IOWA CITY — Running back Kamari Moulton is done for the rest of the season, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz said on Oct. 27.

Moulton suffered an injury during Iowa’s matchup with Minnesota on Oct. 24 and did not return after exiting in the first half. The Hawkeyes will be without their top rusher as they try to bounce back from the disappointment in Minnesota, and for the remainder of the season.

The loss of Moulton is significant. He leads Iowa in carries (86), rushing yards (541) and rushing touchdowns (four) this season.

That leaves a major void in production for the Hawkeyes to try to replace.

“Next man up mentality," L.J. Phillips Jr. said. "Kamari is great. He’s been having a wonderful season. To see him get hurt like that, it’s terrible, because he’s been doing so good. There’s a reason why these fans and everyone loves him. We got out early in the tunnel, you hear everyone saying, ‘Kamari! Kamari!’ There’s a reason for that. He’s done his time here. He’s such a great player and to see him go down, it sucks but we have to keep going. We have to play good for him. The whole RB room, we have to all step up.”

If healthy enough, Phillips is a prime candidate to get more carries. However, Ferentz categorized Phillips as "day-to-day."

Phillips, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards at FCS South Dakota last season, has the potential to provide some serious firepower on the ground. But that hasn’t materialized so far this season. Phillips, who missed time due to injury earlier this season, has 25 carries for just 88 yards for the Hawkeyes. His best game of the season came against Washington, when he rushed 10 times for 42 yards.

“I’ve been disappointed, to be honest," Phillips said of how he has played so far this season. "I feel like I haven’t been playing up to the standard, the Iowa standard. I need to be better. I’ve got to be better. It’s kind of frustrating. I hold myself to a high level, a high standard. I know I can reach that high standard. So, I’ve got to be better... Maybe I’m in my own head. Just got to go out there and do it. At the end of the day, it’s football. I think I’m making it a little bigger than what it is. But I want to do really good for this team, and I know the guys trust me. I think maybe I can be a little too critical on myself. But you’ve got to be critical. And so, sometimes you’ve got to be negative to have positive outcomes.”

The injury to Moulton could also open the door for others like Braeden Jackson, Nathan McNeil and Xavier Williams. With Moulton and Phillips sidelined, that trio went off against UNI, each rushing for at least 111 yards and combining for seven total touchdowns. But since then, Jackson, McNeil and Williams haven’t contributed much on the offensive side of the ball. Jackson did provide an important spark on special teams with a kickoff return touchdown against Michigan.

Phillips, McNeil and Jackson all fumbled against Minnesota, although Jackson’s was the only one that the Golden Gophers recovered. The Hawkeyes were uncharacteristically sloppy during the abysmal offensive performance in Minneapolis.

“We’ve got the scouts punching the ball out, trying to punch it out more," Phillips said of how Iowa has addressed ball security at practice this week. "I think it was just a very lackluster day for us. We don’t put the ball on the ground a lot, so it was uncommon for us to do that on Saturday. So, I think it was kind of one of those days.”

Iowa running game has struggled against power conference competition this season. The Hawkeyes have been held under 100 yards rushing in four of their five games against power conference opponents. The outlier was Washington, when Iowa broke through for 263 yards, 208 of which came from Moulton.

Wisconsin should present a challenge for Iowa’s running game. Through week eight, the Badgers rank 16th in the FBS in rushing yards allowed per game. Wisconsin hasn’t given up more than 154 rushing yards in a single game so far this season.

With inconsistent play at quarterback, it would be a massive help for the Hawkeyes to be able to move the ball on the ground against the Badgers. Otherwise, Iowa’s offense could be in trouble without their top running back for the remainder of the season.

“We’ve got to keep staying the course," Phillips said of Iowa's inconsistent running game. "I’m going to keep saying that. We’ve got to keep staying the course, keep staying level-headed. It is what it is. We’ve got to keep going. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We want to run the ball, and we’re going to make it a point to run the ball, so we’ve got to buckle up and do what we’ve got to do.”