Kaleb Johnson ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns and Iowa’s defense smothered Wisconsin in a 42-10 victory Saturday night in Iowa City, Iowa.
Johnson, the Big Ten Conference leader in rushing, scored from 16 yards in the second quarter, 9 yards on the Hawkeyes’ first possession of the third quarter, and 2 yards in the fourth quarter. He pushed his season totals to 1,279 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan, who took over for starter Cade McNamara after he suffered a concussion during the Hawkeyes’ 40-14 rout of Northwestern on Oct. 26, completed 7 of 10 attempts for 93 yards. One of the completions was a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Gill to give Iowa a 28-3 lead with 4:17 left in the third quarter. That drive was set up by Nick Jackson, who intercepted Braedyn Locke’s pass at the Wisconsin 40-yard line and returned to the 12.
Sullivan also ran for 58 yards and a touchdown for Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten), which piled up 422 yards to 261 for Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3).
Locke finished 15-of-29 passing for 137 yards and threw a 14-yard touchdown to C.J. Williams in the third quarter. Locke also threw two interceptions, with both turnovers leading to Iowa touchdowns. He has eight touchdowns and eight interceptions this season.
The Hawkeyes led in total yards in the first half 186-115 but trailed 3-0 until they scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions.
Deshaun Lee set up the first score, intercepting a pass from Locke and returning it to the Hawkeyes’ 47. Seven plays later, Sullivan cashed in with a 1-yard run to give Iowa a 7-3 lead.
After the first of two consecutive three-and-outs by Wisconsin, Iowa took over on its 20. The Hawkeyes’ six-play drive, which included Kamari Moulton’s 30-yard rush, was capped by Johnson’s 16-yard burst up the middle to give Iowa a 14-3 lead with 8:49 left in the first half. Johnson had 92 yards on 15 carries in the half.
The Badgers picked up 59 yards in the first half on their first possession, which culminated with Nathanial Vakos’ 38-yard field goal.
