Kaleb Johnson ran for 135 yards and scored three touchdowns, while quarterback Brendan Sullivan added a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown as Iowa beat Wisconsin 42-10 on Saturday night.
The Hawkeyes (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) totaled 329 rushing yards, with Johnson leading the team. He has now had seven games this season with over 100 rushing yards and is ranked second in the nation for rushing yards and rushing yards per game.
With 20 touchdowns this season, Johnson has tied Shonn Greene for the record for most touchdowns in a single season at the school.
“A couple of weeks ago, he was here and he said, ‘I know you can break my records. Go ahead and do it,’ stuff like that,” Johnson said about Greene, who won the Doak Walker Award in 2008. “So I just kept my head down, remembered what he said, and just kept going.”
Johnson has 1,279 rushing yards this season but isn’t focused on gaining national recognition. “Like I always say, I’m a humble person,” Johnson stated. “Whatever goes out there, goes out there, and whatever’s said is said.”
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz praised Johnson’s abilities, size, strength, and speed, but emphasized his maturity in practice and games. Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell noted that Johnson’s success is also due to his offensive line.
“He’s the one that has all the yards,” Fickell said. “But I think it’s got to fall on the shoulders of that offensive line. I’m not sure there weren’t some pretty good seams and holes in there that he had an opportunity to take advantage of.”
Sullivan, making his first start for Iowa after stepping in for injured starter Cade McNamara in last week’s 40-14 win over Northwestern, put the Hawkeyes ahead 7-3 in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. Johnson then scored on a 16-yard run four minutes later, giving Iowa a 14-3 lead at halftime.
Iowa, which rushed for 152 yards in the first half, kept up the strong performance in the second half. On their first drive, the Hawkeyes completed a 10-play, 86-yard series all on the ground, ending with Johnson’s 9-yard touchdown run.
“That’s something that every offensive player can feel, when the defense knows what you’re going to do and you still do it at a high level,” Sullivan said. “That’s really cool.”
Nick Jackson’s interception on Wisconsin’s next drive set up Sullivan’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Gill, extending the lead to 28-3. Johnson added another touchdown with a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter, and Jaziun Patterson finished the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3) started the game with a 38-yard field goal from Nathanial Vakos. The Badgers wouldn’t score again until Braedyn Locke threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to CJ Williams early in the fourth quarter.
Sullivan completed 7 of 10 passes for 93 yards and rushed for 58 yards. Locke was 15 of 29 passing for 137 yards.
