BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — There could not have been a more representative honorary captain for an Iowa-Wisconsin matchup than Alec Ingold, who took part in Saturday's coin toss at Camp Randall Stadium. What better symbol of the smash-mouth rivalry than a former Badger fullback?

Nobody was more impressed with Ingold's presence than the current Badger fullback.

"That was really cool, I didn't know it was happening, and I was pumped to see it for sure," John Chenal said of Ingold locking arms with UW captains Jake Ferguson, Faion Hicks and Jack Sanborn and walking to mid-field. "I always have him on text, and I'll message him throughout the year.

"Before the season, when we talked more, he just said, 'Trust everything and really focus on being a versatile player. Be able to move. Gap to gap. Find the blocks. Find the right fits.' In the NFL, fullbacks have to run the ball and catch the ball. That's what I've been focusing on a little bit more."

Ingold, an undrafted free agent, has appeared in 39 games with 11 starts over the past three seasons for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. During his senior year at Wisconsin, he had 26 carries for 143 yards and six touchdowns. He also had five catches and a TD. Chenal was then a freshman walk-on.

In his final appearance against the Hawkeyes, Ingold had a 33-yard reception and 33-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds to seal a 28-17 win at Kinnick Stadium. Fullbacks have always taken an active role in this series. It was no different this year with Chenal and Iowa's Monte Pottebaum.

Chenal had four rushes for 15 yards and one catch. Pottebaum had three runs for 2 yards. Both are products of small, tight-knit communities. Chenal is from Grantsburg, Wisconsin (population: 1,277) and Pottebaum is from Larchwood, Iowa (pop: 873). Both take a pride in playing the position.

After Saturday's game, Chenal was wearing a "Make Fullbacks Great Again" baseball cap.

"He (Pottebaum) is a heck of a fullback, too — Wisconsin-Iowa games are always going to have a lot of that," Chenal said of the fullback usage. "It's a game I really look forward to more than any other just because it's rough-and-tough, ground-and-pound football. Good old-fashioned football."

On UW's first scoring march — an eight-play, 65-yard touchdown drive — Chenal got it jump-started with a 7-yard catch on first down. He was one of five different receivers on the possession. It's an untapped skill. Chenal has only three receptions on the season and just six in his 37 career games.

But on those snaps when he's moved out of the backfield and split wide, he said, "It really showed me that Coach (Paul Chryst) is trusting me more. He trusts me to go out there and catch the ball. Just knowing that I have that trust from the coaches really helps my confidence."

As far as the defensive coverage when the 250-pound Chenal is lined up as a wide receiver, he added, "Sometimes they respect it. Sometimes they don't. We're just trying to spread them out a little bit — get the heavier personnel in there — spread it out thin and run or throw the ball."

Chenal and Pottebaum were both frustrated as ball-carriers. In the third quarter, Pottebaum picked up only 1 yard on a third-and-2 from the UW 41. He then was stopped for no gain on fourth down. In the second quarter, Chenal was kept out of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the Iowa 1.

"I thought I did score at the time," he said of his lunge to break the plane of the goal line. "Even from the camera angles, it's hard to tell. But I shouldn't have even left the ground. Why should I? I'm a fullback, I'm not that guy (to leap the pile). I excel on the ground, so I need to say on the ground."

Nothing keeps a player grounded more than the challenge of playing through pain, an occupational hazard for Chenal, who left Saturday's game twice due to injury. He does have a high pain tolerance.

"But I've matured a lot," he said. "I know what to play through and what not to play through."

Chenal's value to the offense has never been higher given the shortage of available fullbacks on the Wisconsin roster. Through eight games, he has a career-high 23 carries for 61 yards and one touchdown. In the previous two seasons, 21 games combined, he had 30 rushes.

But his primary responsibility is clearing a path for tailbacks Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen. Together, they have formed a productive one-two punch. Mellusi, the Clemson transfer, has rushed for over 100 yards four times for the Badgers. So has Allen, who did it in four straight October games.

"Chez has brought a whole new level of versatility, he's very quick between the lines, he has that left-to-right movement and he's also able to catch the ball out of the backfield," said Chenal, who was asked what it was like to share the huddle with the 17-year-old Allen, the Fond du Lac frosh.

"It's crazy. You don't even realize he's 17 because of how much he has matured since he has been here. He has picked up the coaching points. He has been a leader through his actions on the field. But a guy who was born in 2004? What the heck. You wouldn't know he was 17 just by how he plays."

Meanwhile, Chenal, 22, has grown up through increased responsibilities as a husband. In June, he got married to his high school sweetheart, Hallie Jensen, the Grantsburg Class of 2017 valedictorian. She graduated in biology from the UW last spring and works for Pharmaceutical Product Development.

"I've never been happier really," said Chenal, who hails from a huge family: eight boys, eight girls. "We kind of have a schedule and our routine, so everything is more stable now and it has taken some things off my mind. It's knowing what is going to be expected out of me on a daily basis.

"Being married in college, let alone playing football, you have to make some sacrifices. She knows what to expect. Walking into it, she knew I wouldn't be home most of the time. That's just like any of the coaches here that have families. She knows I love spending time with her.

"But we have a schedule, and she knows what time I'm going to be home to eat dinner. Obviously, we set aside some time during the week to spend extra time together. It's just nice to go home and have that release, that mental release (from football), and being able to talk with her."

Chenal's younger brother, Leo Chenal, has rapidly become the talk of the Big Ten and college football with his ferocious defensive play alongside of the unflappable Sanborn, another postseason honors candidate. Leo Chenal, a junior, has averaged nearly 12 tackles over the last three games.

In honor of Wisconsin's inside linebacker tradition, Leo has used a Sharpie to pen "Death Row" on his arm before competition. It served as a reminder to him of the hard work and grit that the position group has historically possessed. John is not a fan of putting any ink on his body, temporary or not.

"I'm going to let him do him," he said of Leo, "and if it allows him to keep playing like that, then, by all means, draw it all over yourself. He's playing amazing. I don't think I've seen a college linebacker play the way he has the last few weeks. I'm pumped to see that, especially as a big brother."

Whereas the Badger defense is now rallying around the call to "Do it again" to inspire more takeaways, John Chenal says the Badger offense remains slogan-less, "But we always have that mindset of being the most physical team."

Espousing more of a both-sides-of-the-ball, bilateral posture, he went on to stress, "We go into every game thinking it's going to be a dog fight and it's going to be won in the trenches. That's the Wisconsin mindset anyway. That's how we approach every week. It's gritty football, for sure."

The Badgers have definitely reversed the direction of their season with some winning football, for sure. After a disappointing 1-3 start, they've won their last four games, including decisions over back-to-back ranked opponents, Purdue and Iowa. What has been the difference between then and now?

"It was just kind of a shift in mindset," John Chenal said. "Instead of accepting everything, we're going to go out and get it. We're going to be the aggressors instead of the ones who taking what they're given. We have guys who have really bought into what we're trying to do each week.

"Having guys with the same goal in mind, working as one unit, has been the change."

Having their destiny in their own hands has now become a part of that change, too.

It's why no one is looking beyond a trip to Rutgers. A fullback-centric approach.