No. 18 Wisconsin rallies past Iowa 28-17
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Alex Hornibrook threw a 17-yard TD pass to A.J. Taylor with 57 seconds left and No. 18 Wisconsin bounced back from last week's loss by rallying past Iowa 28-17 on Saturday night.
Jonathan Taylor had 113 yards rushing and Alec Ingold ran for a 33-yard score with 22 seconds left for the Badgers (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten), who also got a major leg up on the Hawkeyes — perhaps their biggest threat in the Big Ten West race — in their league opener.
Wisconsin marched 88 yards in 10 plays on the game-deciding drive, capped when Hornibrook found an open Taylor for his third touchdown of the game.
Hornibrook finished 17 of 22 passing for 205 yards, and his three TDs were a season high.
The Badgers took advantage of a short field caused by an Iowa fumble to go up 14-10 on Hornibrook's 12-yard TD pass to Danny Davis. The Hawkeyes responded with Nate Stanley's second touchdown throw to Noah Fant, from a yard out, to make it 17-14 with 1:37 left in the third quarter.
Iowa seemed to have the Badgers pinned, but Wisconsin overcame one of the nation's best defenses in a critical early test.
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Tight end Jake Ferguson #84 of the Wisconsin Badgers breaks a tackle in the first half by defensive back Geno Stone #9 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew
Stanley threw for 222 yards, but he was picked off by T.J. Edwards with 38 seconds left. Ingold then broke free, making the final margin seem a lot bigger.
THE TAKEAWAY
Wisconsin: Don't count Wisconsin out of the playoff yet, though after losing last week the Badgers are still way, way out of the picture. Beating Iowa in Iowa City isn't easy to do — just ask Michigan in 2016 and Ohio State in 2017 — and with road games left against Michigan and Penn State, the opportunity is there for Wisconsin to build a solid postseason resume. The Badgers just can't lose again.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes blew a golden opportunity to move to 4-0, join the Top 25 and start thinking about a special season. But the schedule sets up nicely for the Hawkeyes to end up 9-3 or maybe even 10-2, despite playing four of their next five on the road.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Wisconsin might move up a few spots by winning at night at Kinnick Stadium.
UP NEXT
Wisconsin is off next week. The Badgers host Nebraska on Oct. 6.
Iowa is also heading into its bye week. The Hawkeyes play at Minnesota on Oct. 6 in its first road game.