A pair of key Hawkeyes were listed as questionable for Iowa’s big road contest this afternoon at Wisconsin.
As Iowa (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) makes its way to Camp Randall Stadium to take on Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten), redshirt freshman running back Jaziun Patterson’s status has been upgraded to questionable.
That’s potentially fantastic news. Iowa should be in good shape there either way after the return of starting sophomore running back Kaleb Johnson last week. Johnson carried 17 times for 134 yards, including his 67-yard rushing touchdown to get last week’s scoring started.
Junior running back Leshon Williams added 74 rushing yards on 13 carries for the Hawkeyes in Iowa’s 20-14 win over Purdue last week.
But, the news up front is certainly noteworthy. Sixth-year senior defensive end Joe Evans was also listed as questionable.
Evans was a key figure in Iowa’s best defensive day up front last week, tallying 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks for the Hawkeyes against the Boilermakers.
In a game where stopping Wisconsin junior running back Braelon Allen and pressuring senior quarterback Tanner Mordecai will be paramount, Evans would be a significant loss if he’s slowed or can’t go altogether.
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Again, the Hawkeyes are coming off of their best defensive game up front, though. As a team, Iowa finished with 12 tackles for loss and six sacks against Purdue.
Senior Logan Lee recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, sophomore Aaron Graves tallied 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack, junior Deontae Craig had 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack and junior Ethan Hurkett and sophomore Max Llewellyn each had a half-tackle for loss.
Iowa defensive backs TJ Hall and Deshaun Lee, wide receivers Jacob Bostick and Reese Osgood and tight ends Luke Lachey and Addison Ostrenga are all listed as out.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on Fox at Wisconsin.
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