Madison, Wis. — The Heartland Trophy is staying in the homeland. No. 16 Wisconsin retained the Big Ten rivalry trophy thanks to a 24-22 victory over Iowa on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
Jonathan Taylor rushed for a season-high 250 yards on 31 carries, including 135 yards in the fourth quarter alone.
Taylor became the first running back this season to rush for more than 100 yards against Iowa and he recorded the 29th 100-yard rushing game of his career. Only Ron Dayne (33) has recorded more as a Badger. Taylor now has 5,430 yards for his career, second most by a player through his junior season behind Herschel Walker (5,596).
Wide receiver Danny Davis ran for a touchdown and caught another to help seal the Badgers' trophy win. He scored the first rushing TD of his career on a 17-yard run that opened the scoring for UW in the 2nd quarter, later follwed by scoring his first TD reception of the season a 4-yard pass in the 2nd quarter.
Wisconsin (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten, No. 13 College Football Playoff) has beaten Iowa four straight times and has now won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams, dating to 2010. The Badgers have also won 20 of their last 22 games with a rivalry trophy on the line (vs. Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska) since 2010.
Wisconsin's 24 points are the most allowed by Iowa this season. The Badgers additionally ran for 300 yards overall, the most against Iowa since at least 2000. Iowa entered the game ranked eighth in the NCAA, allowing just 87.8 rushing yards per game. In turn, Iowa was held to 87 yards rushing, marking the seventh time in nine games that Wisconsin has held its opponent under 100 yards.
Quarterback Jack Coan finished 16-for-25 for 173 yards with 2 TDs and one interception. He has now 12 touchdowns to just three interceptions on the season.
Quintez Cephus caught five passes for 94 yards and a score to help Wisconsin stay in contention for the Big Ten West crown. He scored his fourth TD catch of the season on a 27-yard pass from Coan in the 3rd quarter.
After trailing 21-6 at the end of the third quarter, the Hawkeyes (6-3, 3-3, No. 18 CFP) outscored the Badgers 16-3 in the fourth but couldn't come all the way back. Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley was stopped short of the goal line on a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 3:12 remaining.
Iowa's rally included a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown from Nate Stanley to Nico Ragaini that made it 21-13 with just over 14 minutes to play.
The Iowa defense then forced Wisconsin's first turnover of the day, as Matt Hankins picked off the Coan pass. The junior's third interception of the season led to a 39-yard field goal by Keith Duncan that cut Wisconsin's lead to 21-16 with 9:27 to play. The field goal was Duncan's 22nd of the year, a single-season record for the Hawkeyes.
Collin Larsh's 29-yard field goal extended Wisconsin's lead to 24-16 with 3:29 left. Stanley found Tyrone Tracy for 75-yard score 17 seconds later, but Wisconsin stopped Iowa on the two-point conversion attempt. Stanley finished 17 of 28 for 208 yards and two scores.
Wisconsin defensive end Matt Henningsen recorded his 3rd sack of the season against Stanley early in the match. Teammates Chris Orr and Zack Baun both led the Badgers in tackles with six a piece, followed closely by Jack Sanborn's five against the Hawkeyes.
Up Next, Wisconsin travels to play Nebraska on November 16. Watch the game live at 11 a.m. (CT) on Big Ten Network.
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Gallery: (11/9/2019) Wisconsin Football vs. Iowa
The AP contributed to this article.