Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Aaron Graves (95) celebrates during a football game against the Massachusetts Minutemen Sept. 13, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa's Aaron Graves Reacts to Wisconsin's Unusual Punishment

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Last season, the Iowa Hawkeyes demolished the Wisconsin Badgers. They soundly took care of business, 42-10. It marked the most points Iowa had put up in a game since October 1, 2021 when they defeated Maryland, 51-14.

After allowing Iowa to drop that many points, Wisconsin was forced to pay the price. HC Luke Fickell has struggled mightidly since taking over the program, and three straight losses in 2025 may be enough to seal his fate. Regardless, the Badgers players had to do 42 consecutive push-ups after their loss to Iowa last season.

A subtle shot was thrown at Iowa, "When have you ever heard of Iowa scoring 42 points, ever?" One Wisconsin player asked. While he's not wrong, it's a slap in the face to the Badgers to be at the brunt of that. If they learned anything last season, it's the fact they can't take anyone for granted. Iowa had a solid 8-4 (6-3) season as Wisconsin happened to catch them at the wrong time.

Iowa players are aware of Wisconsin doing 42 push-ups after spring practices because of last year's 42-10 loss at Kinnick.

One Wisconsin player said, "When have you ever heard of Iowa scoring 42 points, ever?"

Iowa DT Aaron Graves today on the Wisconsin matchup: “Night game,…
— Chad Leistikow (@ChadLeistikow) October 7, 2025

Last year, Iowa dropped 31 points, 38, 40 (three times), and 42 in their first six wins. HC Kirk Ferentz had this offense firing on all cylinders, and they managed to pick up right where they left off last season. QB Mark Gronowski has led this team to wins where they put up 34 points, 47, and 38. Those 47 points against Iowa didn't quite surpass what they did against Maryland, but it topped their Badgers performance from last season.

Iowa DT Aaron Graves responded to the Wisconsin players' remarks, "Night game, trophy game, they've been doing the 42 push-ups, all that stuff. There's going to be a lot of energy and excitement that's going to go into this game.”

The main focal point heading into Madison is whether or not Gronowski will play. If not, sophomore QB Hank Brown may have a few issues trying to drop another 42 points on Wisconsin. The Badgers, who allowed only 24 points to No. 20 Michigan, may be better than their record indicates. If Iowa goes into this game looking past Wisconsin and only focusing on Penn State, they could suffer a similar fate that Wisconsin did last year.

Regardless, Iowa is coming off a Bye and they're hungry for another win. With bowl game aspirations, the Hawkeyes could presumably put the final nail in Wisconsin's coffin. Should the Badgers leave 2-4, they likely have no shot of making a bowl game knowing they have to play No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 7 Indiana, and No. 17 Illinois.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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