The Wisconsin Badgers are set to travel to Iowa City this weekend and enter battle against Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and the 5-2 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Entering the contest the two teams are on complete opposite trajectories–with Iowa winning five straight after starting the season 0-2 and Wisconsin looking to break their two-game losing streak after beginning the year with two straight wins.
Related: Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Iowa on Saturday
The matchup between these two schools is always a hard-fought one and although the Badgers have won four straight in their all-time series, the game nearly every year is decided by only one possession.
Ferentz spoke earlier this week about the 2020 Wisconsin Badgers, saying they’re “A tough, physical football team. They’re extremely well-coached. They have good players every year. They have a good coaching staff. Coach Chryst and his staff do an amazing job.”
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He continued to note the consistency that the program brings to the field every season and which features make that the case.
“Probably if you go back to the early ’90s, almost the same script each and every year. 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.
They’re big, physical. They play hard, extremely hard. Don’t make many errors. On top of that, they play really well. They have a good offensive line again, a good running game, a quarterback who looks very impressive, and good receivers.”
Finally, the Iowa head coach discussed Jim Leonhard’s defensive unit and outlined what his team will have to do to come away with a victory.
“Defensively I think they’re leading the league in just about every category. What you’d expect. They’re a really tough football team. It’s going to require us to play our best game. We haven’t done that yet. We’ve done some good things, been really good at times. For us to win this game, it’s going to take our best effort, take it for the full 60. We’re going to have to earn it, that’s for sure, if we’re going to get it done. That has kind of been the history of the series. That’s what we’re looking at right now.”
The Badgers and Hawkeyes will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CST on Saturday as both programs look to end the regular season on a high note and carry positive momentum into postseason play.