Paul Chryst
Another struggling offensive performance led to another Wisconsin defeat, 28-7 against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes broke open a close game with a pair of long touchdown drives in the third quarter, handing the Badgers their third straight loss. The Badgers failed to reach 10-points for the third straight game.
The Badgers (2-3) fell below the .500 mark for just the second time under head coach Paul Chryst.
The Badgers played again without their top two receivers, Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor due to injury. They also played without their leading rusher, freshman Jalen Berger, who came in averaging 89 yards a game on the ground, but tested positive for the coronavirus.
As a result, the Badgers offense managed just 225 yards and a lone touchdown by running back Nakia Watson. The Badgers finished with 56 rushing yards on 33 carries. Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz finished with 169 yards and an interception.
The Badgers will try to finish the season on a positive note and climb back to .500 when they host rival Minnesota at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. The two teams were originally scheduled to play Nov. 28 but the game was postponed because of high coronavirus numbers within the Gophers program.
The Badgers are currently in possession of Paul Bunyan’s Axe after pulling out a 38-17 win over the Gophers last season in Minneapolis. The win secured a Big Ten Championship game appearance.
Wisconsin has won 22 of the last 25 games in the series.
The Gophers are coming off a 24-17 win at Nebraska, despite missing 33 players because of COVID-19.