Big Weekend for Wisconsin Sports

Both the Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers held on in close games to beat rival opponents this weekend. The 13th ranked Badgers came out of Iowa with a win over the 15th ranked Hawkeyes on Saturday, and Sunday night the Packers beat the Vikings in what was likely Brett Favre's last trip to Lambeau Field.

#13 Wisconsin - 31, #15 Iowa - 30

The Badgers overcame injuries to three huge offensive weapons - Lance Kendricks, James White, and Nick Toon - and still managed to beat Iowa 31-30. This was the first time since 2004 that the Badgers won consecutive games against ranked opponents. Wisconsin ended a two-game losing streak against Iowa as they regained the Heartland Trophy, and evened up the all-time series at 42-42-2.

The loss of James White put John Clay solely in charge of the rushing game. He ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns against one of the best run defenses in the conference. Montee Ball added three carries for 18 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Ball was also a huge factor in the passing game, catching five passes for 41 yards. Ball proved he still is a valuable asset to this offense, even though his playing time has dropped since James White's emergence.

Scott Tolzein was extremely efficient once again this week, despite throwing an interception. Tolzein finished 20 of 26 for 205 yards and threw a touchdown pass to fullback Bradie Ewing.

The real story this game was coaching. It was obvious Brett Bielema wanted to come away from his alma mater with a win. Bielema's playcalling was phenomenal, and his gutsy calls paid off. Bielema called a fake punt in the middle of the fourth quarter. Punter Brad Nortman ran for 17 yards, and kept the drive alive. The Badgers went on to complete a 15 play, 80 yard drive, with an eight yard touchdown run from Ball, and took a one point lead with a minute left in the game.

Poor clock management by Iowa and a huge sack from JJ Watt kept Iowa out of field goal range. Watt also blocked an extra point attempt early in the game, a play that at the time seemed irrelevant, but turned out to be extremely important.

Bielema was extremely pleased with the way his team has played the past 2 weeks:

“Two pretty good weeks,” Bielema said. “I tell you what, it makes this (bye) week even that much more special.”

The Badgers' record improves to 7-1, 3-1 in the Big Ten, while Iowa drops to 5-2, also 3-1 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin moved to #10 in the BCS standings. The Badgers sit next weekend out, but return to action in 2 weeks at Purdue.

Green Bay - 28, Minnesota - 24

The Green Bay Packers righted the sinking ship on Sunday night by beating the Vikings, ending a 2 game losing streak and putting themselves back on top of the NFC North. The Packers, now 4-2, are tied for first with the Bears, who hold the tiebreaker with their head-to-head victory.

Both the Packers and Vikings came out firing. The first half was filled with offense, as the teams entered halftime with the Vikings leading 17-14. The Pack struck first in the second half with a touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. Then the defense took over.

The Packers were able to pressure Brett Favre into 2 terrible interceptions, both caused by linebacker blitzes.  A.J. Hawk picked Favre for a 21 yard return, and Desmond Bishop returned a Favre interception 32 yards for a touchdown. Nick Collins picked off Favre on the ensuing drive on an excellent defensive play.

Favre managed to bring the Vikings downfield and score a touchdown on the following drive, making the game 28-24. The Packers' defense stiffened on the final drive, not allowing Favre another 4th quarter comeback.

Rodgers was a little off for much of the game, missing receivers and throwing 2 bad interceptions. However, he was 21 of 34 for 295 yards with touchdown passes to Jennings and Andrew Quarless. The rushing game combined to gain 84 yards, with Brandon Jackson rushing for 58 yards and a touchdown.

The Packer defense only managed to sack Brett Favre once, but was able to pressure him in the second half, forcing bad throws.

Vikings' coach Brad Childress criticized Favre's ball control after the game:

"You can't throw it to them, you've got to play within the confines of our system," Childress said of Favre. "Sometimes it's OK to punt the football. You can't give seven points going the other way, not in a game like this."

Aaron Rodgers acknowledged the significance of this victory:

"Our biggest rival and the close score, the way it ended, it was definitely a special night for us," Rodgers said.

The Packers go on the road next weekend to face the New York Jets.