defense. They may, in fact, have the top overall defense in the country.

This will prove to be the ultimate test for the Badger’s big boys up front on the offensive line––senior left guard John Moffitt, senior left tackle Gabe Carimi, sophomore center Peter Konz, junior right guard Kevin Zeitler and sophomore right tackle Ricky Wagner as they try to blaze a path for their vaunted running backs.
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Iowa defeated Arizona 27-17 last year in Iowa City.

In 2009, Iowa tipped Arizona in Kinnick Stadium 27-17 on the back of Iowa’s defense–– which essentially stifled any real offense the Wildcats could muster.

Arizona’s running back Nic Grigsby came into the contest as the nation’s second leading rusher.

He left Iowa City with only 75 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Of their 17 total points, Arizona scored seven as a result of an interception of a Stanzi pass. The Wildcat offense scored another seven points as time was running out in the fourth quarter and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

That meant that for all of their efforts, the Arizona offense earned a field goal on the afternoon. That evolved when Iowa corner back Amari Spievey stopped Grigsby with a tackle on the Iowa 1-yard line.  Subsequently, Iowa stopped Arizona cold and the Wildcats had to settle for a 3-pointer instead of a touchdown.

The Iowa defense which held the Arizona offense to a mere eight first downs, will be expected to repeat their performance in 2010.

This year Iowa’s “Bid D” will face a more explosive offense, led by quarterback Nick Foles, a Michigan State transfer.

Foles entered the game in the fourth quarter of the 2009 game against Iowa and has now replaced last year’s starter Matt Scott.

Foles forte is passing and in his first two games he has thrown for 574 yards and three touchdowns. Completing 83 percent of his passes, Foles has also tossed a couple of interceptions.  But the level of the Wildcat competition has not been exactly stiff.

The Arizona team mauled the MAC Conference Toledo Rockets 41-2 in week one. They followed that up with a win over the Citadel of the Southern Conference, 52-6. Iowa, on the other hand, will present a whole lot more competition.

The Wildcats use short passes to open up the field. RB Grigsby is back fully healthy again, piling up 160 yards and five touchdowns in the first two games.  He has been aided in the backfield by Greg Nwoko who has added 100 yards and two touchdowns so far in 2010. The Arizona defense will be forced to stand up to their toughest test so far in this young season.

Iowa will win this game for many reasons but primarily because of the the team effort on both sides of the ball.  On offense and on defense expect these tandems to excel as No. 9 Iowa faces No. 24 Arizona in Tucson on September 18:

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