Amidst all the Halloween partying this weekend, the Wisconsin football team hopes to pull the ultimate trick on one of the Big Ten leaders, the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Badgers look to continue the momentum gathered during their 42-24 victory over Michigan State. Wisconsin heads to Iowa City, Iowa for an 11:05 a.m. game against the No. 9 Hawkeyes after breaking a three-game losing streak against the Spartans.
A victory will not be an easy thing to achieve. Iowa (5-0 in the Big Ten, 8-1 overall) is currently battling it out with Ohio State (4-0, 9-0) for ownership of the Big Ten Championship and a BCS standing, while the Badgers are still trying to gather some conference wins after a slow start.
Wisconsin has made some adjustments in its last games to improve its odds this weekend, in particular establishing a stronger running game by alternating the play of sophomore running back Anthony Davis and freshman running back Dwayne Smith.
\I think [Davis] is running very, very hard and seeing things really well,"" Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""I think keeping him fresh helps. [Smith] has done a nice job of moving the pile ... and has helped keep [Davis] fresh.""
Wisconsin's rushing will be put to the test against an Iowa defensive line that ranks second in rushing defense with opponents rushing for only 561 yards. It also has had 20 takeaways this season, ranking second to Wisconsin, who has 22.
Offensively, the co-Big Ten Players of the Week, senior quarterback Brad Banks of Iowa and Wisconsin's senior quarterbacks Brooks Bollinger will face off in the teams' 78th meeting with Wisconsin holding the advantage. The Badgers have taken the last five games, including last year's 34-28 victory.
Bollinger is coming off of a strong game last week that pushed him into first place on Wisconsin's all-time winningest quarterback list. Bollinger had five touchdowns last week along with eight carries and led a visibly improved offense that did a much better job protecting the quarterback, allowing only one sack against Bollinger in the last game after having 12 in the Badgers' three losses.
""When we get that run going well, they can't just rush the pass every time,"" senior left end Jake Sprague said. ""They have to be conscious of what we are going to do with the running game and I think that was a big part of Brooks not taking as many licks.""
Banks will be a tough opponent for the Badgers and while last week Wisconsin focused on the coverage of Michigan State junior wide receiver Charles Rogers, the decision of who to give extra coverage to is a trickier subject due to the strength of the Hawkeyes' offensive line.
""I don't know who you'd load up on,"" Alvarez said. ""The key there is the quarterback [Banks]. He's done an outstanding job of being accurate with the ball. Even if someone is there to contain him, most guys aren't athletic enough to get him down or get a hand on him. He's the key. He's the one that gets the ball around and does it very accurately.""
Containing junior tight end Dallas Clark will be key for Wisconsin, as he has the speed, the ability to find holes and the talent to make a catch in difficult situations.
""The thing that [Clark] has is a knack for finding an open area, choking it down in between linebackers or as he runs a crossing route or whatever,"" Alvarez said.
Another key player in Saturday's matchup is Davis. Despite a slump in his running game, he has rebounded against Ohio State and Michigan State and is now 33 yards away from having his second 1,000-yard rushing season. This will be the ninth straight season Wisconsin has had a 1,000-yard rusher. A consistent running game this weekend will be one of the key aspects of the matchup, but finding alternatives to the rushing game is a must.
""They know we want to establish the run and that we're a pretty solid team at running the football so they're going to try and stop the run,"" Bollinger said. ""I know that we're going to have to be balanced and attack in different ways.\
