BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
IOWA CITY, Iowa – It's been a while since Wisconsin senior quarterback Bart Houston was summoned to the postgame press room, so it was as though he was making up for lost time.
He laughed and chit-chatted with reporters who asked about his prominent role in a critical 17-9 Big Ten Conference triumph over Iowa at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.
Four weeks after losing the starting job to redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook, Houston came off the bench for two scripted sequences, one of which ended with a touchdown that helped UW reassert itself as a Big Ten West Division title contender.
Afterward, Houston gave much-needed context to one of the most important victories of the season, one that ended a two-game losing streak. The 10th-ranked Badgers (5-2 overall, 2-2 in the Big Ten) have secured more prominent wins this season – including two over top-10 opponents – but this one stood out because so many lent a hand.
While a remarkable defense endured through the absence of three starters – sophomore nose tackle Olive Sagapolu missed his first game of the season; junior inside linebacker Jack Cichy and junior cornerback Derrick Tindal were injured during the game – the offense had to be at its adaptive best.
UW coach Paul Chryst used the two quarterbacks, three if you count senior tailback Corey Clement, who, in a wrinkle, took one first-quarter snap in the Wildcat formation.
Eight offensive linemen were used in no fewer than four combinations, the rationale defined by easing two previously injured players – redshirt freshman left guard Jon Dietzen and sophomore right guard Micah Kapoi – back into the mix.
"You just have to have a bunch of guys who are unselfish," Houston said. "If you have one guy who's selfish, it just breaks the chain.
"All of us are very unselfish. We all want to do what we can to move the ball and score points and help this team be successful."
That initiative was celebrated in a unique, if subdued fashion. Wisconsin players didn't sprint as much they sauntered to the Iowa bench to retrieve the Heartland Trophy that's gone to the winner since 2004.
"An awesome feeling," Clement said after the road team prevailed for the sixth straight time in the series.
When senior strong safety Leo Musso and junior free safety D'Cota Dixon brought the oversized trophy into the visitor's locker room – the one with the light pink paint job – it was greeted with cheers and photos, but nothing too dramatic.
It could be that everyone in uniform was exhausted.
One of the postgame points Chryst made to his players rang true.
"We need everybody," he said.
Eight different UW players caught passes and eight had carries.
Six different Wisconsin players had explosive plays of 20 yards or more, including a 23-yard run on a jet sweep by true freshman wide receiver A.J. Taylor, a 57-yard reception by true freshman Quintez Cephus and a 54-yard catch-and-run by redshirt freshman tight end Kyle Penniston.
The Badgers also used two punters and two punt returners.
While Hornibrook completed 11 of 19 passes for 197 yards, Houston made good on four of his six throws for 59 yards, including a 17-yard TD strike to junior tight end Troy Fumagalli that provided a lead UW would not relinquish.
Chryst installed a package in the game plan specifically for Houston, one that included designed runs. Houston had one carry that produced a first down, but that came after he was flushed from the pocket.
"Alex has his strengths and I have my strengths," Houston said. "It's up to the coaches when they want to use them.
"It doesn't matter when I go in; if I go in. It's whatever I can do to help out our team going forward."
Junior center/left guard Michael Deiter said both quarterbacks handled the situation well, creating matchup problems for future opponents.
"It's nice to say we can play two quarterbacks, but to actually go out and do it and be successful with it – having both quarterbacks be confident and go out there and play to the best of their abilities – it's really encouraging," he said. "That gives us a lot of options."
Deiter started at left guard, but spent a good chunk of the day at center. The only constant was junior left tackle Ryan Ramczyk. Deitzen worked at left guard, Kapoi and sophomore Beau Benzschawel alternated at right guard, while redshirt freshman David Edwards and sophomore Jacob Maxwell saw time at right tackle.
"A lot of it was just to keep guys fresh," Deiter said. "We have injuries. We're playing guys who maybe aren't 100 percent, so you can't give those guys all the reps in the game.
"To get those reps, even when they're not 100 percent, I think that's huge to keep guys fresh."
What dictated the unit changes? Deiter said UW associate head coach and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph and student assistant Dan Voltz kept close tabs of body language.
"You've got Rudy and Dan watching and they can tell when a guy needs a blow just the way guys carried themselves," Deiter said.
The Badgers also had two distinct cases of redemption.
Senior kicker Andrew Endicott missed field goal attempts from 32 and 52 yards, but made a clutch 36-yarder with 1 minute, 24 seconds left to secure the decision.
Clement, meanwhile, made poor decisions that led to a pair of field goals for the Hawkeyes (5-3, 3-2).
Instead of catching a second-period punt inside the 20, he let it go and the ball was downed at the 1, creating a flip in field position that Iowa used to cut the deficit to 7-3.
On the ensuing possession, the Badgers were a yard away from a 14-3 lead, but Clement fumbled at the goal line and the Hawkeyes recovered. "Foolish mistake," he said.
"Being a running back, when you see the goal line you want to get across it as fast as you can. I think I let my adrenaline get the best of me, trying to reach it over."
Clement atoned in the fourth when he broke tackles off left tackle, found an alley down the sideline and picked up 34 yards on third-and-1 with under 4 minutes left.
"I had to make another play," he said.
For the first time since his debut games as a freshman in 2013, Clement has recorded consecutive 100-yard games. He had 134, including a 1-yard TD in the third quarter, a week after churning for 164 vs. Ohio State.
Clement's eyes lit up at the introduction of the Wildcat, which he ran a good deal in high school. He picked up 3 yards in his only snap out of shotgun.
"That was fun," he said. "I wish it could have kept going."
As soon as the Badgers returned to their Camp Randall Stadium home, the Heartland Trophy was back in its case.
"I'm sure three months from now you'll walk past it, look at it and remember this game as being awesome," Deiter said.
It was definitely a team effort.
"I'm proud of these guys," Houston said. "We're moving forward. We're (making) progress, but there's a lot more we can do."
