Iowa had the right call on its two-point conversion. Wisconsin reacted perfectly.

MADISON – Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard felt good before the snap.

Trailing by two points with 3 minutes 12 seconds remaining Saturday, Iowa decided to go for a two-point conversion after Nate Stanely’s 75-yard touchdown pass.

The Hawkeyes deployed two wide receivers and one tight end to the right side of the formation and one wide receiver to the left. Stanley lined up in the shotgun, with a tailback to his left.

Leonhard’s defensive call was designed to counter a pass play.

Then Leonhard watched Stanley get the snap, take a step back, plant his right foot and head up the field.

Draw.

“For the call we were in, it’s a good call,” Leonhard explained this week. “I mean, we’re lighter in the box because it is more of pass type of situation. That’s what we were anticipating.

“So you see him put his foot in the ground and you (think): ‘Somebody’s got to make a play.’”

UW rushed three linemen and had eight in coverage, four linebackers and four defensive backs. All four receivers were covered and linebacker Chris Orr and safety Eric Burrell were at least 3 yards deep in the end zone when Stanley started toward the goal line.

“Pretty awesome to see,” Leonhard said. “When you pause the tape and the quarterback tucks the ball, you see Chris and you see Eric and you go: ‘What’s going to happen? Somebody’s got to make a play.’

“And not one guy flinched. Chris threw it in there. Eric threw it in there. Quarterback threw it in there. And luckily it was two-on-one.”

After Orr, Burrell and Stanley collided at the 1, players from both sides joined the fray. UW defenders strained to keep Stanley out of the end zone; Iowa blockers tried to push Stanley across the goal line.

“It truly looked like game on the line (and) somebody has to make a play,” Leonhard said. “Execution on both sides, pretty good. We’re fortunate to make that huge play. That’s definitely one you’ll remember.”

Burrell will remember the hit because it drew blood. His blood.

While the replay official reviewed the play to make sure the call on the field was correct, Burrell had his helmet off and blood was flowing from his lower lip.

“I was coughing and spitting,” Burrell said, laughing. “It doesn’t look bad (now) but at that moment it was just gushing. I (said): ‘What in the world?’”

Time of possession crucial?

UW leads the nation in time of possession at 36 minutes 51 seconds per game. Nebraska is 12th in the Big Ten at 27:31.

Only Maryland (26:41) and Illinois (26:17) possess the ball less than the Cornhuskers.

Winning the time-of-possession battle doesn’t guarantee victory, but the longer UW can keep Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez idling on the sideline the better.

UW had an 11:06 edge in the team’s meeting last season and prevailed, 41-24. The Badgers ran 72 plays and scored on seven of 12 possessions; Nebraska ran 68 plays and scored on four of 12 possessions.

“We are going to have to be efficient of offense,” Nebraska coach Scott Frost said. “They do a great job managing the clock. … So, you can’t count on getting 80 plays like you would in a lot of games (or) 85 plays. You better try to do what you can do in 55 plays. That is their brand of football and they are good at it.”

Extra point

Burrell, a redshirt junior from Maryland, has strong feelings about Nebraska’s program. His first official visit was to Lincoln, when Mike Riley was the head coach. “I enjoyed it a lot,” Burrell said, noting current safeties Avery Anderson and Eric Lee Jr. were his recruiting hosts. “Those guys are like brothers to me. We talk all the time.”