Iowa Shuts Out No. 25 Wisconsin 30-0 in the Rivals' 100th Meeting

By The Arena Staff

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Oct. 31, 2026 — The 100th meeting between Iowa and Wisconsin looked a lot like the 99th. The Hawkeyes kept the Heartland Trophy, and the Badgers never scored.

Hank Brown threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and Iowa's defense shut out No. 25 Wisconsin for the second consecutive season in a 30-0 win Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. Last year's game ended 37-0. Iowa has now won five straight in the series and outscored Wisconsin 148-26 over that stretch, the Associated Press reported.

Brown was close to perfect. He completed 20 of 24 passes to seven different receivers, a week after coming off the bench in a 13-10 loss at Minnesota that the AP called Iowa's worst offensive game of the season. This time the Hawkeyes scored on their first drive and on six of their first seven possessions.

Tight end DJ Vonnahme did a little of everything. He beat a slipping defender down the sideline on Iowa's opening drive to set up a field goal, caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brown in the first quarter, and ran one in from 2 yards out in the third. Brown's other scoring throw went 4 yards to Tony Diaz late in the first half, capping a 98-yard drive. Diaz also had a 45-yard catch in the half, according to Sports Illustrated.

Wisconsin's one real chance came in the second quarter. Colton Joseph hit Jaylon Domingeaux for 41 yards to get inside the Iowa 10, and the Badgers worked the ball to the 1-yard line, but Abu Sama was stopped on fourth down. Wisconsin never got that close again.

It got worse before halftime. Joseph lost a fumble at his own 17 in the final minute, and Caden Buhr turned it into a 28-yard field goal for a 20-0 lead. Joseph finished 5 of 14 for 90 yards and was replaced in the second half by freshman Ryan Hopkins. Buhr added a career-long 54-yarder late in the third quarter to make it 30-0, and the rest of the rainy afternoon belonged to the Iowa defense.

The Hawkeyes, eighth in the nation in scoring defense, posted their third shutout of the season. They held Wisconsin to 235 total yards and 52 on the ground.

Iowa improved to 6-2 and 3-2 in the Big Ten and plays at Northwestern next Saturday. Wisconsin fell to 5-3 and 3-2 and hosts Rutgers.

Video: Big Ten Network's game wrap on X and FOX College Football's full highlights, with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call.

Sources: AP via ABC News, AP and Sports Illustrated.