It would have been a lot more fun at Kinnick Stadium this Saturday if the Wisconsin Badgers had found a way to upset the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday night.

The Badgers would have arrived with sirens blaring and their confidence sky-high if they could have held onto their 13-point lead over OSU, but the Buckeyes rallied for a 30-23 victory in overtime and now the Badgers will limp into Iowa City.

That's a good thing, mind you. The atmosphere at Kinnick would have been electric this Saturday if the Hawkeyes would have been facing the team that just bumped the Buckeyes off the list of unbeatens, but the Badgers might have their daubers down a little bit when they arrive in Iowa City and be primed for another setback.

Beating the Badgers after they just beat Ohio State would have been grand entertainment, but beating the Badgers after they just had a near-miss against one of the national powers will keep the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten race.

Iowa ran all over Purdue, 49-35, on Saturday after bolting to a 35-7 cushion by halftime. Things got a little sloppy after Kirk Ferentz sent into the reserves with a 42-14 lead and the Boilermakers pulled within 42-28, but Ferentz put his top troops back on the field and All-American Desmond King responded with a Pick-6 to give Iowa a 49-28 bulge and ice the victory.

Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels left their cleat marks all over the Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Wadley carried the ball 14 times for 170 yards and a 75-yard touchdown, while Daniels lugged the ball 24 times for 156 yards, two TDs and a 67-yard jaunt.

Wadley and Daniels became the first Hawkeye tandem to top 100 yards in the same game since 2008 and Iowa finished with a whopping 365 yards on the ground against Purdue, which has had trouble stopping the run all year.

Daniels and Wadley both have a shot at cracking 1,000 yards this season with five games left in the regular season. Daniels has collected 609 yards and six touchdowns in seven games, while Wadley has 594 yards and eight TDs.

The Hawkeyes will not be able to run wild against Wisconsin, which has a strong defense with lots of talented athletes all over the field, but it should be fun to see them try before a packed house at Kinnick.

Iowa tight end George Kittle left Saturday's game with a leg injury, but Ferentz said the X-rays were negative and they hope he'll play this week against Wisconsin. The Hawks will certainly need him, especially with Matt VandeBerg lost for the season with a foot injury.

Saturday's game against the eighth-ranked Badgers begins a daunting stretch of home dates for the Hawkeyes, who also will host No. 4 Michigan on Nov. 12 and finish the season by hosting No. 10 Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 25.

Nebraska leads the Big Ten West at 3-0, with Iowa a half-game behind at 3-1. Northwestern is 2-1, followed by a four-way logjam at 1-2 with Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue and Illinois.