The Iowa Hawkeyes showed resiliency in their 15-6 win over Wisconsin. In a season where they’ve lost starting quarterback Cade McNamara and their top two tight ends, Luke Lachey and Erick All, the offense needed a spark in the worst way possible.
So, they turned to the run game and turned in a 200-yard outing. Specifically Leshon Williams, who churned out 174 yards on 25 carries. The highlight of the day was an 82-yard score in the second quarter that gave the Hawkeyes a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I don’t even know what happened,” Williams said after the game. “We wanted to show them how tough and physical we are. We wanted to take their heart and that’s what we did today. We wanted to show them we could do whatever we want with them. We see the run game working, so why go away from it?”
“I saw Boog [Leshon] hit the gap, make a move and then he was off to the races,” quarterback Deacon Hill said. “I saw a corner on the backside that tried to chase him down. Once I saw him clear I started sprinting.”
“Coming out of State College a couple of weeks back it was tough,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “You’ve got two choices — I know we couldn’t have done this three weeks ago. I don’t have a way to measure that or quantify it. But you guys watch the team.”
The 82-yard run was the longest of any Hawkeye since 1997. They ran back to Iowa City with the Heartland Trophy for back-to-back seasons. Iowa will look to win its fourth straight contest at home against Minnesota next week.
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