Matchups to Watch: Wisconsin vs. Iowa
October 22, 2016 | Football, Mike Lucas
Tag team running game key for both teams
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
Iowa tailbacks Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels vs. Wisconsin's linebackers
MADISON, Wis. — Owen Gill and Eddie Phillips. Gill and Ronnie Harmon. Nick Bell and Tony Stewart. Fred Russell and Jermelle Lewis. Now add Wadley and Daniels to the tag team list. The Hawkeyes have never had two 1,000 yard rushers in a single season. Wadley and Daniels are on pace to make history.
Only three yards separate the 5-foot-11, 191-pound Wadley (592 yards, 7.4 per carry, 84.6 per game) and the 6-foot, 225-pound Daniels (589, 5.4, 84.1). Wadley, a junior from Newark, N.J., has 29 fewer carries than Daniels, a senior from Warren, Ohio. The latter has started six of the seven games.
Iowa is one of seven schools nationally with a couple of 500-yard-plus rushers. In the Big Ten, nobody else has two running backs among the Top 10 statistically. Wadley ranks third in rushing yards behind Northwestern's Justin Jackson (698) and Ohio State's Mike Weber (612). Daniels ranks fifth.
Last Saturday, the Hawks rushed for 365 yards at Purdue, the second-most rushing yards in a game under head coach Kirk Ferentz, who's in his 18th season. Wadley had 15 carries for 176 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, the longest play of the season. Daniels had 24 carries for 156.
This was the first time that Iowa had two players rush for over 100 yards in a game since 2008 when Shonn Greene and Jewel Hampton both topped the century mark against Indiana. Wadley has six career games over 100 (1,274 total yards in 24 games) and Daniels has four (1,419 in 31 games).
Daniels is the more powerful runner. He has 14 career rushing touchdowns. Wadley is the more explosive. He's averaging 7.4 yards per carry, best among conference players with a minimum of 50 attempts. Last year, Wadley exploded for 204 yards and four TDs against Northwestern.
From week to week, Wadley and Daniels have been operating behind a make-shift offensive line due to injuries. If Ike Boettger gets the start at left tackle against Wisconsin, he will be the third different player to start there, joining Cole Croston and Boone Myers. Both have been injured.
If Sean Welsh, who has started six games at right guard, moves to right tackle, he will also be the third different starter. Boettger has started six of seven, Croston has started the other one at right tackle. Boettger has also started one game at left guard, which has been shared by Myers and Keegan Render.
At center, LeShun Daniels' brother, James, has been the starter in five of seven games. The only constant on the line of scrimmage for Iowa has been tight end George Kittle, who has started every game. But he's questionable for the Badgers with a foot injury. Walk-on Peter Pekar may replace him.
The loss of wide receiver Matt Vandeberg hasn't helped the offensive continuity. It's hard to replace his experience (19 career starts) and productivity (106 career receptions). Despite the personnel challenges, the Hawkeyes can still count on the playmaking ability of quarterback C.J. Beathard.
Last season, the Badgers held Beathard to just 77 passing yards (9-of-21) . It wasn't all his fault, since he was hounded the entire game by outside linebacker Joe Schobert, who was unblockable. Schobert had eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 hurries, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Beathard can threaten a defense with his feet though he's more selective and less dangerous than Ohio State's J.T. Barrett. Wadley and Daniels have filled the void left by last season's leading rusher, Jordan Canzeri, who had 26 carries for 125 yards (4.8) in the 10-6 win at Camp Randall Stadium.
"You can't game-plan them the same way if you see one of them in the hole," UW linebacker Jack Cichy said of Wadley and Daniels. "If it's the big guy (Daniels), you really have to bite down on your mouth guard and go get him. If it's the cutter-guy (Wadley), you have to be a little more cautious.
"We're more used to power football just because we see that all through camp (from the UW offense). Three of our first four games were like that. But I think the athleticism of Ohio State really prepares us for what Iowa can bring on the edges. We'll be prepared either way."
Wisconsin tailbacks Corey Clement and Dare Ogunbowale vs. Iowa's linebackers
Clement matched his career high by rushing 25 times for 164 yards against Ohio State. It was his 10th career game over 100 and the most since he picked up 164 against Illinois in 2014. After averaging 2.3 yards in the Big Ten opener at Michigan State (23 carries for 54 yards) and 4.0 yards at Michigan (17 for 68), Clement averaged 6.6 in the overtime loss to the Buckeyes, 68 coming on one run.
Overall, Clement is averaging 21 carries. During his first three seasons, he never carried the rock more than 19 times in any one game. His Big Ten high was 17 at Maryland. In two prior appearances against the Hawkeyes, he was a non-factor on offense with one rush for a minus-1. Last year, Iowa held the Badgers to 86 rushing yards (34 carries). Taiwan Deal had 59 yards (3.9) and Ogunbowale had 28.
Wide receiver Jazz Peavy was the X-factor in the running attack against Ohio State with his success on the jet sweeps (six carries for 70 yards, an 11.7 average). As a team, the 236 rushing yards were a season-high for the Badgers in the Big Ten, second only to the 294 yards against Akron. Nationally, the UW's running game ranks No. 68 (174.0, 4.0). Iowa's rush defense is No. 59 (151.9, 3.94).
In both of their home losses, the Hawkeyes couldn't stop the run. North Dakota State had 239 yards (49 rushes) and Northwestern had 198 (42) in upset victories at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa simply didn't have any answer for the Wildcats' Justin Jackson, who rushed 26 times for 171 yards. Since then, against lesser competition, the defense has done a better job of stopping the run.
Minnesota was held to 102 yards (29 carries) and Purdue to 46 (22). The overmatched Boilers had 12 rushes for 11 yards in the first half. That prompted coach Kirk Ferentz to say, "That's two weeks in a row that we've done a good job. I think we're starting to understand the intensity you have to have to play the run. We're hardly a finished product. At least we're moving in the right direction."
The Hawkeyes have had to rebuild on the edge of their defense with the graduation losses of Nate Meier (10.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks) and Drew Ott (7.5, 5). In addition, they've had to replace their second- and third-leading tacklers, linebacker Cole Fisher (116 tackles) and hard-hitting safety Jordan Lomax (96). Everybody else returned, headed by linebacker Josey Jewell and cornerback Desmond King.
Last year, Jewell had 126 tackles. And, once again, he's the team leader with 61 (8.7 per game). Jewell has 25 career starts. Flanking him are linebackers Ben Niemann (21 starts) and Bo Bower (20 starts), the second-leading tackler (7.7). Impacting the run and the pass is King, who will be making his 46th start on Saturday. He has 12 career interceptions, including two against the UW in 2015.
That was the difference in last year's game: turnovers. Quarterback Joel Stave had two picks and two lost fumbles, the most critical on the Hawkeyes' 1-yard line when guard Micah Kapoi inadvertently stepped on Stave's foot throwing off the exchange with Deal. Iowa comes into Saturday's game with a plus-6 turnover margin. The Badgers have 11 takeaways, 11 giveaways. Ball security is another potential key.
