Wisconsin 16, Iowa 38

1234T
WIS (3-4)036716
IOWA (5-3)77141038

Final

12:03 PM ET, October 18, 2008
Kinnick Stadium
IOWA CITY, IA

Wisconsin off to first 0-4 start in Big Ten since '96

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1917
Total Yards409375
Passing251121
Rushing158254
Penalties7-757-55
3rd Down Conversions6-181-10
4th Down Conversions0-00-0
Turnovers30
Possession32:5627:04
Air/Ground Leaders
Wisconsin Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Sherer17/3416102
Tolzien4/79001
Iowa Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Stanzi11/1811410
Christensen1/2700
Wisconsin Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Clay1689021
Hill834011
Iowa Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Greene25217452
Hampton733013
Wisconsin Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Graham674027
Gilreath258033
Iowa Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Reisner233117
Johnson-Koulianos330013
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERWISIOWA
TD08:30Shonn Greene 12 Yd Run (Trent Mossbrucker Kick) 07
SECOND QUARTERWISIOWA
TD08:06Shonn Greene 34 Yd Run (Trent Mossbrucker Kick) 014
FG00:59Philip Welch 42 Yd 314
THIRD QUARTERWISIOWA
FG10:01Philip Welch 40 Yd 614
FG06:15Philip Welch 35 Yd 914
TD05:06Shonn Greene 52 Yd Run (Trent Mossbrucker Kick) 921
TD01:38Allen Reisner 16 Yd Pass From Richard Stanzi (Trent Mossbrucker Kick) 928
FOURTH QUARTERWISIOWA
TD09:18Shonn Greene 34 Yd Run (Trent Mossbrucker Kick) 935
FG05:23Trent Mossbrucker 35 Yd 938
TD04:24Zach Brown 21 Yd Run (Philip Welch Kick) 1638
Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Shonn Greene just keeps getting better -- and the resurgent Hawkeyes are following his lead.

Greene rushed for a career-high 217 yards and four touchdowns and Iowa pounded reeling Wisconsin 38-16 on Saturday, sending the Badgers to their first 0-4 start in the Big Ten since 1996.

Hot And Cold

Wisconsin has now lost four straight games for the first time since 1996. Just like this year, the Badgers started 3-0 in '96 before a deflating losing streak. Since 1996, Wisconsin has started 3-0 or better nine times. Six of those nine times, they followed the hot starts with bad losing streaks.

Wisconsin Notable 3-0 Starts
Since 1996
Start Then
'08 3-0 Lost 4 Straight
'07 5-0 Lost 4 Straight
'04 9-0 Lost 3 Straight
'02 5-0 Lost 3 Straight
'00 3-0 Lost 3 Straight
'96 3-0 Lost 4 Straight

Greene had touchdown runs of 52, 34, 34, and 12 yards for the Hawkeyes (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten), who have answered a three-game losing streak with a pair of blowout wins.

Greene, who didn't even play football last fall while sorting out his academics at a community college, became the first Iowa player to rush for four touchdowns since Tavian Banks did it against Iowa State in 1997.

Greene is also the first Division I player in the country with over 100 yards in his first eight games of the season, and he's done it while averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

"Shonn has been giving us a spark all season long," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "He's very determined, he's very tough-minded and he's a guy that can spark a football team."

A spark is one of the many things the Badgers (3-4, 0-4) are missing. They followed up a humiliating home loss to Penn State by allowing their most points to Iowa since 1978.

Wisconsin, which reached as high as No. 8 in the polls in late September, has been outscored 86-23 the past two weeks. Dreams of a Big Ten title and a berth in the Bowl Championship Series have been replaced by questions about whether the Badgers can snap out of their funk in time to even make it to a bowl game.

"It's a mental thing, it's a discipline thing, it's an everything thing," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "We need to improve what we do in all three phases of the game."

Dustin Sherer, making his first career start in place of Allan Evridge, was 17-of-34 for 161 yards and two interceptions for the Badgers.

Sherer finally got Wisconsin's offense moving on its first two drives of the second half. But Iowa held the Badgers to field goals instead of touchdowns, as Philip Welch hit from 40 and 35 yards out to pull Wisconsin within 14-9 midway through the third quarter.

The Badgers would soon regret not finding the end zone.

Just three plays later, Greene outran Wisconsin's defense for his longest touchdown of the year, a 52-yarder that put the Hawkeyes ahead 21-9.

Paki O'Meara then blocked a punt to give Iowa the ball on the Wisconsin 33. Ricky Stanzi threw behind tight end Allen Reisner in the flat, but Reisner made a one-handed grab and, thanks to a key block from Brandon Myers, ran 16 yards to make it 28-9 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.

Sherer was picked off by Pat Angerer early in the fourth quarter, and Greene put a capper on his best day yet with a 34-yard touchdown run to give the Hawkeyes a 35-9 lead with 9:18 left.

"It's that feeling of, when something negative goes wrong it affects a couple different areas and that has a cumulative effect on your mentality, Bielema said. "Any time you're a little mentally beat down, you become physically beat down."

Until the past two games, Iowa's problem was that it couldn't win the close ones. The Hawkeyes won't have to worry about that if they keep pounding teams like they have these past two weeks, when they've outscored their opponents 83-25.

"I don't think our confidence has ever been down," defensive tackle Mitch King said. "We knew we were there. We knew we were close."

Stanzi had 114 yards passing and a touchdown for Iowa, which reclaimed the Heartland Trophy after two straight losses to Wisconsin.

John Clay led the Badgers with 89 yards rushing, and Zach Brown added a late 21-yard touchdown run. P.J. Hill injured his left ankle in the second quarter and did not return. He finished with 34 yards on eight carries.

The Hawkeyes, behind a pair of Greene touchdowns, led 14-3 at halftime.

Iowa went up 7-0 on its first possession, as Greene capped a 70-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run. His next score, a 34-yard run that made it 14-0 midway through the second quarter, was a thing of beauty.

Greene burst into Wisconsin's secondary, juked cornerback Chris Maragos and, after shaking off safety Jay Valia's attempt to drag him down from behind, dashed into the end zone.

That dazzling run even got Stanzi's attention -- and he was supposed to be carrying out a play-fake.

"I stopped because I saw him go through the line and [thought] 'I'm just going to watch this one,'" Stanzi said. "It's like, how much better can he get? He's doing everything he's supposed to do to help us out."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, October 18th
Michigan 17 Final
3 Penn State 46
12 Ohio State 45 Final
20 Michigan State 7
Purdue 26 Final
Northwestern 48
Wisconsin 16 Final
Iowa 38
Indiana 13 Final
Illinois 55