Iowa 42-10 Wisconsin (November 2, 2024) Game Recap

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kaleb Johnson rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Brendan Sullivan rushed for a touchdown and threw for one as Iowa beat Wisconsin 42-10 on Saturday night.

The Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) rushed for 329 yards with Johnson leading the way. Johnson, second nationally in rushing yards and rushing yards per game, played his seventh game with 100 or more rushing yards.

Johnson has scored 20 touchdowns this season, tying Shonn Greene for the program’s single-season scoring record.

“He was here a few weeks ago and said, ‘I know you can break my records. Go ahead and do things like that,” Johnson said of Greene, who won the 2008 Doak Walker Award. “So I just kept my head down, remembered what he said and just carried on.”

Johnson has 1,279 rushing yards this season, but he’s not looking to garner national attention.

“As I always say, I’m a humble person,” Johnson said. “Whatever goes out there goes out there, and whatever is said is said.”

“He obviously has good skills and the size, strength and speed, everything you would like to have,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I think I’m most impressed with just his approach, the maturity with which he’s playing and practicing right now.”

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said Johnson’s performance was beyond his abilities.

“He’s the one who has all the yards,” Fickell said. “But I think it has to be on the shoulders of this offensive line. I’m not sure there weren’t some pretty good seams and holes that he was able to exploit.”

Sullivan, making his first start for Iowa after replacing injured starter Cade McNamara in last week’s 40-14 win over Northwestern, put the Hawkeyes up 7-3 with a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter Guide. Johnson added a 16-yard touchdown run four minutes later and the Hawkeyes led 14-3 at halftime.

Iowa, which ran for 152 yards in the first half, kept that momentum going in the second half. The Hawkeyes’ first possession was a 10-play, 86-yard drive comprised entirely of running plays and capped by Johnson’s 9-yard touchdown run.

“That’s something that every offensive player can feel when the defense knows what you’re going to do and you still do it at a high level,” Sullivan said. “That’s really cool.”

Nick Jackson’s interception on Wisconsin’s next possession set up Sullivan’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Gill for a 28-3 lead. Johnson then added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Jaziun Patterson capped the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run.

Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3) opened the game with a 38-yard field goal from Nathanial Vakos. The Badgers were unable to score again until Braedyn Locke’s 14-yard touchdown pass to CJ Williams early in the fourth quarter.

Sullivan completed 7 of 10 passes for 93 yards and rushed for 58 yards.

Locke was 15 of 29 passing for 137 yards.

The takeaway food

Wisconsin: The Badgers had no answer for the Hawkeyes on both sides of the ball. Wisconsin opened the game with a 12-play, 59-yard drive that led to Vakos’ field goal and only had 67 yards on its next six possessions. Wisconsin has an off week before playing Oregon in two weeks. “I don’t think we can highlight a lot of positives tonight,” Fickell said. “Like I said, we’re going to find out what we’re made of.”

Iowa: The Hawkeyes, who qualified for the bowl for the 23rd time in 24 seasons, showed some life after a 32-20 road loss to Michigan State on Oct. 19. Iowa has won four of its last five games against the Badgers after one eight games in which Wisconsin won seven. This was Iowa’s largest win in the rivalry since a 41-0 victory in 1996.

Next

Wisconsin: Hosts Oregon on November 16th.

Iowa: Next Friday at UCLA.

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