BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — They all know the next "opportunity" is right down the road, just about 180 miles down U.S. Highway 151 to Iowa City and Kinnick Stadium, the destination and site of Saturday night's Big Ten opener between like-minded rivals.
"We get a great opportunity to prove ourselves," said UW senior inside linebacker T.J. Edwards, who purposely billed it as just that, one of 12 guaranteed moments or opportunities; a sentiment that resonated throughout the locker room after last Saturday's home loss to BYU.
"It's going to be a night game, it's going to be hectic, it's going to be a lot of fun," echoed senior offensive guard Michael Deiter, one of four captains along with Edwards. "We've got to forget this (loss), and get ready for that, or it will happen again. All we can do is move on. The season is still ahead of us."
Edwards and Deiter avowed that the primary goal is still the primary goal: Win the West. It's always the first step in every season's journey that more often than not has led to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship Game for the Badgers, who have played in five of the seven title tilts.
All things considered there may not be a better starting point than Saturday's rivalry game. The Badgers have won 17 of their last 18 trophy games against Iowa (Heartland Trophy), Minnesota (Paul Bunyan's Axe) and Nebraska (Freedom Trophy).
With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014, the Big Ten got rid of "Legends" and Leaders" designations for its divisions and realigned geographically and more conventionally into East and West. Since then, the winner of the Wisconsin-Iowa game has wound up advancing to Indy.
The 14-year-old Heartland Trophy, a bronze bull, will be present at practice all week. Underlying the urgency, Edwards said, "We've got to get to work and we've got a lot to work on."
There are moving pieces to every season.
At the core of any successful team are work ethic, discipline and leadership.
The latter is especially critical after a defeat.
"It stings, and I know everyone is feeling the same way," Edwards acknowledged. "But it's going to be on the leaders to make sure we clean it up and move on."
In part, it's why Edwards and Deiter returned for their final year.
"That's one of the best things that can happen now (after the BYU loss) because I can show my leadership and get us rolling again," Edwards said. "It's going to be a fun challenge."
"I came back to play football with these guys and I'm going to have fun playing with them," Deiter vowed. "We're going to still win a ton of football games."
• • • •
The last time the Badgers made the bus trip to Iowa City (with a Friday overnight in Cedar Rapids), they were coming off back-to-back losses to Michigan and Ohio State.
The No. 4-ranked Wolverines needed a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to break a tie and then held on for a hard-fought 14-7 win in front of 111,846 in Ann Arbor and the Big House.
The following week, the Badgers carried a 16-13 lead into the fourth quarter against the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes before falling in heartbreaking fashion, 30-23, in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium.
That was obviously tough to swallow. UW coach Paul Chryst was asked during his postgame news conference whether his team's goals had to be altered after suffering a second consecutive loss.
"This group has a vision," he said. "Nothing on the outside will impact this. We've got a lot of football ahead of us and some great challenges, some great opportunities."
At that, many questioned whether the Badgers had anything left after losing to the Wolverines and the Buckeyes. Was their season over? Could they recover from the setbacks? Particularly on the road in a raucous Kinnick environment against the Hawkeyes, who scored 49 points the week before.
What was the message leading up to that game? And might it be the same this week?
"It's always the same message, it's another week of football," said Deiter, who likes the change of pace of traveling by bus to a road game. "You have to learn from what caused you to lose and get better from it. And you're playing Iowa. The message when you're playing Iowa is always the same.
"It's a trophy game, it's a big rivalry, it's going to be physical. It's not going to be a bunch of new stuff. It's just going to come down to that physicality and who wants it more that day.
"We play a similar style of ball. We like to control the clock. It's not going to be 80 plays a side. The games go fast because we both stick to the run. And it's physical. That's the way we want it. You definitely feel it the next day."
On what he remembered the most from his last trip to Iowa City, senior D'Cota Dixon said, "There was a lot of motivation going down there because you knew that you were going into hostile territory. Coach Chryst does a really good job of keeping us in the moment. That's what it really is."
So, what is it about Iowa-Wisconsin that maybe inspires Chryst to inspire others?
