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The Good: What went well for Wisconsin vs. Iowa?
Neal Olson: Mentioning anything other than the defense here would be a disservice. Led by stellar play from Joe Schobert once again, Dave Aranda has this group playing at a championship level. Holding Iowa to only 10 points, considering the turnovers and field position, is as good a defensive performance I can ever remember seeing from a Badger defense.
Kyle Vos: This defense is a treat to watch, and it put in another dominant day at the office against Iowa. The pass defense was especially impressive, limiting the Hawkeyes to a paltry 77 yards on 21 attempts. In other words, Iowa's passing game was considerably worse than the three previous cupcakes that scored a combined three points. Iowa was able to find success on the ground at times, but overall had 3.6 yards per carry on 40 attempts. Throw in a couple turnovers and amazing field position in the second half, and this unit deserved to win the game.
The Bad: What happened against the Hawkeyes that cost the Badgers the game?
Neal: Joel Stave will take a brunt of the criticism and rightfully so. His effort was akin to that of an underclassman playing in his first Big Ten game, not that of a fifth-year senior and three-year starter. However, as Kyle notes, this was a complete no-show from everyone on the entire offense. The line was unable to generate any movement in the running game and forced Paul Chryst to put the ball into an already-struggling Stave's hands. Even the few times Stave was able to deliver the ball accurately and on time, it was dropped.
This game underscored the lack of playmakers on offense. The problem was definitely masked last year by the transcendent Melvin Gordon, and probably could have gotten by this year without the injury to Corey Clement. However, with no one able to break big plays, this unit will need to grind out victories and play mistake-free. They are simply not good enough to overcome four turnovers.
Kyle: The offense completely, utterly, embarrassingly collapsed. Joel Stave will receive the brunt of the blame and he did play poorly, but the entire offense was the goat in this one. This is the third time in the past calender year that Wisconsin's ground game has been held under 100 yards. The line struggled and the backs left yards on the field. Even the dependable Tyler Marz played the worst game I can remember him playing since Penn State his sophomore year. The fumble at the 1-yard line will be remembered as one of the worst gaffes for a program that has had some pretty historic gaffes in recent memory. The offense was its worst nightmare.
Team MVP: It's a loss, but who deserves the love (there's a clear-cut favorite, really)?
Neal: What more can be said about Joe Schobert? The following three tweets could do a better job of summarizing than anything else.
Joe Schobert leads the nation in sacks (9) and sack yardage (74). #Badgers
— Dave Heller (@dave_heller) October 4, 2015
Joe Schobert leads the nation in tackles for loss with 13 - that is *3* more than anyone else. Also leads in TFL yards (84). #Badgers
— Dave Heller (@dave_heller) October 4, 2015
One more: Joe Schobert is tied for the lead in the nation in forced fumbles with 4. #Badgers
— Dave Heller (@dave_heller) October 4, 2015
Kyle: The team MVP has to be Joe Schobert. Not enough can be said about the performance he gave on Saturday: three sacks, five quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The stats speak volumes on their own. What made it even more impressive was when the plays came. In the fourth quarter, he recovered his own forced fumble at Iowa's 27 and played a huge role in two other drives starting around midfield. He put the team in the position to win time and time again.
Up Next: Nebraska. It may seem obvious, but what do the Badgers have to do against the Huskers to get an important road win?
Neal: Most importantly, move past the Iowa game quickly. After that display at home in a rivalry game, it would be easy to bog down and let the hangover spill over into the Nebraska game. Don't let the Iowa game result in two loses.
On the field, it will come down to execution from the offense. It would be nice to see a bigger commitment to the run. The Badgers had 38 pass attempts compared to 30 rush attempts against Iowa. With the current makeup on offense, that ratio needs to lean way heavier toward the run. Staying ahead on down and distance will allow more play-action passes and hopefully result in easier throws and catches for Stave and the receivers.
Kyle: Score some points. Let's start with 10 and go from there. Stave will obviously have to play better, but he will need more help as well. With Austin Traylor and probably Alex Erickson out, that help is going to have to come from places we aren't used to. The running game has to be more effective. I don't expect a FBS rushing record like last year's Nebraska game, but half of that output would be fantastic. The defense should keep the team in the game once again, now the offense needs to do its part.