The battle for the Heartland Trophy is suddenly steeped in importance. Iowa welcomes in the Wisconsin Badgers this weekend looking to enhance the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten West hopes with a win.
“This is a rivalry game, has been for a long time. One thing that’s been pretty consistent over the years, it’s usually a really hard-fought game, very, very competitive against a really good program,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of Wisconsin.
Iowa’s players understand the importance of this weekend, too. Here’s what the Hawkeyes had to say this week ahead of the showdown with the Badgers.