A win is a win is a win. Really, what you’re about to read next is the greatest credit to the Hawkeyes’ defense and special teams. Iowa is elite in those two phases and they rode that to a 24-10 win over Wisconsin that has the Hawks lurking for a potential Big Ten Championship game return trip.
Listen to this, though: Iowa just registered the fewest offensive yards per play in a win by 14-plus points since 2011. The Hawkeyes ran 68 plays and totaled 146 yards of total offense.
Spencer Petras completed 14-of-23 passes for 94 yards, or 4.1 yards per pass. The Iowa run game was actually worse, finishing with just 52 rushing yards on 45 attempts.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly did the digging and found that Iowa’s 2.14 yards per play trailed only Florida State’s 21-7 win over Florida to close the 2011 regular season.
Lowest yds/play in a win of 14+ since 2007:
2011 FSU (1.61 vs. Florida)
2007 ND (2.12 vs. UCLA)
*2022 Iowa (2.15 vs Wisconsin)*
2012 Mizzou (2.43 vs. Florida)
2008 Ariz St (2.44 vs. UCLA)
2012 Florida (2.82 vs. SC)THREE OF SIX INVOLVED MUSCHAMP. https://t.co/DW0hJQlqdk
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) November 13, 2022
For those curious, in the Seminoles’ 21-7 regular-season closing win over the Gators, Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel passed for just 65 yards. The Seminoles actually averaged less than a yard per rush in that game.