Baggot: Five things to know vs. Iowa
November 11, 2017 | Football, Andy Baggot
Insight and quick hits on the Badgers and Hawkeyes
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — When the Wisconsin football team rallied for a 45-17 Big Ten Conference triumph over Indiana last week, a remarkable thing happened.
The victory moved UW to the .500 mark in league play for the first time in 50 years (370-370-41).
The last time the Badgers were .500 in conference play was Nov. 4, 1967, when they were 171-171-34 following a 14-9 loss to Indiana.
By the end of the 1992 season, Wisconsin was 62 games under .500 (241-303-38).
In the 25 seasons since, UW is 129-67-3 (.656) in Big Ten play and has secured six conference championships.
If the sixth-ranked Badgers (9-0 overall, 6-0 in league play) knock off 25th-rated Iowa (6-3, 3-3) Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, they would be above .500 in league games for the first time since a 17-13 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 28, 1967.
Here are five things to know as UW prepares to host the Hawkeyes:
Ten-acious
The Badgers have been 0-10 in a single regular season (1968). They've also been 9-0 three times in history prior to now — 1901, 1998 and 2004 — but never got to 10-0. They only played nine games back in 1901, shutting out eight opponents on the way to finishing 9-0. They lost at No. 15 Michigan in '98 on the way to finishing 11-1. They lost to unranked Michigan State in '04 on the way to a 9-3 mark.
Talented. Driven. Award-Winning. ...and only true freshmen? Yep. #VarsityMag introduces you to the newest class of Badgers worth keeping an eye on. ???? http://go.wisc.edu/varsity-8-11
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) November 9, 2017
The Company You Keep
Getting to 10 wins this year would mean an impressive milestone for UW coach Paul Chryst. The Badgers were 10-3 and 11-3 in his first two seasons at his alma mater. The only other Big Ten coaches to win 10-plus games in their first three seasons were Fielding Yost of Michigan, who was 33-0-1 from 1901 to '03, and Urban Meyer of Ohio State, who was 38-3 from 2012 to '14.
Saturday, the boys are back home ?? http://Instagram.com/BadgerFootball #OnWisconsin || #Badgers
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 9, 2017
Alec The Reliable
Junior fullback Alec Ingold has emerged as a prolific playmaker during his 33-game career with the Badgers. Three of his nine career catches have gone for touchdowns. Of his 76 carries from scrimmage, 11 have resulted in a TD and 22 have yielded a first down. Ingold, from Green Bay, has zero touches in two previous games against Iowa.
Some might call Alec Ingold an "old-school football player" Fitting, since that's how you'd also describe Alec's taste in music: "old school"
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 9, 2017
Committee Meeting
Hard to believe, but a young UW receiving corps got even younger when sophomore starter Quintez Cephus injured his right leg vs. Indiana and was lost for the season. The depth chart for Iowa includes sophomore A.J. Taylor and true freshman Danny Davis as the starters. Two redshirt freshmen, Kendric Pryor and Jack Dunn, are listed as backups. Cephus leads the Badgers with 30 catches, including seven for 20-plus yards and six for TDs. The combined totals of Taylor, Davis and Pryor are comparable: 28 catches, including eight for 20-plus yards and three TDs. Dunn, who played at Madison Edgewood High School, hasn't caught a pass yet. Neither has redshirt freshman walk-on Adam Krumholz, who made his UW debut two weeks ago at Illinois.
Sweating The Small Stuff
The Badgers have faced Iowa 12 times as a top-10 club in the Associated Press poll. They are 8-4, but 4-0 at Camp Randall. … The Hawkeyes are 2-3 in games decided by one possession this season and are 13-10 since 2014. UW is 1-0 this season and 9-5 during the Chryst era. … Iowa's opponents have a combined record of 68-40 (.630). The Badgers have faced opponents with a cumulative record of 36-47 (.434). … The visiting team has won the last six meetings in this series.
