MADISON - Wisconsin's Darryl Peterson looks at last year's meeting with Iowa as just the start.
"I think it was the beginning of the end for us," he said.
We know what he's talking about. The Badgers' 42-10 loss to the Hawkeyes in Iowa City was the seminal moment in the team's late-season slide. It was the most lopsided loss of the five-game losing streak that ended the season and the program's worst loss to the Hawkeyes since 1968.
But that night sparked change, too. If there was one game that altered the Badger coaches' thinking about what was necessary to build a successful defense in the Big Ten, this was it.
Iowa overpowered the Badgers' defense with offensive line play that aims, in Peterson's words, to "punish" the defense. UW couldn't handle it. As a result, changes were made, including an adjustment that has helped the redshirt senior become one of UW's most effective defensive players.
How will Peterson "thank" the Hawkeyes Saturday night?
The 99th installment of the Wisconsin-Iowa rivalry is on tap for 6 p.m. Oct. 11 at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers (2-3, 0-2) hope to show they're a diffferent outfit this time, especially the defense.
"Where they beat us up front, we're totally different," Peterson said. "Even a guy like me who's back from last year, I'm a lot different, I think, from a year ago, so I'm excited, and I know we'll be ready."
Here are three things to note about Peterson's senior surge.
Darryl Peterson excelling in hybrid role
Some of the differences in Peterson's game are apparent before the snap.
At 6-foot-1 and 260 pounds, he is part outside linebacker, part defensive lineman. He'll get in a three-point stance and rush from the edge or line up outside the guard or over the guard.
He also serves as an interior rusher in a third-down pass-rushing package that has helped UW rank 14 in the country in third-down conversion percentage (.286).
A year ago Peterson played exclusively at outside linebacker and lined up in a two-point stance.
The aforementioned changes plus the addition of 12 pounds has unlocked a new and improved version of one of the Badgers' most veteran performers.
He feels lining up in the three-point stance allows him to play with more power and speed. Those are especially key elements on third down when he might come into the game after the opposing offense had a play or two dealing with guys like Ben Barten (6-5, 325), Jay'viar Suggs (6-3, 299) or Brandon Lane (6-3, 322). The added size those players bring was another part of the coaching staff's adjustments to the defense.
"Something we stressed in the offseason is knowing when I can take my shots and so I think I'm getting a good feel for that," Peterson said. "I think I'm making some plays, especially when I'm in that three tech(nique) and getting to go against different people like guards and centers and everything like that. I think I'm having an impact. The biggest thing for me is consistency."
The stats don't do Peterson justice
Based on numbers alone one might wonder if Peterson's play has waned since a breakout sophomore season that included 47 tackles and leading the team with 4½ sacks.
Peterson’s stats belie his impact. Through five games he has nine tackles, six solo, with three tackles for a loss and one sack. That lack of stats is one of the disadvantages of playing so much on the interior of the line, but Pro Football Focus is giving Peterson his highest grades ever.
"I've gotten better as a player, but I don't think the numbers have always been there so far," he said. "This year I'm not worried about numbers. I just want to be disruptive and make as big of an impact as possible."
His sack to end the first half versus Miami (Ohio) came after he made the left guard whiff on a block on a third-and-19 play. Plays like that are more the exception for Peterson. What is more typical is something like the pass rush he got on the quarterback on the first play from scrimmage against Maryland that led to an incompletion. The play generated no statistic, though he could have been credited with a hurry.
"I think where he's a lot better this year is he truly understands his strengths and weaknesses," defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said during fall camp. "Probably in the past he wanted to make plays so bad that he made some bad decisions."
Luke Fickell says Darryl Peterson plays 'above God-given ability'
The Iowa game comes at a crossroads in the Badgers' season. The team has lost three straight games with No. 1 Ohio State (Oct. 18) and No. 2 Oregon (Oct. 25) on the horizon.
The loss to Michigan last week marked progress for the team after a disappointing effort against Alabama and Maryland, but Badgers coach Luke Fickell continued to stress the need for players to raise their compete level and maximize their potential.
Peterson has been one of the players who has exemplified what that looks like.
"He is playing with a competitive spirit. He is practicing with a competitive spirit," Fickell said. "He might not have a whole bunch of stats. I don't know exactly what they are, but I would tell you he's a guy that is playing above his God-given ability every single day.
"That is what we've got to continue to build around ... build what we're talking about with this competitive spirit around guys like him that do have the competitive maturity that every single day they come out and they get better."