27. Wisconsin 17, Iowa 13 (2007)

Wisconsin had lost two consecutive games against Iowa at the friendly confines of Camp Randall Stadium. Nothing had come easy for the Badgers in 2007, having been tested in the non-conference portion of the schedule and would be again by the Hawkeyes. Bucky would eventually make enough plays down the stretch to sneak by Iowa and improve to 4-0 on the season and win the conference opener.

The game did not really get going until late in the second quarter. Iowa punted on its first eight possessions of the game, while Wisconsin punted on six of its first seven drives. Wisconsin turned the ball over on its first drive, and then again with less than five minutes to play in the first half. The second turnover, an interception by A.J. Edds, gave Iowa great starting field position in Wisconsin territory. That interception help set up a field goal by Daniel Murray and the Hawkeyes scored the first points of the night.

Wisconsin finally was able to score some points before the end of the half. The 72-yard drive would end on a Tyler Donovan 3-yard pass to All-American tight end Travis Beckum. Luke Swan had a 29-yard reception on the drive and P.J. Hill carried twice for 29 yards. However, on the second one, Hill fumbled into the end zone and Wisconsin recovered. However, the ball was brought back to where he fumbled. Two plays later, Donovan found Beckum over the middle for the score and the Badgers took a 7-3 lead with less than a minute left in the first half. Things were looking good for Bucky to take a lead into the break......until Iowa was given the ball back with a half minute left.

Iowa quarterback Jake Christiensen led his Hawkeyes down the field in a hurry. He completed a pass to James Cleveland for 30 yards and three to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos for a total of 33 yards, including the touchdown, a spectacular one-handed 21-yard score with four seconds left in the half. It was perfect coverage by All-Big Ten cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu, but the throw was perfect and Johnson-Koulianos made a great catch. Iowa took a 10-7 lead into the break.

There was no scoring in the third, but Iowa did drive and set up for a field goal that was blocked by Wisconsin’s Nick Hayden to keep it a 10-7 game. Other than that, it was all punts in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin received a big pass interference penalty to help give them a big first down. Hill was big on this drive, rushing for 42 yards, including the go-ahead score. Hill rushed in from two yards out on 3rd-and-Goal to give the Badgers the lead for good.

Iowa would drive into the red zone on the following possession, but freshman Aaron Henry sacked Christiensen on third down to force a field goal. Taylor Mehlhaff connected on a field goal on Wisconsin’s next possession to make it a 17-13 game, so Iowa needed a touchdown to win it.

The Hawkeyes turned the ball over on downs, only gaining two yards in four plays and the Badgers took over. Wisconsin could take a knee to run out the clock and Wisconsin went to 4-0 on the season with another hard-fought win.