BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — During stoppages in play here Saturday, cornerback Derrick Tindal couldn't help but steal a look at Iowa's offensive statistics on the Camp Randall Stadium scoreboard.
"I did look a couple of times," he admitted. "I was trying to just focus on my job most of the game. But it was hard because you'd keep looking up, and it was like 'Dang, they've got only 20 yards.'"
One week after torching the vaunted Ohio State defense for 487 yards, the Hawkeyes finished with a paltry 66 yards of total offense, the fewest ever in Kirk Ferentz's 19 seasons as head coach.
Wisconsin has never had a defense give up fewer yards to a Big Ten opponent. Overall, it was the second fewest allowed in school history (Temple had 45 in 2005).
Scoreboard.
"You'd look up there and see how many total yards they had," said inside linebacker Ryan Connelly, "and that kind of fuels you to make sure you keep them to those levels."
Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson covered more ground (95 yards) on two pick-sixes than his offensive teammates did collectively. They had just five first downs and went 0-for-13 on third down.
"Oh, man, it was really special," said defensive lineman Alec James after the 38-14 win clinched a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game for the fifth time in seven seasons. "That's the standard right there.
"Two weeks ago, when we played Illinois, we weren't too happy with our performance. Last week, we had a lot of errors (at Indiana). This was the first time that we played a full, complete game."
• • • •
What does it mean to be in a "zone?" In basketball, it's a shooter who doesn't feel like he will ever miss. In football, it's a quarterback who doesn't feel like he will ever throw an incompletion.
What about for the players on a lock-down, suffocating defense?
What does it feel like to be in a zone like they were against Iowa?
"It's incredible," said safety Joe Ferguson, who was starting again for the injured D'Cota Dixon. "Once we came off the field, we were all excited to go back out there again.
"In just knowing that we were all in the zone, everybody wanted to make the play. We were feeding off each other's energy. It was an incredible feeling."
That was seconded by inside linebacker T.J. Edwards.
"Obviously, it's a good feeling," he said. "Our offense went through a little adversity (four turnovers) and they needed us to pick them up. We did a good job of feeding off the energy."
"Man, it's just a great feeling," Tindal echoed. "It's just everybody coming together, everybody doing their 1/11th. When everyone is in sync, it's hard to make plays on our defense."
And with every stop, with every play that is made, James said, "You can feel the whole momentum shifting. It's just a special feeling. It's hard to explain. You just feel it … it's a feeling."
Defensively, the Badgers had that "feeling" all week in practice.
"We had a huge edge to us starting Sunday," said Edwards, who added of the early film study, "The film was even more intense. It's November football. This is where teams make it or break it."
"The biggest thing," Connelly said, "was that we had to play physical and know our (run) fits. When we've gotten into trouble in the past, we've gotten in the way of ourselves.
"Today, the message was, 'Come ready to play and do the job.'"
The Badgers completely shut down the running game. The Hawkeyes managed just 25 net yards on 26 carries. Their longest run was 9 yards and even that came up short. It was on third-and-16.
Iowa rushed for 243 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry against Ohio State. UW outside linebacker Leon Jacobs was conscious of what the Hawkeyes accomplished in their 55-24 upset.
"But it's a new slate," Jacobs said. "It doesn't matter what they did, or we did, last week or for the whole year. It was 0-0 today. Everybody was locked in and we were playing 11-man football."
If there was a 12th man, it was Wisconsin punter Anthony Lotti, who flipped the field in the second quarter with punts of 59 (downed on the 7) and a career-long 62 (downed on the 8).
"Anytime you're playing Iowa," Connelly said, "field position is going to be huge.
Iowa's average field position was the 20 for the game. Wisconsin's was the 39.
"Backing them up was something that we wanted," Ferguson said, "because anytime they're off schedule, it was obviously a benefit to us. With them backed up, we were able to cut it loose."
Iowa sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley threw for 41 yards and was sacked for a minus-35. He completed only 8-of-24 with a long of 10 yards. He also threw an interception and lost a fumble.
"We did a great job of disguising our defense," said Ferguson. "Me and Natrell (Jamerson) were messing around with the quarterback all day. And the crowd obviously helped a ton."
That was the case in the third quarter with the Badgers protecting a 17-14 lead. On third-and-10 from the Iowa 30, Stanley was still reading the defense when center James Daniels snapped the ball.
An unsuspecting Stanley had it ricochet off his hip. Iowa running back Akrum Wadley lunged for it and missed. Jacobs dove over Wadley. "I started celebrating," said Jacobs, thinking the play was dead.
The loose football squirted through the grasp of two Iowa offensive linemen: redshirt freshman left tackle Alaric Jackson and true freshman right tackle Tristan Wirfs, who Jacobs had beaten on his rush.
"I saw the ball," said Jacobs, who was a high school running back and played some fullback last spring. "And I picked it up — making sure my knee didn't touch the ground."
The 21-yard scoop-and-score essentially sealed Iowa's fate.
"Leon had an insane game," said Edwards, who collected his fourth interception of the season with an acrobatic catch. "I like to joke with my teammates that I've got a little athleticism in me."
Stanley never did seem to catch on to what the Badgers were doing.
"With our 3-4 defense, there are a lot of moving parts and it can be confusing," said Connelly, a former prep QB. "I know if I was playing quarterback, I'd get confused."
The Badgers went into the game without Dixon and inside linebacker Chris Orr. And, of course, they went into the season without linebacker Jack Cichy, too. But it doesn't impact their preparation.
Jacobs, who set the school record Saturday by appearing in his 55th career game, pointed out, "We have the next man-up mentality. Our coaches do a great job of coaching us."
During his opening remarks to the media corps, UW head coach Paul Chryst uttered the same phrase twice in the first 15 seconds, "That was a heckuva performance by our defense."
He was not alone with that thought.
"Their defense was better than advertised," Ferentz said. "Not that they haven't been playing well all season long. But I can't imagine they've played a better game than that."
Everybody on that defense still believes the best is yet to come.
"We just have to keep pushing forward," Edwards said. "We've put ourselves in a good position where these games really mean something. We're going to focus on Michigan and only on Michigan."
Even Tindal, who exudes confidence, had to remind himself, "We have to stay humble."
This is November football, after all, where one game can make you or break you.
"That's the best part of this time of the year," Ferguson said. "Each game gets bigger."
