Tuesdays with Torbee

Iowa’s upcoming game against the Wisconsin Badgers inside a hostile Camp Randall isn’t a “must-win” by any conventional metric. It may, however, fit in that category in terms of fan goodwill.

Despite its 5-1 record and two-game winning streak engineered by flawed-but-game backup quarterback Deacon Hill, a large contingent of the black and gold fan base remains agitated, irritable and dissatisfied.

The old cliché states winning cures all ills, but in Iowa City at least, winning ugly doesn’t.

Although Iowa never really looked as if it might lose to Purdue last week, a late offensive stall out, some questionable play calling on third-and-short and a quick strike touchdown from the Boilermakers made the 20-14 victory feel more precarious than it needed to be.

It didn’t help that Hill, in his first start, was erratic and uncomfortable most of the day. It also didn’t help that wide receivers caught a total of zero balls (although they were targeted seven times, or on one-third of Hill’s attempts.) The offense, statistically, was better and the running game was – dare we say it – a legitimate weapon. But enough warts remain to keep Iowa fans cagey and skeptical.

I believe the only way to truly get fans back on board is for the Hawkeyes to find a way to win against the last remaining good team on its schedule this weekend. Win in Madison – ugly or not – control your Big 10 Championship Game destiny and the bandwagon will start filling up again.

It’s a tall, but not impossible task.

Iowa has won two out of its last three games against the Badgers, including last year’s relatively comfortable 24-10 victory inside Kinnick Stadium.

Over those three games, the Badgers have averaged just over 14 points a game. Iowa, by contrast, has averaged just under 13 points in those three tilts.

The path to victory, as it has been over the past several offensively challenged seasons, is to claw out an early lead, then use a suffocating defense and killer special teams to secure the win. Iowa could not achieve this against an uber-talented Penn State team, but I believe Wisconsin talent-wise is much closer to the Hawkeyes.

Lost in the hand wringing over Deacon Hill’s bad day and a handful of missed scoring attempts against Purdue is that Iowa shored up a couple prior weaknesses.

A defensive line that couldn’t generate sacks across its first five games pummeled the Boilermakers’ quarterback six times. The running game got on track with 181 yards highlighted by Kaleb Johnson’s impressive 8.6 yards per carry – and that was into a stacked box because of the passing game woes.

Wisconsin’s defense will present a much bigger challenge than Purdue’s, but if Iowa can get production on the ground, it can find a way to put up points. What must change is Iowa’s third-down production. The Hawkeyes were a woeful 3 of 13 on third down last Saturday. If the Hawkeyes don’t find a way to convert a few more against Bucky, a win will be very difficult to achieve.

Iowa’s last road game in Happy Valley was an unmitigated disaster and did much to set the sour tone that is lingering in the fan base, despite wins piling up. It doesn’t help that both the Michigan State and Purdue games were uncomfortable, white-knuckle affairs at times.

Unfortunately, nearly every Iowa-Wisconsin game plays out as an uncomfortable, white-knuckle affair and there is no reason to believe that won’t once again be the case this Saturday in Madison.

What will be tested is this Iowa team’s resiliency. Thus far, outside of one rainy night in Pennsylvania, this patchwork team has shown the heart and grit to grind out ugly wins.

Do that again this coming Saturday and the heat on the coaching staff will be significantly turned down. If the Hawkeyes flail and fail on offense and drop this game in ugly fashion, the heat will be turned way, way up.

Saturday against Wisconsin may not be a must-win. However, it needs to be competitive and somehow show that Iowa’s relatively gaudy record isn’t fraudulent. The opportunity exists for the Hawkeyes to shift the negative narrative. Here’s hoping they find that path on the road.

Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht and the 12 Saturdays Podcast @12Saturdays.