To the driver’s seat! Five takeaways as Iowa takes down Wisconsin
Wins don’t have to be pretty. Wins don’t have to be entertaining. Wins just have to be wins. Winning ugly is always, always, always better than a pretty loss. The Iowa Hawkeyes epitomize that and it has never held more true than it did in their 15-6 win over the Wisconsin Badgers.
Iowa threw for 37 passing yards. In a Big Ten game. On the road. And they won. That may be a record of some sort or at least close. It didn’t matter, though. The Hawkeyes ran for 200 yards on the ground behind a massive day from Leshon Williams.
As usual, the Iowa defense was lights out behind Sebastian Castro’s career game. They held Wisconsin’s vaunted rushing attack to just 104 yards on the ground to the tune of only 3.7 yards per carry. They forced two turnovers and never let Wisconsin breathe.
Even more impressive, Iowa’s special teams won the day again. Drew Stevens hit two clutch kicks in the second half to extend the lead. Most importantly, Tory Taylor had his finest day in a Hawkeye uniform yet.
Here are the biggest takeaways as Iowa found a way to win against Wisconsin and bring home the Heartland Trophy.
Tory Taylor is this team's MVP
Today was Tory Taylor’s finest day yet in an Iowa jersey. The fan-favorite Aussie was the MVP for Iowa and the most crucial player in the win. Taylor’s punting prowess was on display the entire day.
Tory Taylor punted 10 times with an average of 50.6 yards per punt with a long of 62. He had six punts downed inside Wisconsin’s 20-yard line. He never let the Badgers breathe and set the defense up for success time and time again.
Joey Labas deserves a look
Deacon Hill has done what he needed to do the last two games he has started and Iowa is 2-0 in them, but to call a spade a spade, he isn’t getting things done at the quarterback position.
Hill was 6-of-14 passing for 37 yards against Wisconsin and 6-of-21 for 110 yards against Purdue. That isn’t sustainable quarterback play.
It is time to at least give Joey Labas a look. Labas was 14-of-24 passing for 139 yards and a touchdown in the bowl game last year, which would be a drastic improvement over the current situation. Labas also has a little bit of wiggle to him to be mobile enough.
Leshon Williams came through huge
Leshon Williams won this game for Iowa’s offense. He took the entire offense and put them on his back. Williams started things off with an 82-yard touchdown run early to show off his explosiveness.
That was just his first act. Down the stretch, when Iowa was looking to burn clock, Williams was the bell cow to churn out tough yards against a defense that knew it was coming.
On the day, Williams went for 174 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown. It was a special effort that is going to be remembered for a long time.
Sebastian Castro had himself a career day
There may not have been a finer day than the one had by Sebastian Castro. The CASH defender was money today. He was all over the field in the run game, pass game, and delivering brutal hits.
Castro had seven total tackles with two for loss and an interception to cap things off. He also was the one to get pressure that set up the safety on the sack by Yahya Black. All in all, Sebastian Castro was the best defender for a loaded Iowa defense and played like a monster.
Iowa controls the Big Ten West
The starting quarterback is out. The top two tight ends are out. This is a group of ragtag backups playing in the Big Ten. That ragtag group now controls their own destiny and controls the Big Ten West.
This win puts Iowa in the driver’s seat of the West with five games to go and in full control. The West is Iowa’s to lose and with what many believed to be their toughest test left over with, things in the West run through Iowa City.
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