Wisconsin rallies late, erases Iowa

MADISON, Wis. -- No. 9 Wisconsin needed a fourth-quarter rally to avoid an upset bid by Iowa, turning to P.J. Hill for the go-ahead score in a 17-13 victory Saturday night.

Nothing came easy for the Badgers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten), who gradually overcame a stingy Hawkeyes defense to extend their winning streak to 13 games -- the longest active streak in major college football.

The Badgers barely moved the ball in the first half, nearly fumbled away their first chance at a touchdown and went into the fourth quarter trailing 10-7.

After getting 50 yards on his first 12 carries, Hill played a central role on the go-ahead drive that began just before the end of the third quarter.

Hill carried 10 times for 43 yards and scored on third-and-goal from the 2, putting Wisconsin ahead 14-10.

The Hawkeyes (2-2, 0-1) answered with a 44-yard kickoff return from Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who earlier caught a touchdown pass on a one-handed grab in the second quarter.

After Iowa's offense stalled in Wisconsin territory, Daniel Murray hit a 37-yard field goal to cut the Badgers' lead to 1 with 6:29 remaining.

Badgers backup running back Lance Smith broke away for a 30-yard gain on Wisconsin's next possession, setting up a 40-yard field goal by Taylor Mehlhaff to put Wisconsin ahead 17-13 with 2:02 remaining in the game.

Iowa had one last chance on its final possession when wide receiver Paul Chaney got behind the defense on fourth-and-8, but the deep ball from quarterback Jake Christensen sailed just past his outstretched arms.

It was a rough end to a stormy week for the Hawkeyes, who lost a clunker to rival Iowa State on Sept. 15 and had to deal with yet another player arrest only hours afterward. Iowa had dealt Wisconsin its only two home losses in its past 22 games at Camp Randall Stadium, winning on November 22, 2003, and Nov. 12, 2005.