No. 11 Iowa had to overcome an early 7-0 deficit to narrowly beat Michigan last week, a 10-0 deficit on the road to beat Penn State in late September, and also needed to block two last-minute field goals to avoid a shocking upset to Northern Iowa in the opening week.

So is anyone surprised that the Hawkeyes once again had to overcome adversity to beat Wisconsin on Saturday?

Iowa owes much of its 20-10 victory over the Badgers today to its defense, which was amazing in the second half. Pat Angerer and Adrian Clayborn essentially took the game over as the Hawkeyes shut the Badgers out in the second half.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi also played a key role in Iowa’s victory. Despite leading the Hawkeyes to an undefeated record, Stanzi has been often criticized by fans and college football pundits this year. And while his final numbers (17 of 23, 218 yards, 1 TD) weren’t eye-popping, the junior quarterback never panicked despite facing the early deficit and turned in a solid second half performance.

Wisconsin once again shot itself in the foot with turnovers and the inability to move the ball offensively in the second half. After looking great in the first quarter, Badger signal caller Scott Tolzien was brutal in the second half and was the main catalyst in Wisconsin’s collapse. He continues to waste solid performances by sophomore running back John Clay.

With Ohio State’s loss to Purdue on Saturday, all eyes are now on Iowa in the Big Ten. It’s the Hawkeyes’ conference to lose and outside of a pivotal game in Columbus in November, Iowa doesn’t face many roadblocks the rest of the season.