"They're always a heckuva game, a heckuva test," he said. "What is fun about playing Iowa, and what's neat about the game of football, you earn everything you get. Nothing will be given to you. That's a pretty neat way to play this game. It's going to take everyone, it's going to take all units."
The Badgers have won four straight at Kinnick Stadium.
Twice, they've held the Hawkeyes without a touchdown.
Here's how each game played out:
Oct. 22, 2016: Wisconsin 17, Iowa 9
The Badgers made a statement that they were still in the running for the division title. They did so with an aggressive defense that held the Hawks to three field goals and 236 yards of total offense.
Quarterback C.J. Beathard never got into any kind of rhythm while completing just 17 of 33 passes for 153 yards. His longest pass play was 21 yards. He was sacked twice.
The most telling statistic: The Hawkeyes were 2-of-13 on third down compared to 8-of-17 for the Badgers, who got 134 rushing yards from Corey Clement. That included a 34-yard burst late in the game.
Alex Hornibrook, making his fourth career start, was 11-of-19 for 197 yards and shared time with fifth-year senior Bart Houston, who threw the only touchdown pass, to Troy Fumagalli.
It turned out to be a costly victory for Wisconsin. Linebacker Jack Cichy, who led the defense with 10 tackles, tore his pectoral muscle and was sideline for the remainder of the season.
It was also the first of six straight wins that carried the Badgers to Indy.
"They persevered, they kept playing and they did it together," Chryst said.
Nov. 22, 2014: Wisconsin 26, Iowa 24
What was MG3 going to do for an encore one week after rushing for 408 yards?
Melvin Gordon put the record-setting Nebraska game in his rearview mirror and "settled" for 200 yards and two TDs, a performance highlighted by an 88-yard dash in the third quarter.
The game-breaker allowed Gordon to reach 2,000 yards faster than anyone in NCAA history (241 carries). He also led the Badgers in receiving with four catches for 64 yards against the Hawkeyes.
Although Jake Rudock threw for 311 yards and sparked a late rally, it was UW quarterback Joel Stave who picked up a first down on a 12-yard run with 1:55 left to clinch a share of the West title.
Asked about Stave's play, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said, "That's what winning teams do."
Nov. 2, 2013: Wisconsin 28, Iowa 9
With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Hawkeyes were clinging to a 6-0 lead when Stave connected with tight end Jacob Pedersen on a 44-yard touchdown pass.
It was the first time that Iowa trailed at halftime all season.
The Badgers turned that momentum into second half interceptions by cornerback Darius Hillary and defensive end Pat Muldoon to frustrate the Hawkeyes offense and alter field position.
Each turnover was converted into a touchdown: Stave threw a 20-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Jared Abbrederis and James White darted into the end zone from 11 yards out.
Gordon was held to a season-low 62 yards, but White finished with 132.
"We needed this win as a team," Gordon said.
The margin of victory was the largest over Iowa since 1999.
Oct. 23, 2010: Wisconsin 31, Iowa 30
After upsetting No. 1 Ohio State the previous Saturday in Madison, the Badgers rallied in the fourth quarter behind a fake punt to shock the No. 12-ranked Hawkeyes.
Trailing 30-24, head coach Bret Bielema gambled on fourth down from the UW 26 and it caught the Iowa return unit flatfooted as punter Brad Nortman picked up 17 yards to keep the drive alive.
Montee Ball, subbing for the injured White, caught a clutch pass on yet another fourth down and then scored on an 8-yard run with 1:06 left to cap the game-winning 80-yard march.
J.J. Watt blocked an extra point after Iowa's first score and it had major consequences in the end for the Hawkeyes, who drove to the UW 35 before time expired.
On Watt, Bielema said, "It's a good example of how our guys play every snap."
Starters and backups alike. The Badgers not only played without White in the second half, but they also lost their leading receiver, Lance Kendricks, to a first-quarter injury.
"The guys just responded well to adversity," said quarterback Scott Tolzien.
In the same breath, he brought up a theme that has run through the last four wins at Iowa, something that may have application to Saturday night's matchup at Kinnick.
"In any big game," Tolzien said, "you really have to keep your foot on the gas pedal, whether you're up or down, you've got to just continue to be in attack mode. You've got to be confident."
