The Iowa football team hopes to turn things around on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Fresh off a 13-10 loss at Minnesota last weekend, the Hawkeyes now shift their attention to another rivalry contest. The 5-2 Wisconsin Badgers travel to Iowa City for a Heartland Trophy battle. It will be the 100th all-time meeting between these two rivals.

The Badgers are coming off a huge home win over USC. The vibes are high in Madison as head coach Luke Fickell finally seems to be finding some answers. They’ll need to change some recent history, as Iowa has won the last four games in the series.

Will the Badgers collect another resume-building victory? Or will the Hawkeyes continue to assert their dominance in the rivalry?

Here are the Hawkeyes Wire staff’s predictions for Iowa vs. Wisconsin.

Iowa vs. Wisconsin: Hawkeyes Wire staff predictions

Josh Helmer: Iowa has owned this series of late, winning each of the past four and outscoring the Badgers during that stretch, 118-26.

I just don't see Saturday playing out in a similar, lopsided fashion. This will be your typical grind-it-out, lean on the defense and special teams, field position battle.

Two great defenses take the field in this contest: Wisconsin and Iowa rank 13th and 14th nationally in total defense. The Hawkeyes are No. 8 in scoring defense (14.3 points per game), while the Badgers rank No. 12 (15.3 points per game).

Iowa's quarterback questions have reemerged after Jeremy Hecklinski was benched last week in favor of former starter Hank Brown. There's run game concerns for Iowa, too. Leading rusher Kamari Moulton is out for the remainder of the season, and this Hawkeye offense hasn't generated much of anything on the ground against power foes outside of its win at Washington.

Iowa wins, but it's on the backs of the Hawkeyes' defense and special teams.

Prediction: Iowa 17, Wisconsin 13

Scout Springgate: In a sport that has already delivered incredible moments so far this year, the battle for the Heartland Trophy between Iowa and Wisconsin has suddenly become extremely important for both sides.

For Iowa, it's a must-win game after an abysmal offensive showing at Minnesota last week. Looking ahead, Iowa travels to a rowdy Ryan Field to face a red-hot Northwestern program next week and needs this win to avoid heading there on a two-game losing streak and with its CFP hopes completely dashed.

In what should be a low-scoring defensive battle, it will come down to whether Iowa can capitalize on their scoring opportunities and sustain enough drives where they don't hang their defense out to dry.

With the game in front of a sold-out Kinnick Stadium, I feel confident Iowa can pull out a victory over Wisconsin by making critical defensive plays and having the offense do just enough to win. However, I don’t foresee the Hawkeyes necessarily answering the litany of questions and concerns on offense with their performance.

Prediction: Iowa 16, Wisconsin 10

Zach Hiney: It's funny how quickly things can change in sports. Just one week ago, Iowa was 5-1, and many thought they had a shot at making the College Football Playoff. Now, the general mood within the fanbase is very negative following a poor showing in a loss to Minnesota. Playoff hopes are dashed, and questions at quarterback have popped back up.

In addition to their own internal issues, the Hawkeyes will also have to contend with a hot Wisconsin team on Saturday. The Badgers are coming off a big home win over USC and are playing their best football in years. New quarterback Colton Joseph didn't do much against the Trojans, but has largely been a positive this season. He has 15 total touchdowns and is a dangerous dual-threat option.

Wisconsin's defense has been stellar recently, giving up only 27 total points in their last three games. That includes a dominant performance against USC, where they held the high-powered Trojans to just seven points. Now they'll get to play an Iowa offense in complete disarray. Hank Brown will start at quarterback, but his effectiveness will be the big question. He'll have to operate without leading rusher Kamari Moulton, who's out for the season with an injury.

I don't have a lot of confidence in Iowa's offense at the moment. The Moulton injury is a big blow. I envision that unit having some problems on Saturday. But I do have a lot of confidence in Phil Parker's defense. Joseph is a fine quarterback, but he's the kind of guy Iowa has made its hay against during Parker's tenure. I expect the Hawkeyes' defense to turn in another strong performance.

Throw in the fact that this game is at Kinnick Stadium, and I feel decent about Iowa's chances. The Hawkeyes win, but don't answer many of the questions about their offense in the process.

Prediction: Iowa 16, Wisconsin 13

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football vs. Wisconsin: Who wins? Final score predictions

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