Iowa football: Top three players in loss to Wisconsin

3 of 4

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 22: Running back Ivory Kelly-Martin #21 of the Iowa Hawkeyes breaks a tackle during the second half by safety D’Cota Dixon #14 of the Wisconsin Badgers on September 22, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Surprise, it’s all three.

While I could easily talk about Ivory Kelly-Martin, that would be doing injustice to the other two guys in Iowa’s three-headed rushing attack. Kelly-Martin, after being injured for two games, returned in a big way Saturday night. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 14 carries.

Meanwhile, Mekhi Sargent couldn’t find nearly as much running room on his six carries but served more as a battering ram wearing down the defense. Sargent would finish with 14 yards.

Related Story. Kirk likes what he sees in Mekhi. light

Lastly, Toren Young provided a spark off the bench and Wisconsin’s defense was just unable to take him down on the first attempt. His final stat line read six carries for 34 yards and a 5.7 yard per carry average.

The reason why all three of these guys were standout performers of the game is simple. One of Iowa’s keys to winning this game was to establish the running game. The guys up front did their job and these three backs greatly benefited.

Furthermore, the pass set up a few beautiful play-action passes for Nate Stanley.

Home/Iowa Football