IOWA CITY, Iowa _ Paul Chryst saw his Wisconsin football team pen the first chapter in what could turn out to be a classic: How The Big Ten West Was Won.
Chapter 1 got off to a slow start and at times slowed to a crawl.
Yet with UW's defense battling through injuries to two more starters and Chryst using both quarterbacks, the 10th-ranked Badgers were able to grind out a 17-9 victory over Iowa in front of a sellout crowd of 70,585 Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
UW (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) ended a two-game skid.
Iowa (5-3, 3-2) suffered its third home loss of the season, the others coming to North Dakota State and Northwestern.
The Hawkeyes, who rushed 53 times for 365 yards and four touchdowns one week earlier in a 49-35 victory at Purdue, were held to 83 yards on 27 carries on Saturday.
UW started the game without nose tackle Olive Sagapolu (arm), lost cornerback Derrick Tindal (leg) in the second quarter and saw linebacker Jack Cichy suffer an apparent left-shoulder injury late in the first half.
Cichy wore a brace to start the second half but was playing with one arm and finally came out midway through the final quarter.
The staff entered the game intending to get Bart Houston at least one series in relief of starter Alex Hornibrook. He capped a 58-yard drive with a 17-yard pass to tight end Troy Fumagalli to give UW a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. Houston played one series in the second half but that ended with a UW punt in the fourth quarter.
Hornibrook directed a 62-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter to help UW take a 14-6 lead. Hornibrook's 57-yard pass to freshman Quintez Cephus set up Corey Clement's 1-yard run. Hornibrook finished 11 of 19 for 197 yards.
Clement had a costly fumble near the Iowa goal line that cost UW points, but he finished with 134 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. His 34-yard run with 3 minutes, 41 seconds left, on third and 1, gave UW a first down at the Iowa 37.
That led to a 36-yard field goal by Andrew Endicott and a 17-6 lead with 1 minute, 24 seconds left. Endicott had missed his two previous attempts, from 32 and 52 yards.
Iowa's Desmond King returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to the UW 23. C.J. Beathard appeared to hit tight end Noah Fant for a 7-yard score with 48 seconds left, but the replay official ruled the ball hit the ground in the end zone. Iowa then settled for a 25-yard field goal by Keith Duncan with 43 seconds left.
The Hawkeyes attempted an onside kick but Ron Colluzzi's kick bounced out of bounds and UW took over at its 45.
