Everything HC Greg Gard said after Wisconsin’s 62-57 loss to Iowa

The third time wasn’t the charm for the Wisconsin Badgers last night, as they fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes 62-57 and saw their Big Ten dreams

The third time wasn’t the charm for the Wisconsin Badgers last night, as they fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes 62-57 and saw their Big Ten Tournament dreams come to an end.

The final minutes of the game were more of the same for Greg Gard’s team, with turnovers and a massive cold spell on offense allowing the Hawkeyes to pull away and complete their third win over the Badgers this season.

Related: Wisconsin basketball legend Sam Dekker says which all-time Badger he would want taking the last shot

Here is everything Gard said after the loss:

Film room: The good, the bad and the questionable from Graham Mertz’s performance against Iowa

The Wisconsin Badgers and redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz have had a rough go of it since their 49-11 victory over the…

The Wisconsin Badgers and redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz have had a rough go of it since their 49-11 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

Their poor performances can be attributed to several factors–the team constantly missing games due to COVID-19 protocols, injuries to key positions, inexperience on offense and more.

Related: Studs and duds from the Badgers’ 28-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes

But one of the biggest factors has been the play of the quarterback, a guy who now has turned the ball over eight times in three games and has struggled to bring his team into the end zone.

Now not all of those turnovers are his fault, as yesterday’s fumble can be fully attributed to wide receiver Chimere Dike running into the football while Mertz was handing it off to Nakia Watson in the backfield.

But a lot of the offensive miscues are on the quarterback and the things that he has to fix as he develops throughout his career.

Last week I broke down the film of his performance against Indiana, citing his tendency to lock on to Jake Ferguson and his decision-making as two things that would need to improve moving forward.

Related: Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s 28-7 loss to Iowa

Well, yesterday against Iowa those problems persisted, as Mertz threw for just 169 yards and turned the ball over twice.

In this piece, I go through the Iowa game and show you the good, the bad and the questionable from his performance.

What Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz said about Wisconsin after the game

For the third straight contest, the Wisconsin Badgers were unable to muster anything offensively yesterday and eventually left the…

For the third straight contest, the Wisconsin Badgers were unable to muster anything offensively and eventually left the defense out to dry, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7.

Yes, the team was without Jalen Berger at running back and Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis at wide receiver, but even with the personnel they had yesterday and have had since the Northwestern game, the team has put out offensive showings in the last three contests that make it really tough to win football games.

Related: Studs and duds from the Badgers’ 28-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa, on the other hand, picked up their fifth straight victory after starting the season 0-2. After losing those first two games by a combined 5 points, the Hawkeyes now find themselves in a position to pick up a win during Big Ten Champions Week and reach a New Year’s Six Bowl.

Entering yesterday’s contest Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz had a lot of good to say about the Wisconsin Badger program and its history.

“Probably if you go back to the early ’90s, almost the same script each and every year,” Ferentz said. “Some faces have changed, but they just play good football. They make you earn anything you’re going to get. That’s the case this year again.”

Related: Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s 28-7 loss to Iowa

After the game during his postgame press conference, Ferentz carried a similar tone.

“Going into the game we knew it was going to be a tough defensive battle. I think everybody understood that. You get in games like this, everything that you do is contested, every yard is a fight. That certainly was the case today.

Also in games like this it’s all about trying to capitalize if opportunities appear. Wisconsin did a good job of that, at least on one of them. We were able to do the same thing today. Just really happy about that.”

He continued to note that 28-7 does not tell the story of the game, as it was actually a close game until Iowa pulled away coming down the stretch.

“The score is so misleading,” Ferentz said. “When you play Wisconsin, you have to earn it, you have to win it.”

Related: Twitter reaction: Wisconsin football’s WR class of 2021 is ready to right the ship

Finally, Ferentz pulled out an NFL reference when talking about the battle each team enters the contest with and what is necessary to come away with a victory.

“Momentum is a really important thing in sports, certainly in football. But nobody’s going to hand it to you, especially a team like Wisconsin. Somehow, some way you have to get it going.

Again, credit goes to our players. They didn’t get deterred. They didn’t duck their heads. They kept playing. You keep chipping away, hopefully something good happens. Our defense really played that way the entire game.

I’m not saying this is Pittsburgh-Baltimore in the NFL, but is that kind of game. Nobody is dodging, right? Two teams going at it. Hopefully at some point you get a little something to get you going. We were able to do that today.”

The now-2-3 Wisconsin Badgers will play again next Sunday in Big Ten’s Champions Week, though their opponent is not yet known.

Studs and duds from the Badgers’ 28-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes

The Wisconsin Badgers ended their regular season on a bitter note yesterday, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7 and falling to 2-3 on the…

The Wisconsin Badgers ended their regular season on a bitter note yesterday, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7 and falling to 2-3 on the year.

After what was a remarkable start to the season with two blowout victories, it has become a year to forget for Badgers fans with three straight losses and several COVID-19 related cancellations.

There is a lot to take away from the Iowa game, however, including areas where the team must improve heading into a hopefully-normal 2021 season.

Related: Twitter reaction: Wisconsin football’s WR class of 2021 is ready to right the ship

While the final score indicated a poor showing all across the field, there were also some Badgers who did all they could yesterday to lead the team to victory.

Here are studs and duds from Wisconsin’s 28-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes: