SB Nation - Isaac Anderson

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: Northwestern Ends on a High Note Over Wisconsin, 33-31

hmlee — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:05:41 -0000

Well, that turned out to be quite the exciting game. I was rather shocked by the final score, though not by who won. Those of you who've been around since the beginning of the season know that this was a tough one for me, as I write about both Wisconsin and Northwestern for The Rivalry, Esq. I grew up a Badger fan and as a current Northwestern Law student also cheer quite hard for the Wildcats. While the Northwestern-Wisconsin rivalry isn't a blood feud like some others in this conference, it was still a difficult game for me. Every play was essentially both good and bad. I cheered and then felt despondent for the entirety of this game. That's not really a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I had hoped earlier this season that things would shake out in such a way that this game would only be important to one team and thus I would be able to pick a side for the game and stick with it. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) this game held implications for both teams. Both teams gained bowl eligibility weeks ago, but the the narrative of their seasons was on the line. While the cheesehead in me is sad that the Badgers lost, I think, in the end I am happy that the game turned out the way it did. Frankly, Northwestern needed this game more.

That might seem to be an odd statement, but, looking at the reality of this conference it makes sense from both a bowl perspective and a recruiting perspective. The current Big 10 standings have three teams at 10-2 on the season, with Ohio State taking the championship based on their better in conference record. OSU will thus claim the Big 10's automatic BCS berth and head to Pasadena to take on the Pac-10 champ. As far as at large berths go, Iowa will probably claim another for the Big 10, and Penn State has an outside chance of grabbing one also. If they didn't get an at large, PSU would be slotted into the Capital One bowl vs. a SEC team.

Wisconsin, then, was priced out of the BCS a long time ago. Even at 10-2, it would have been unlikely for them to move from their slot in the Outback bowl, and at 9-3 (assuming a win in two weeks over Hawaii) they won't drop from that perch either. Further, Wisconsin's team is a young one. They have performed remarkably well for such a freshman-sophomore loaded squad, and I see only bright things ahead of them.

Northwestern was in a similar bowl game spot. With the upset of Iowa and the expected victory over Illinois, Northwestern had vaulted themselves to 7 wins and past the rest of the mushy middle of the Big 10 to claim a ticket to the Champs Sports bowl. The victory today gives them eight wins, but they still sit behind Wisconsin and unless the Badgers falter in Hawaii they will still have a worse record by a game. Because Michigan State lost to Penn State today, there is no team capable of leapfrogging the 'Cats. Northwestern is as stuck as Wisconsin.

So, then, we must look at this game from a recruiting perspective. Wisconsin will always do well in recruiting among Big 10 teams. They are a flagship state school known both for academics as well as athletics. They have the loyalty of an entire state, as well as a history of a great football team and will always be competitive with the upper tier Big 10 teams for recruits. A victory tonight wouldn't have altered that in any meaningful way.

Northwestern, by contrast, could gain a significant boost from this victory. With today's win they have sealed an eight win season after coming from virtually nowhere to reach nine wins last year. They will not only be going to a bowl two years in a row, but a warm weather bowl at that (no Pizza! Pizza! here). Despite the dismal beginning to this season, they defeated two of the three ranked teams they played against, and came one quarter away from upsetting the third when Penn State came to town. These upsets, if they can be combined with the 'Cats first bowl victory in 60 years, would seal the impression in recruits minds that Fitz is determined to build a consistently winning program in Evanston that will compete with the conference's upper tier.

Thus, the team that needed the victory most managed to pull it out, and I am at least moderately happy for that.

After the jump, I do a multiple personality recap of the action on the field...

Bama Hawkeye takes a look at the sweet goods on the line this weekend in the Big 10...

Graham and Law Buck engage in dueling coverage of the OSU and Michigan rivalry game...

The only way to really address the in game action today is for me to look at it both as a Northwestern fan and a Wisconsin fan. Because Northwestern comes first alphabetically, I'll start with them.

Northwestern:

It was good to see the 'Cats start this game off on all cylinders. I like this style of play much better than their "wait until we're down by an absurd margin and then mount a nail-biting comeback" gameplan.

Kafka lead the 'Cats on their opening drive from the Northwestern 25 yard line for a score. The defense then answered that by coming out of the gate and largely containing the John Clay led Badger offense and forcing them to punt away their first possession. Both teams then three and outed before Northwestern managed to end the quarter with a field goal to take a 10 point lead on Wisconsin.

Offense:

I was heartened by the fact that all of Northwestern's running backs - Scott Concannon, Stephen Simmons, and Arby Fields - managed to make contributions to Northwestern's game today. At least Concannon and Fields will be back next year, and I am unsure if Simmons, a senior with another year of eligibility, will stay as well. Even if Simmons is gone, the competition between Concannon and Fields during camp next year will only be a positive for Northwestern. It is true that Northwestern runs a spread offense from the shotgun, but having versatile running backs to compliment the mobile QBs will always make the receivers more dangerous.

The second quarter was not quite as kind to the 'Cats. Wisconsin carried over their drive from the 1st and converted it into a John Clay touchdown. Northwestern managed to get the ball back for all of one play before it was fumbled away by Scott Concannon and recovered by Wisconsin. While I never like to see turnovers, I can't put too much heat on Concannon as he has been quite sure handed for most of the games this year. Wisconsin went to their tight end for a TD to give Bucky a four point lead.

Stephen Simmons then broke off a great 64 yard kick return to put the 'Cats within smelling distance of the Badger redzone. Mike Kafka rattled off several passes to Drake Dunsmore, Zeke Markshausen, Arby Fields, and Andrew Brewer to once again take the lead at 17-14. I was happy to see Kafka playing in a much more mobile and healthy way than in the last few games, and it was great for him to end his last regular season on a winning note. Hopefully he can cap off his time at Northwestern with a bowl victory in a few weeks.

Northwestern's defense three and outed the Badgers and then on their next drive Kafka executed a great end-around pass to Markshausen who pitched it downfield to a wiiide open Sidney Stewart. The ball was perfectly thrown and took advantage of the Wisconsin secondary, which isn't exactly the most dominant in the Big 10.

Northwestern regained their 10 point lead 24-14 and never really looked back. Stefan Demos once again looked his automatic self and tacked on three more field goals for the remainder of the 'Cats 33 points.

Defense:

The final score of today's game really doesn't do the defense justice. Yes, the 'Cats let Bucky come unacceptably close to a comeback win, but the defense played a good game for all 60 minutes. Three different Wildcats had sacks - Brad Phillips, Corey Wootton, and Vince Browne. The 'Cats managed to hold John Clay to only 102 yards rushing and 1 TD, which is pretty good considering he's the best RB in the conference. They also managed to step up in the crucial moments, forcing two turnovers during the forth quarter. Brian Peters recovered a clay fumble, and Jordan Mabin ended the late Badger threat with a great interception of Tolzien in the final seconds.

All in all, a good way to end the season. I think with a healthy Kafka the Wildcats will be very competitive come bowl time, and I'm looking forward to a great Champs Sports Bowl match up.

Go U! NU!

Wisconsin:

Now, I'll let my slightly more depressed dairy state side take over. This really was a trap game for my Badgers. While they were coming off three wins, Purdue, Indiana, and Michigan aren't exactly formidable competition this year. Northwestern is a deceptive team who had only been getting better as the season has gone on. It seemed that the Badgers were in danger of looking past both Northwestern and Hawaii towards the bowl season, and I think that's just what they did.

The Badgers simply played sloppy football, and it cost them the game.

Offense:

The one bright spot on the white and red side of the ball was the offense. The Badgers executed a balanced gameplan that got more dangerous as the game went on. Yes, they started off slowly, but Clay managed another triple digit ground game with a score, and Scott Tolzien threw for 235 yards and 2 TDs - both to the newly full strength Garrett Graham. Nick Toon also showed why he's going to be a big threat for years to come, as he had 7 catches for 70 yards, a nice follow up to his 98 yard game at Michigan. I don't know that he will ever live up to his father's stats, but he is definitely a solid part of the Badger offense and has a good chance to be their top receiver for the next year or two.

For all his inconsistency this year, Tolzien had a solid game, throwing only one interception in the closing seconds on a last ditch effort to move the Badgers downfield. For someone who was presumed to be a career backup at best, this season has been a good one and I'm looking forward to next year. Wisconsin finally has a quarterback who can make both the short quick throws and the deep passes. I'd like to see a win against Hawaii and a bowl victory to cap off his first starting season... regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, the competition between him and Curt Phillips will make for an interesting camp next year.

Defense:

Unfortunately, this was not one of the defense's better efforts. They allowed the most points they have all season, even more than they did to Ohio State, and even my other half would agree that the 'Cats are most certainly not the Buckeyes. Frankly, the Wisconsin defense was just not equipped to handle the Northwestern spread. The secondary is the weakest part of the defense and it showed. Kafka burned the Wisconsin defense for 326 yards passing and 2 TDs. The defense also looked completely fooled by the end around to Zeke Markshausen... he's a receiver for goodness sakes! He shouldn't be able to throw a TD! Gah.

This was also only the third game of the entire season in which the Badgers had no interceptions (the other two were against Northern Illinois and Iowa). They did have one fumble recovery, but lost the turnover battle overall. Still.... this is a young unit and can only really get better next year. I just hope we don't draw a spread based team in a bowl game, or it could get ugly.

Special Teams:

Once again, the special teams was a Jekyll and Hyde unit. Two separate returns best show this.

In the second quarter, Isaac Anderson inexplicably picked up a kickoff in the end zone and ran the ball out... to the 5. Ugh. Wisconsin managed to get the ball out to their 18, but the resulting punt gave Northwestern great field position near midfield, and the Wildcats would convert that into a field goal. Sigh.

In the third quarter, though, the special teams partially managed to redeem themselves when David Gilreath returned a a punt 68 yards for a TD which pulled Wisconsin within 3 of Northwestern.

The kick coverage today was similarly mediocre. Northwestern managed one 60+ yard return and several 30 yard returns. Their shortest return was for 12 yards after a Welch field goal. That's not really a dominating performance.

The interesting thing about this game is that both Northwestern and Wisconsin have ST units coached by the head coaches. Northwestern, for the most part, manages to do it right. They constantly execute good returns and usually do not make stupid mistakes. Wisconsin, by contrast, is prone to such mistakes and to sloppily executed tackling on their return coverage. Simply put, as long as Bielema is still coaching that unit, you never know what you're going to get. Until he finally gets a full time coach, it will always be the Achilles heel of this squad. It is long past time for that change to happen.

Disappointing as all that was, I must give credit to the Badgers for not giving up. They fought hard and pulled within two points, taking the game down to the final seconds. They can still end the season strong in Hawaii, and a bowl victory would prove that an excess of youth does not necessarily spell doom in the NCAA. In truth, they can only get better from here.

So...

On to Hawaii, On to the regular season finale, and ON WISCONSIN!!!!

Replay and React: The good and bad from Saturday's win

Jbharris87 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:57:55 -0000

by Tom Strattman - AP

about 1 month ago: Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland (44) celebrates with teammates Culmer St. Jean (15), Devin Smith (10) and Dan Moore (45) after intercepting a pass during the second half of a college football game against Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Wisconsin won 31-28. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

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Underwhelming would be one way to describe Wisconsin's 31-28 victory over Indiana Saturday. Yet, despite the small margin of victory, the Badgers were in control throughout virtually the entire game. Wisconsin built a ten-point halftime lead and withstood a late Hoosier rally for its second straight win. Head coach Bret Bielema admitted this was far from a perfect performance.

"I think our guys knew on Sunday that they had to watch a game that they weren’t real clean at," Bielema said. "[We] didn’t do all the things that we had been doing during the course of the season to have success."

Still, it is tough to complain when three Badgers had 100-yard days offensively and the Wisconsin defense held the Hoosiers to 63 rushing yards. While Indiana shares the cellar of the Big Ten with Michigan at 1-5, Wisconsin is not the only team that has had to work to defeat them. The Hoosiers held fourth-quarter leads on the road three different times this season, only to watch each of them evaporate.

Give the Badgers credit for taking care of business on the road and keeping their hopes of a 10-2 season alive.

Let's get to the highlights:

The Good

Running Game - It is becoming a theme when Wisconsin plays Indiana, but Bielema and offensive coordinator Paul Chryst were determined to dominate on the ground against the Big Ten's eighth-ranked rushing defense. John Clay wore down the Hoosiers in the first half, carrying 15 times for 134 yards and a touchdown. When he was unable to return in the second period because of stomach pains and a possible concussion, true freshman Montee Ball carried the load. Ball's number was called 27 times and he piled up 115 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, the Badgers ran for 294 yards, three touchdowns and a 5.4-yard average per carry. The coaches' faith in Ball was tested when Clay went down, and they could not have given him a stronger vote of confidence, essentially assigning him the task of protecting the Badgers' lead.

Nick Toon - The redshirt sophomore wide receiver had what Bielema called his most complete game as a Badger. Toon caught five passes for 123 yards, none of which were more important than his 17-yard reception on 3rd-and-8 with Wisconsin clinging to a three-point lead in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. He continues to demonstrate big-play potential, hauling in a 44-yard pass Saturday. Toon's development is an encouraging sign for a relatively young offense, and his presence as a legitimate threat in the passing game opens up holes in opposing defenses for the Badger running backs.

Front Seven - Wisconsin continues to play the run very well defensively, holding Indiana to 63 yards rushing and maintaining its status as the league leader in conference play against the run. The Hoosiers only gained 2.4 yards per carry against the Badger defense Saturday. Chris Borland continued his phenomenal freshman season, recording another tackle-for-loss and a nice interception. He has been filling in admirably for the injured Mike Taylor at linebacker. The defensive ends led the way for the line, with O'Brien Schofield and J.J. Watt combining for three tackles-for-loss and Schofield adding a sack.

The Bad

Tight Ends - Lost in the Badgers' two-game winning streak has been the regression of star tight end Garrett Graham. He was held without a catch against the Hoosiers and dropped a throw from quarterback Scott Tolzien that was right on the money and could have led to a score. As Graham's receptions have decreased over the last few games, he has been whistled for more and more head-scratching penalties. Lance Kendricks, who found success with the end-around play against Purdue, was also quiet in this one, catching only one ball.

Secondary - The defensive backs allowed Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell to complete 25 of his 35 pass attempts for 323 yards and three touchdowns. Even when considering the Hoosiers had to throw often to come from behind, that is not good defense. Give Chris Maragos credit for his interception, but Niles Brinkley, Antonio Fenelus and Devin Smith had no answer for the Indiana wide receivers. Big pass plays by the Hoosiers were what stood between Wisconsin and a more convincing victory.

Return Game - David Gilreath's first two returns of this game should be his last of the season. He lost the opening kickoff in the sun and was unable to field it, letting it bounce through the end zone for a touchback. Then, after the Badger defense forced an Indiana punt, Gilreath could not catch the ball cleanly. The Hoosiers recovered the fumble, took over with good field position and scored their first points of the game. From there, Maurice Moore took over on punt returns and Isaac Anderson on kickoff returns. Moore is now suspended indefinitely after being charged with OWI early Sunday morning. Wisconsin ranks 101st in the country in punt returns and 112th in kickoff returns on the season. This unit has to improve, or the calls for Bielema to hire a full-time special teams coach will only grow louder.

-Jake Harris

Game 10: Indiana v. Wisconsin.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:37:52 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

Please don't run for 200 yards against us, John Clay.

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Wisconsin Badgers

2009 record: 6-2 (3-2)

2008 record: 7-6 (3-5), lost to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl

2008 Sagarin: 61

2009 Sagarin: 23

Coach: Bret Bielema (4th season, 34-13)

Series: Wisconsin leads 35-18-2

TV: noon, Big Ten Network

Blog: Bucky's Fifth Quarter

Here is the Badgers' NCAA resume. After declining from 12-1 to 9-4 to 7-6 in Bret Bielema's second and third season, he and the Badgers seem to have reversed the trend. Wisconsin is 6-2 and has lost only to Ohio State and Iowa. With IU, Michigan, Northwestern, and Hawaii remaining, a 10-2 season is far from a longshot for the Badgers. Wisconsin has returned to the Barry Alvarez blueprint, with a strong defense and a power runner in the backfield. The Badgers rank #22 nationally in total defense and #22 in rushing offense.

John Clay has run for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. The Badgers' pass game has been less than overwhelming: Scott Tolzien has stepped in as the starter and is completing 62 percent of his passes. He has thrown 9 TD passes but 8 interceptions. Last year's starter, Dustin Sherer, brother of IU's Chad Sherer, is now the third stringer. Nick Toon, Isaac Anderson, and Garrett Graham all have comparable receiving stats for Wisconsin. On defense, again the Badgers are very good overall, particularly the rushing defense, and O'Brien Schofield has 6.5 sacks.

After a five-year winning streak against the Badgers from 1986 to 1992, the Hoosiers have struggled against Wisconsin. Upsets in 2001 and 2002 are IU's only wins over Wisconsin in the last 16 seasons. Unfortunately, because the game was not televised (if I recall correctly), I can't find any video of the 63-32 beatdown from 2001, but here are the waning moments of the 2002 upset on a rainy day in Bloomington:

I have no idea what to think of this game. IU needs two wins in the next three games to become bowl-eligible. Of course, the Purdue game is a must-win in that regard, and beating Wisconsin at home seems more likely than beating Penn State on the road. Of course, in a 30 or 45 minute game, IU can beat anyone, but let's hope IU finds a way to play a complete game against the Badgers and ensure that the rest of the season matters.

Replay and React: The good and bad from Saturday's win

Jbharris87 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:41:24 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

about 1 month ago: Wisconsin running back John Clay runs past Purdue linebacker Chris Carlino during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Madison, Wis. Clay had 123-yards in Wisconsin's 37-0 win. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

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Talk about making a statement. Wisconsin rebounded from two tough losses against elite Big Ten teams by posting its first shutout in three years. The Badgers' 37-0 victory over Purdue Saturday was nothing short of dominant. Give Bret Bielema and his coaching staff credit for pushing the right buttons. The team looked hungry from kickoff onward, setting the tone early with an 80-yard touchdown drive and preserving the shutout late by refusing to surrender a point. This was the kind of game the Badgers of last year may have dropped or struggled to win. The inspired play Saturday, particularly from the underclassmen, reinforced the belief that there is still a lot at stake this season, and generated justifiable excitement about the future of the program.

Purdue, like many teams in the Big Ten this season, has been tough to figure. Still, it is safe to say the Boilermakers are good enough that beating them 37-0 is impressive. They are the only team in the conference that has defeated Ohio State. And they only lost by two points to an Oregon team that is perfect in Pac-10 play because of a missed extra point. Purdue had scored at least 20 points in each of its first eight games before playing the Badgers. Most importantly, this was a hot team, one that came into Madison fresh off of two Big Ten victories.

Many of us had been waiting for a Bielema-coached team to put together a truly complete game. The Badgers' first five victories of the season all ended up closer than they needed to be. Throughout Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin, the team has gotten off to its share of slow starts in games and has put its fans through plenty of well-documented collapses. On display Saturday were 60 quality minutes of football. It is an encouraging sign for a young team that has every reason to believe it can win its remaining four games, finish 10-2 and play in a very respectable bowl game.

Let's take a look at Saturday's highlights:

The Good

Running game - The Badgers piled up yardage on the ground. John Clay ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns and, once again, the team took full advantage of the end-around. Tight end Lance Kendricks accumulated 91 yards on the ground on such plays, including a 54-yard scamper down the sideline. Overall, the Badgers ran for 266 yards on an impressive 53 carries. It was nice to see Wisconsin set the tone for the game by committing to the ground attack early. The team's opening drive covered 80 yards, none of which came through the air, and resulted in a touchdown.

Freshmen - Wisconsin's freshmen continue to have a remarkably positive impact on this season. Erik Smith and Montee Ball received a combined 14 carries out of the backfield. Curt Phillips got into the game at quarterback, running four times and attempting six passes. Kraig Appleton recorded his first receptions of the season and looked good. David Gilbert blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. Chris Borland forced and recovered yet another fumble. Gilbert and Borland, in particular, have been big-play guys on defense and on special teams throughout the year.

Secondary - We've been on their case all year, so we better give them the props they earned Saturday. The defensive backs played great football, holding Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott to 5-of-23 passing for 59 yards. Cornerback Devin Smith, who has been up and down this year, recorded a spectacular interception and got a foot down in bounds. He and Chris Maragos both broke up passes. The coverage was simply outstanding all day. Purdue's receivers had an extremely difficult time getting open.

The Bad

Quarterbacks - Scott Tolzien was not asked to do much in this game, putting the ball up only 13 times. Still, he completed just six passes for 87 yards and did not throw a touchdown pass for the third consecutive game. Tolzien did not look nearly as sharp on his passes as he did during the early part of the season, and it's becoming a concern. Curt Phillips did not look much better in garbage time, throwing an interception and only rushing for three yards. While letting Clay and the run game dominate was clearly the right strategy against the second-worst rushing defense in the Big Ten, it does suggest a lack of confidence in the quarterbacks not to ask them to throw more, especially once the game was out of reach. Interestingly enough, one of last year's starters, Dustin Sherer, was a topic of conversation at Bielema's press conference Monday. Sherer is an Indiana native and the Badgers play in Bloomington this week. Bielema reiterated that he thought Sherer would have an opportunity to help Wisconsin win a game at some point this year. With Tolzien's stock plummeting recently and Phillips probably not quite ready, it wouldn't be a shock if Sherer saw action before the season ends.

David Gilreath - Gilreath simply needs to be replaced, or at least complemented, as the main return man. Simply put, he looks lost on the football field this year. He runs laterally way too often, and seems to have no idea whether to call for a fair catch on punts. Bielema said he would use Isaac Anderson at times, but we didn't see him in either role against Purdue. It is tough to single out one guy when the special teams unit has been poor all year, but Philip Welch, Brad Nortman and the coverage team all played adequately Saturday, and Gilreath still struggled.

No Sellout - It is tough to find three negatives after shutting out a Big Ten opponent, but it has to be considered a disappointment that Camp Randall was not sold out Saturday. Even after two losses, the Badgers came into this game 5-2 and Purdue was considered a decent team. Late-October Big Ten games in Madison should always sell out. Period. There are, of course, circumstances to consider, chiefly that many people want nothing to do with the chaos of Madison over Halloween weekend. And, of course, it is nice to know that Camp Randall will be packed to the brim for the Badgers' last home game of the season against Michigan, no matter how far the Wolverines continue to fall.

-Jake Harris

Packing up for the trip to Mad-town

BoilerTMill — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:03:19 -0000

At the very least, this matchup has gotten a lot more interesting in the last few weeks. Purdue has been the hotter team of late, though Wisconsin has a pair of losses to league heavyweights Iowa and Ohio State. There is no doubt that this is a different Purdue team than the one we saw in its last road trip. The landmark win over Ohio State is certainly cause for confidence. I am more encouraged, however, that we needed a less than perfect effort to win against Illinois.

Beating the Illini may not seem like much, but it is a major step forward for this team. Now that we know how to win games the ugly way, we can work on winning games the more aesthetically pleasing way. There is no time like the present with a visit to Madison on the schedule next.

This is also the week for the Hammer & Rails road trip. Last year's trip to Michigan State saw the official end of Purdue's bowl hopes in Tiller's final season, but we had a lot of fun anyway. I'll be documenting this game again travel journal-style like last year's Michigan State trip. Departure time is around 5:30 Friday evening from Indy, so I am hoping that this is a preview of a fun weekend. My previous road could use some work for sure:

At Cincinnati: 1-0

At Indiana: 2-2

At Rose Bowl: 0-1

At Illinois: 2-1

At Northwestern: 1-0

At Michigan: 0-1

At Michigan State: 0-1

At Minnesota: 0-1

At Ohio State: 0-1

At Hawaii: 0-1

TOTAL RECORD: 6-9

Many of these losses (Illinois 2002, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota 2005, Ohio State 2003) have been of the heartbreaking variety, so it would be nice to change things up a bit this week.

2008 Record: 7-6, 3-5 Big Ten

2009 Record: 5-2, 2-2

Bowl Result: Lost to Florida State 42-13 in Champs Sports Bowl

Blog Representation: Bucky's 5^th Quarter

Series with Purdue: Wisconsin leads 39-29-8

Last Purdue win: 10/18/2003 at Wisconsin 26-23

Last Wisconsin win: 10/21/2006 at Purdue 24-3

Wisconsin has had a season that would do Joe Tiller proud so far. They have five wins over mediocre teams in Fresno State, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Wofford, and Minnesota. In their other two games they have double digit losses to ranked teams. The win total is far from expected, but the Badgers are lacking a signature win over anyone. If you go on previous opponents it is hard to predict the outcome of the game. Wisconsin has beaten two teams (Northern Illinois and Minnesota) that Purdue lost to, but Purdue's 26-18 victory over Ohio State came a week after the Badgers dropped a 31-13 game to the Buckeyes. In my preseason preview, Adam of Bucky's 5^th Quarter said he wasn't worried about this game. He is probably at least a little worried now.

Wisconsin offense:

As usual, Wisconsin is a strong running team. They average almost 185 yards per game on the ground, so continuing to play strong against the run is paramount. Leading the way is John Clay with 716 yards and seven touchdowns. Clay has been over 140 yards three times this season, so we must key on him. He is a big back at 6'2" 247 pounds, making him a pretty heavy load to stop. Zach Brown (217-3) should see some time as more of a speed back, but he has good size at 5'11" 208 lbs. Wisconsin will likely try to wear us down with a combination of both Brown and Clay.

The Wisconsin passing game has been relatively effective at times, but has struggled in the last two games. Scott Tolzien has a good completion percentage at 63.6% per game. He has thrown for 1,436 yards and nine touchdowns against eight interceptions. The last two games have been particularly bad, with five picks coming against no scores.Ohio State managed to return two picks for scores.

Scott Tolzien has struggled of late, being sacked 10 times and throwing five interceptions in the past two games.

Tolzien has been successful with three solid receivers to spread the ball around to. Nick Toon (29-357-2), Isaac Anderson (22-347-1), and Garrett Graham (29-331-4) are quality targets that will open up the running game for Clay and Brown. Tight end Lance Kendricks (15-153-2) is also a solid receiving option, especially in short yardage. We should be concerned if Tolzien can get the passing game going, because a two-dimensional Badger offense will be difficult to stop.

Heading into the Ohio State game Wisconsin's offensive line had given up just two sacks in five games. The Buckeyes got to Tolzien six times, then Iowa got him four more times. This should make things interesting when you consider that our defensive line has been dominant of late. They will need to be again. Wisconsin's offensive line is simply massive with Gabe Carimi, Josh Oglesby, John Moffitt, Kevin Zeitler, and Peter Konz all standing 6'4" or better and weighing more than 315 pounds. It is one of the biggest lines we will see this year.

Wisconsin defense:

At lot has been made about how good our offense is, but I still see struggling. We're generating yards, but we're not putting tons of points on the board. We still haven't topped 26 points since the Oregon game, but we've been over 20 each time. It will be imperative for us to take advantage of every opportunity to score against a pretty good defense.

Wisconsin will be hurt by the loss of linebacker Mike Taylor. Taylor was lost for the season with a severe knee injury against Iowa. Since he saw extensive time as a redshirt freshman, depth could be an issue. True freshman Chris Borland will start in his place. Culmer St. John and Jaevery McFadden man the other two linebacker spots.

Wisconsin's secondary has picked off nine passes on the season, with safety Chris Maragos among the league leaders with three picks. Jay Valai at the other safety position is also a threat for interceptions.

Wisconsin's defensive line has been dominant all year long. The Badgers have 19 quarterback sacks on the season, which is two fewer than Purdue's 21. O'Brien Schofield leads the team with 6.5 sacks, meaning he is a forced to be reckoned with as a defensive end. Schofield also leads the conference with 16.5 tackles for loss. The rest of the sacks have been spread around the defense fairly evenly, so Schofield is far from the only guy we need to stop.

Wisconsin Special Teams:

Because of Phillip Welch, the Badgers are a feast or famine team on offense. Welch has hit on just eight of 14 field goal attempts, but he did have a long of 57 yards against Fresno State. It is the second longest field goal in the country this year other than the 59 yarder by Carson Wiggs. He has also missed an extra point. He doesn't have much of a leg on kickoffs with five touchbacks, so we should be able to take advantage of a kick return coverage unit that gives up over 25 yards per return. That kick return coverage also gave up a touchdown to Ray Small against Ohio State, so we shoul dhave very good field position and may even be able to break one with Al-Terek McBurse.

Brad Nortman is one of the conference's better punters, averaging more than 43 yards per kick. Neither return game does much of anything, though Borland does have one 25 yard return.

Intangibles:

The category seems to be about even. Purdue is playing well, but Wisconsin has had a week of rest. Wisconsin played poorly in its last two games on offense, but Purdue's defense just seems overdue to be gashed by a running game. Purdue is playing with a ton of confidence and has renewed optimism for a bowl, but Wisconsin has already handled the two teams that most soundly beat Purdue.

If we're going to get to a bowl game we have to win at least one of these next two road games. I would like to get it this week rather than rely on a win in Ann Arbor, where we haven't won in 43 years. We have also played well in Madison of late. This has been a strange series in that Purdue has not beaten Wisconsin at Purdue since 1997, but has a pair of wins in Madison (2000, 2003) in that time.

This is not a great offense if we can slow down the running game. The defense is pretty good, but it is hardly a brick wall. I certainly want to give the Badgers and edge since they are playing at home, but Purdue is due for a big road win. Of the big four road venues (Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State) Purdue has had the most success in Madison.

Keys to the Game for Purdue:

Limit Turnovers
Slow down the Wisconsin running game
Hassle Tolzien with the defensive line
Establish the running game with Bolden, Taylor, and McBurse
Make Tolzien throw the ball

Replay and React: The good and bad from Saturday's loss

Jbharris87 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:03:39 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

2 months ago: Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small (82) in pursuit by Bradie Ewing (34) and Devin Smith (10) runs for a 96-yard touchdown on a kickoff return during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State won 31-13. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

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Perhaps the biggest indication of just how strangely Wisconsin's 31-13 loss at Ohio State played out is the wide range of fan reactions to the defeat. Some are almost gleefully pointing out that the Badger offense actually beat its Buckeye counterpart head-to-head by a score of 13-10. Others are looking at the actual margin of defeat and calling this a lost season after critical errors led to yet another road loss in the Big Ten.

The right perspective is somewhere in the middle. Like it or not, defense and special teams are two of the three phases of football. Ohio State's front seven were able to generate enough pressure on quarterback Scott Tolzien to force those two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Philip Welch missed those two field goals. And head coach Bret Bielema's own kick coverage unit didn't even get a hand on Ray Small when he returned that kickoff for a touchdown. These things happened. They were not flukes but, rather, the result of making critical mistakes against a better opponent on the road.

At the same time, it would be foolish to look at the offensive and defensive series in this game and come away completely discouraged. Wisconsin moved the ball on Ohio State and, if not for a combination of missed field goals and turnovers, would have scored more points. The Badger defense contained quarterback Terrelle Pryor admirably and got off the field quickly. The statistics were lopsidedly in favor of Wisconsin and, even though they are somewhat skewed by the Buckeyes' building a large lead in the second half, the Badgers dominated areas of this game.

In a weird way, it feels as though we never got to see these teams actually play each other. Wisconsin's offense was forced to become one-dimensional in the second half; we'll never know if John Clay could have worn down the Ohio State defense late in the game the way he did Minnesota's. Ohio State's offense was hardly on the field; every time the Buckeye defense or special teams unit scored a touchdown, they had to kick off to the Badgers again. We'll never know if Wisconsin's defensive dominance could have eventually forced another turnover. It's too bad because, while there is no guarantee Wisconsin would win if these teams played again, chances are that 21 points would not be scored with the Badger defense on the sideline.

Let's take a look at the highlights and low-lights:

The Good

Defensive Line - The Badgers controlled the line of scrimmage on defense, holding Terrelle Pryor to 35 rushing yards - 27 of which came on one carry. Running back Brandon Saine was held to 55 yards, 31 of which came on one carry. Outside of those two long runs, the team rushed for 39 total yards. Defensive end O'Brien Schofield harassed Pryor all day and the pressure he put on Pryor helped force the star quarterback into a 5-of-13 day passing.

Linebackers - The linebacking unit for the Badgers this year is much less heralded than the 2008 edition - but it is also playing much better football, particularly against spread offenses. The linebackers have been more disciplined this season and on Saturday they did a great job of staying in their gaps and not allowing big gains, particularly when the Buckeyes tried to run the option. Culmer St. Jean recorded a huge interception that he ran back to the Ohio State 12-yard line, setting up the only Wisconsin touchdown of the afternoon. In general, the defense did a great job getting off the field. The Buckeyes went three-and-out on six of their nine offensive possessions and one of the remaining three ended with St. Jean's interception.

Play Calling - This may surprise some fans, but the offensive and defensive play calling was pretty good Saturday. Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst dialed up plays that worked, effectively loosening up the middle of the Ohio State defense by designing wide receiver reverse plays for David Gilreath and Isaac Anderson. Defensive coordinator Dave Doeren devised a trustworthy scheme and essentially solved Terrelle Pryor. Tolzien's two interceptions that directly led to 14 points were not the result of bad play calls but, rather, intense pressure from the Buckeyes and bad decisions by the quarterback. Pryor's touchdown drive at the end of the first half was similarly not Doeren's fault but the result of bad execution on two critical plays - defensive end J.J. Watt's failure to contain Pryor on his 27-yard run and cornerback Antonio Fenelus getting beat (but barely) on the touchdown pass. There was also a questionable Buckeye catch on that drive that should have been reviewed.

The Bad

Scott Tolzien - We showered praise on the first-year starter at quarterback when he helped lead the Badgers to a 5-0 start, so we would be remiss if we didn't point out that Tolzien's performance Saturday helped cost Wisconsin a victory. While his completion percentage was reasonably high, Tolzien threw two bad interceptions that gave Ohio State 14 points without the Badger defense even seeing the field. Both were bad decisions - a high throw that sailed past Nick Toon and right into the arms of cornerback Kurt Coleman and a throw into double coverage that was tipped and returned 32 yards by Jermale Hines. Without the first interception, there was a good chance the Badgers could have come away with at least a field goal. To be fair, Tolzien was under heavy pressure all day and did not receive much help from his offensive line or his wide receivers, who were surrendering sacks, committing penalties and dropping balls left and right.

Offensive Line - The "best offensive line Matt Millen has seen on film this year" did not play like it Saturday. The line allowed Tolzien to be sacked six times after giving up a total of two during the previous five games. False starts and holding penalties consistently set the Badgers back. While it is tough to single out one player with the entire line performing the way it did, Josh Oglesby routinely got beaten in pass protection during the second half and looked slow.

Special Teams - Whether or not it is deserved, Bielema continues to invite criticism every time a special teams issue occurs and he refuses to hire a full-time coach for the unit. Despite ranking near the bottom of the Big Ten last season in both return and coverage statistics, Bielema has stubbornly insisted on continuing to coach special teams himself. Saturday was another inauspicious day in that department. Right after the Badgers cut Ohio State's lead to one score with a field goal, Ray Small returned the ensuing kickoff untouched for a touchdown. This put a team not built for comebacks in a 28-13 second-half hole that they would not emerge from. Philip Welch also missed two field goals. The 57-yard miss is excusable, particularly after Welch made one from the same distance against Fresno State, but the second miss came at the end of a long, impressive drive and was badly needed to make it a 12-point game. David Gilreath simply looks lost returning kicks and punts and seems to be using a coin flip to decide whether or not to call for a fair catch. Enter Maurice Moore, who promptly took an unintentional step out of the Wisconsin end zone on a kickoff return, hesitated and tried to retreat, and then had to scramble just to make it out to the five-yard line. We'll give Bielema credit for successfully calling a fake field goal attempt that put six points on the board, but otherwise, the special teams unit was a mess Saturday.

-Jake Harris

Halfway Home: Wisconsin fails to upset Ohio State, 31-13

hmlee — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

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The word of the day, readers, is "half." Half is the word for two reasons - after this week we are halfway through the season, and, also, the Badgers managed to play only half a decent game against Ohio State. It's hard to believe, but we have been through six games already. The halfway mark in College Football always sneaks up on me. The non-con games that load up the first half are usually against teams that I've either never heard of or heard of but don't care about. Ideally my team knocks off the cupcakes in games that were never in doubt. Then come a few conference games and, before you know it, the back end of the schedule has snuck right on up.

Even when your team goes six and.. er... ahem... five and one, the first half of the schedule always feels unsatisfying because of the dearth of conference action. The second half is always better, though, as teams shake out in the conference standings and bowl bids begin to take shape. And, frankly, after yesterday's loss, the second half can't come soon enough.

I had the (dubious) pleasure of watching this game on Wisconsin soil. I spent my afternoon on the way to my cousin's wedding in a sports bar in Milwaukee. The place was thick with fans in the right type of red shirts enjoying spotted cows and fried things. A good environment, I thought, to watch the Badgers upset the class of the Big 10.

Yeah, that didn't go so well.

To be fair, the Badgers had half of a good game yesterday. I didn't really expect a win - but I thought there was a chance of one if they came into the 'Shoe and played their best game. The Buckeyes are always tough opponents, but when the Badgers roster is largely comprised of, as it is this year, younger players, it requires even more than good play to beat them.

Unfortunately, Bucky only managed stellar play for 30 minutes on Saturday...

Graham offers his own thoughts on the Week 6 action in the conference...

I take a look at Wisconsin's thrilling road win at The Bank in week 5...

The Milwaukee Brewers Sausages at my cousin's wedding were certainly happier than I was...

Despite one large mistake in the last minute of the first half, Wisconsin played pretty well for the start of this game. The defense came out ready to go, and managed to force 3 and outs or only short gains for the first four Buckeye drives. The offense wasn't nearly as consistent.

Coming into this game, I thought that the Badgers would have to be worried about Terrelle Pryor. Turns out, Pryor wasn't really a factor in this game, throwing for only 85 yards and 1 TD. Rather, the real trouble for the Badgers were the offensive forces of Kurt Coleman, Jermale Hines, and WR / kick returner Ray Small. Er... what? That's right, 21 of the Buckeye's 31 points were scored by players from the defensive or special teams squads. Yikes. So, if the Badgers hadn't managed to shoot themselves in the foot, they would have won this game 13-10.

The biggest of the foot shooters was one Scott Tolzien. Sigh. Tolzien Tolzien Tolzien... I've sung his praises more times than I can recall on this site, but yesterday was just not good. He made two horrid decisions during this game that resulted in 14 points for OSU. On both occasions he attempted to force passes into areas of the field that were completely dominated by red jerseys. He really had no business making throws on both of these plays. At the same time, as frustrated as I am with his poor decision making, it's not entirely his fault. All of the Wisconsin receviers - Isaac Anderson, Nick Toon, David Gilreath, and Garrett Graham - dropped passes that they easily should have caught. Those are the plays that need to get made to beat a good team. If the receivers are dropping easy balls, can you really blame Tolzien for trying to force plays in response?

The Good:

Gilreath actually had a relatively good game, as he was part of several early end-around plays run by the Wisconsin offense that seemed to catch OSU off guard. John Clay, the ever dependable back, was another bright spot on the offense yesterday. He continued to bulldoze his way through defensive lineman and, while not as dominating as against Minnesota, showed why he is a huge key for Wisconsin this season. The only problem with Clay was one of playcalling. Why did he not make an appearance until the final few minutes of the first quarter? Why did Zach Brown get all of the early carries, even though he couldn't make any headway? Clay is a great offensive weapon for Wisconisn, and he needs to be used early and often. Also, special recognition should go to Culmer St. Jean who (along with the rest of the young Bucky D) continued his stellar play from the last few weeks with a 2nd quarter interception of Pryror that set up Wisconsin's first TD.

About that first TD... Chris Maragos made an amazing leap into the end zone on that play. The leap came on a fake FG try towards the end of the second quarter. The ball was snapped and Maragos took the hand off and ran towards the left side of the end zone. A timely block and an acrobatic leap allowed Maragos to stretch the ball just inside the pylon and put six on the board. The play came out of nowhere and after it I felt the best that I have about Wisconsin football all season. Thank you Chris Maragos!

The Bad:

As for the bad... beyond Tolzien and the WRs, a few other culprits contributed to this ugly loss. First off, where on earth was the kick return coverage on Ray Small? It's bad enough when you get burned by an opposing kick return for a TD - it's even worse when that kick return was for 96 yards and largely straight up the middle. The missed tackles on that play were simply inexcusable. I hope that Coach Bielema makes the ST have extra practices or run laps this week in response.

Also, the coaching. It seemed that the coaches upstairs were either asleep or taking a bathroom break during the second quarter, as they missed an easy challenge that could have led to the Badgers heading into halftime with the lead. With just under two minutes left in the half, Pryor threw to TE Jake Ballard for a first down. The only problem was, Jake Ballard did not catch the throw. Rather, he caught on a hop after the nose of the ball grazed the field. Had Wisconsin been paying attention, a challenge would have overturned the call and perhaps the next several incompletes thrown by Pryor would have ended the OSU drive with a punt instead of a TD.

Looking ahead...

As painful as the second half of this game was to watch, it's only one game and one game in which I expected the Badgers to lose. Next week Wisconsin gets an undefeated Hawkeye team at Camp Randall. As good as the Hawkeyes have been this year, their two past wins against Michigan and Arkansas State both came down to the final minutes, and that's in front of a home crowd. The Badgers will certainly have their hands full, but hopefully the more forgiving confines of Camp Randall can help them pull off the upset. Tolzien seems to be more consistent at home, so I have high hopes for this game. In fact, I'm going to call it right now. I say Wisconsin hands the Hawkeyes their first defeat next week and wins by a TD. Hopefully, I'm right.

So...

On to week 7, On to the second half, and ON WISCONSIN!!

Bucky Coronary: Wisconsin Hangs On Against Minnesota, 31-28

hmlee — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:57:07 -0000

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

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The college football gods seem to have it out for me. They would love nothing more than to fell me with a heart attack before bowl season even rolls around. I mean, okay, I know that all that beer and sausage isn't good for the organ in my chest (to say nothing of my liver), but do the Badgers really have to pile on too? I knew this game wasn't going to be a complete cakewalk (though I did have the spread at 14 - oops) - conference games never are. But, after seeing the Wisconsin secondary manhandle Blair White last week in the Sparty game, I thought that maybe they could do the same against the Minnesota duo of Adam Weber and Eric Decker. And, really, what is the Minnesota offense except for Eric Decker and 10 other supporting actors?

Well, it seems I got that one wrong too. Decker's line for the game:

140 yards receiving and 1 TD.

He had more than half the total receiving yards for the entire Gopher team. Ouch. It really should have been more too, except Decker uncharacteristically couldn't hang on to a few throws from Weber into tight coverage. It's almost funny, in a way. If any other receiver in college football fails to make those plays, the reaction is usually a shrug of the shoulders and a, "It's okay, it wasn't a good throw anyway," type of comment. But if Decker fails to make them? Well, after watching him make ridiculous catch after ridiculous catch, those types of grabs are almost expected and it's kind of a let down when he fails.

Despite the efforts of Decker and the Gopher offense (and their newest player, Zach Brown), however, Bucky managed to leave the Twin Cities the same way he entered - with Paul Bunyon's Axe still in the hands of its rightful owners.

This was largely due to the wonderful, absolutely marvelous play of Big Bad John Clay.

After the jump, I break down the game by unit.

Graham previews the Michigan - MSU game and explains the upset in East Lansing in the Big 10 game of the week...

My coverage of Wisconsin's domination vs. Michigan State in week 4....

Since my recap of last week's action by unit was followed by a Badger win, I decided to go with that format again this week. I'm not superstiious really, but if it works, why change it?

Offense:

Almost all of the Wisconsin offense this week came from Mr. Clay. He wasn't too active in the first half, aside from his 2-yard TD run, but in the second half he really broke out. I don't know why, but the Gopher D just didn't seem to be able to adjust to him. The Wisconisn offense looked almsot typical with run play after run play called... though, unlike typical Wisconsin teams, most of these run-happy drives resulted in points on the board instead of punts. Clay shook tackles and bounced off of defensive linemen almost like a human pinball. It was great to see him execute the fundamentals so well. He kept the ball secure and managed to keep his legs churning for the entirety of his runs, resulting in quite a few extra yards that managed to secure at least three third down conversions. If he keeps playing like he has in the last few games, I expect to see his name show up in the December balloting.

Scott Tolzien had a decent game, throwing for 159 yards and 1 TD. Most of his receptions came on mid-range throws to Garret Graham and Nick Toon, but he also managed to sneak a few into the arms of Lance Kendricks and Isaac Anderson. He did have some poor decisions, though, which resulted in 1 INT and a few other near-INTs. I chalk this up to playing in a road environment for the first time this season. I sincerely hope that it was just a result of such first-time jitters and not an indication that he is only effective as a QB at Camp Randall. If Wisconsin wants to succeed in the rest of their conference play, they need him to play like he has in the first few home games.

Finally, a message for Zach Brown.

Dear Mr. Brown, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT IN THE UNIVERSE, LEARN HOW TO HOLD ON TO A FOOTBALL!

Brown had some decent runs in the first half but, for the third game in a row, fumbled the ball on a routine play. In this particular instance, it resulted in a nearly 90 yard TD return by Minnesota CB Marcus Sherels. It really could not have come at a worse time, as it let Minnesota back into a game that the Badgers were about to put away. Brown was just lucky that John Clay was able to bail him out with a touchdown on Wisconsin's next possession. I touched on this a little last week, but I'm going to bring it up again. If Wisconsin's run game is going to be effective, BOTH of the starting backs need to be able to hold on to the ball and make plays when called upon. The Badgers cannot be forced to rely solely upon John Clay (freshman Montee Ball is pretty much a non-entity right now) for the rest of this season and expect to have it go as well as it did today. I don't care if takes carrying a football everywhere including the john for a week, Zach Brown has got to get his shoddy play under control. If he doesn't, the trip to the 'Shoe next week will not be a pretty one.

Defense:

After the stellar play by the D last week, my remarks about them in this recap are going to seem slight by comparison. The D was not nearly as solid as they were in the Michigan State game, but this is a young unit playing in an extremely hostile environment. I was glad to see that even though they were a bit more porous than usual, they made the critical stops when they had to. I'd like to single out the third quarter intercepion by Patrick Butrym, the fourth quarter sacks by Louis Nzegwu and Blake Sorenson and the subsequent fumble recovery by Chirs Borland as the defensive plays of the game. If the D can make plays like that for the entire game next week, the Badgers might, just might, have a chance against a slightly more anemic than usual Ohio State offense.

Special Teams:

I didn't cover the ST last week, but I would like to touch on it now as it was really was the Jekyll and Hyde unit.

First off, holy moly is our kickoff return coverage bad. Here are the returns by Troy Stoudermire in chronological order:

Kickoff return for 41 yards
Kickoff return for 33 yards
Kickoff return for 26 yards
Kickoff return for 38 yards
Kickoff return for 10 yards (this one was not returned by Stoudermire)
Kickoff for a touchback

In sum, the only way that the Badgers were able to keep the Gophers from reeling off a 20+ yard return on a kickoff was when they either booted it into the end zone or when the ball was caught by the backup return man Jay Thomas. Yikes.

Stoudermire is one of the more dangerous return guys in the Big 10, but special teams cannot continue to spot our opponenets field position at midfield and expect the defense to come out and clean up their mess.

So, if the kickoff return coverage was Mr. Hyde, then who on the ST was Dr. Jekyll?

That honor would go to the punter, Brad Nortman, and the punt return team, with a special mention for Nick Toon. The few punts, aside from an early touchback, were good by and large, with one downed at the 13 and the other at the 5 yard line. Both of the Minnesota drives that followed those punts - one at the end of the first half, and the other at the conclusion of the game - were stopped without points going on the board, which just goes to show how important winning the battle of field position can be.

The special mention for Nick Toon is for his awareness and great handling of the last gasp onside kick attempt by the Gophers. Eric Decker had a hand on the ball, but Toon managed to corral it on the rebound. Had Toon not been there to grab it, I would likely be writing about a heartbreaker of a loss instead of a thrilling win.

From here, the Badgers continue the road festivities with a trip to the Horseshoe and an afternoon battle with Ohio State. I am hoping for, though not expecting, a victory. The realist in me says that such an occurrence is unlikely, but even if Bucky drops the upcoming game, the win against Minnesota will have positioned them very well in the conference. Until time runs out in the 4th, I will hold out my hope for an upset. I thus conclude my recap with:

On to the 'Shoe, On to 6-0, and ON WISCONSIN!!!

No Doubt In My Mind: Wisconsin Rolls Michigan State, 38-30

hmlee — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:10:25 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

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I want a brat. Maybe a spotted cow too, now that I think about it. This recap was unfortunately delayed by the mountain of legal reading I found myself under this weekend. I say unfortunately for two reasons. First, because I don't particularly enjoy my civ pro work - really, rule 12(b)(6) can go pluck a duck for all I care. And, second, because this was a big game for Wisconsin, which definitely deserved an immediate recap.

I don't think there is any doubt this week that the Iowa / Penn State game was the most significant in the conference, but, I think I would nominate the Wisconsin / Michigan State game as the runner-up. I suppose if Michigan had actually lost to Indiana, that would have been a big deal too, but, they didn't, so the point is rather moot. In this game, though, we really saw just how far both teams are from their pre-season expectations.

I have to say, when I was looking at the Badgers' schedule in the pre-season, I wasn't exactly looking forward to the opening week of the conference. Much like the 2008 season, I saw three very tough games with one easier opponent to start the conference play. Then, it was OSU, Penn State, and Iowa, with a completely beatable Michigan team (though, every Badger fan knows how that one went.) This year, it was OSU, Iowa, and Sparty first up with a beatable Minnesota team sandwiched in between. It seemed as though the Badgers were doomed for a clone of the 2008 season - race out to 3-0 against non-con opponents and then get dragged down when they actually got to the meat of their schedule.

My fears of this happening only intensified after the six fumbles the Badgers had in the course of their Wofford win, and I really thought that after Saturday I'd be singing along to the classic Foundations song... To wit:

Why do you build me up (Build me up)
Buttercup baby just to
let me down (Let me down)
And mess me around...

Instead, I find myself in an entirely different sort of mood this week. Yes, loyal readers, I'm a believer!

After the jump, I dispense with the 1960s song references and talk about why what I saw in the MSU game makes me think Wisconsin could take the Big 10 by surprise this season...

The SB Nation Big 10 bloggers give a boost to the Badgers in our Post Week 4 Power Poll...

My coverage of Wisconsin's nail-biting win against Fresno State...

I have to say, this game was a real pleasure to watch as a Wisconsin fan. Beyond some early jitters on the Badgers first possession, the team really played as a complete unit, firing on all cylinders, for perhaps the first time this year. Because the game flowed so well from start to finish, I'm going to break down my commentary to the two different sides of the ball.

I'll start with the defense, as I was really impressed by their play in this game. Going into the season, I had been a bit concerned that the Wisconsin D was largely comprised of sophomores and freshman. It's not necessarily true that a young team will play poorly, but having a team dominated by younger players does act as sort of a wild card. In this game, the Badger D looked like they had been playing together for years. They combined as a unit to put a great deal of pressure on Kirk Cousins - forcing him to make quite a few harried, poor decisions. As they were doing this, they also managed to hold the line against the running attempts that Sparty tried to turn to. Their run defense wasn't the most consistent in the game, but they got the job done and made the stops when they needed to, in particular several third down situations which kept State out of the end zone.

Also, the secondary did a fantastic job of essentially removing Blair White as a threat. It was great to see the coaching staff recognize White's talent and game-changing play ability and really work to make sure he didn't burn the Badgers for deep catches.

There are a few players on the defense who made plays that I think are worthy of special recognition:

Patrick Butrym, sophomore DT, for his great hit on Larry Caper for a loss in a 3rd and 1 situation which killed Sparty's second drive of the game.

Mike Taylor, freshman LB, who intercepted Kirk Cousins at midfield and successfully halted MSU, after they had managed to march 22 yards in only a little under two minutes.

Chris Borland, freshman LB, for his recovery of Sparty's late-game on-side kick attempt.

Finally, Chris Maragos, senior CB, for his not one... but TWO INTs on the day. One came in the second off a bad throw by backup State QB Keith Nichol, and the other in the 4th quarter in the end zone to keep Michigan State from cutting down the Badger lead.

Among this excellent play, there are really only two issues I have, and they are minor at best. After the half, the defense came out and initially looked a bit sluggish, but they recovered their footing quickly enough, and managed to hold State to just a field goal after they recovered Zach Brown's fumble (more on that later) in Wisconsin territory. The only other quibble is with the final two and a half minutes of this game. The Badgers had been up by 21 when the D let State back into the game. I don't really have much to complain about regarding State's first TD of the fourth quarter... Wisconsin had managed to stop State enough times in the game previously that seeing State score when they were supposed to wasn't too upsetting. Buuut... that last Hail Mary pass that led to MSU's final TD of the game? Yeah, I didn't like that one too much. Granted, by then, MSU was out of time-outs and probably wasn't a huge threat, but, still, I hope that was just a tiny late-game mental lapse and not something suggestive of a larger problem.

On the offensive side of the ball, Wisconsin looked excellent as well. John Clay was like some sort of unstoppable force of nature. He may not be the speediest RB, but it sure is pretty to watch him bounce off tackles and bulldoze defensive lineman. His play this weekend really did make up for his turnovers against Wofford, and showed that he really is the type of player who recognizes his poor play and works hard to correct it.

Zach Brown on the other hand.... well, I have to say that in general, I think he's played well this year. I did not like watching him fumble a simple hand off in the backfield today, though. Wisconsin's two-RB system is a good one. It might be nice, of course, to have a feature back and a decent second, but having two good primary guys (especially with different skill sets) is useful for keeping the opposing defenses guessing. That being said, the only way for this system to actually work is for BOTH of the RBs to be consistent and sure handed with the football. The opposing defenses won't be kept guessing if they think Bielema can't trust one of his backs to not have butterfingers.

As for Scott Tolzien... well, the more I see this kid play, the more I love him. So much for that notion of him as a career backup. He has really come out of the gate this season and commanded the field in a way that I did not expect at all. He made some great deep throws to Nick Toon and Isaac Anderson, as well as quite a few quick, short plays to the TEs Garrett Graham and Lance Kendricks. He may not be Darryl Clark or Tate Forcier, but he is the type of QB that can go out there and make the plays necessary to open holes for Bucky's running game and still remain a threat himself. Wisconsin hasn't had this type of quarterback play since at least 2005/2006.

So, where do we go from here? I think that if the young defense can put together more games like this one, and John Clay / Scott Tolzien can continue their solid offensive play, the Badgers will be a serious threat in the conference this year. I'm not dreaming of a trip to Pasadena by any means, but I don't think a good bowl game is at all out of the question if they keep this up.

This weekend, at Minnesota, I foresee a win. The game against Northwestern not withstanding, the Gophers don't really have much of a running game. They do have Eric Decker, but, if Wisconsin can contain Weber and Decker like they contained Cousins and White... the Badgers should be rolling out of the Twin Cities with Paul Bunyan's axe still securely in tow.

So, until next time,

On to week 5, On to The Bank, and ON WISCONSIN!!

Replay and React: The good and bad from Saturday's win

Jbharris87 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:41:54 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Wisconsin running back Zach Brown (30) stiff-arms Michigan State cornerback Chris L. Rucker (29) during the second half of Saturday's win over the Spartans. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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If the Badgers continue to put on more performances like Saturday's, the national respect they lost last season and now crave more than ever will almost surely come. Nearly every unit made positive contributions to Wisconsin's 38-30 victory over Michigan State, which was essentially over within the first few seconds of the fourth quarter. While the Spartans certainly came into this season overhyped, few would have predicted a 1-3 start, much less that a Wisconsin offense with several new faces would hang 38 points on a Mark Dantonio defense.

As a result, the Badgers head into a tough two-week road stretch a perfect 4-0 and with infinitely more confidence and optimism than they had just a month ago. Victories at Minnesota and Ohio State will not come easily, but if you're someone who's watched the first four games and still thinks Wisconsin does not have a legitimate shot at winning both road contests...then you're just what this under-appreciated team feeds off of.

Let's go to the highlights.

The Good

Scott Tolzien - It is becoming a broken record, but it is impossible to understate how the first-year starter's performance at the quarterback position has propelled the Badgers to 4-0. After methodically dissecting some questionable defenses during the non-conference schedule, many were wondering how Tolzien would fare against a Big Ten opponent. He silenced the doubters and then some, throwing for 243 yards and four touchdowns against the Spartans. Most importantly, he did not throw an interception for the third consecutive game. It has been a long time since the Badgers have been able to call the quarterback position a strength, but Tolzien has proven he can play with the big boys.

John Clay - It had been a rough season for Clay up until Saturday. Decidedly the most talented running back on Wisconsin's roster, he was surprisingly listed second on the depth chart heading into the opener, after Zach Brown had a better summer. Then, when he did get his chance to start last week against Wofford, he jeopardized his tenuous hold on the position by fumbling three times. Clay's breakout performance against Michigan State showed that maybe he really is ready to be the featured back. He carried 32 times for 142 yards and scored a touchdown. While he was busy averaging 4.4 yards per carry, Brown lost a fumble, had trouble finding the holes and only managed a 1.6-yard average. Despite Scott Tolzien's solid start, the Badgers will need Clay to produce for the 2009 campaign to be a success.

Chris Borland - We talked about the tight ends last week and, while Garrett Graham and Lance Kendricks continue to impress, catching nine of the Badgers' 19 pass completions and scoring three touchdowns, the play of true freshman linebacker Chris Borland cannot be overlooked. Saturday, he tied for second on the team with five tackles and came up with a huge sack and a pass breakup. Most importantly, he kept the pressure on Michigan State quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol, hitting them four times. Borland also caught an onside kick attempt by the Spartans, his second great play on special-teams in as many weeks.

The Bad

David Gilreath - Gilreath seems to have faded off into the sunset. While he was the number one receiver a year ago, the coaches and quarterbacks seem to be more interested in throwing to Isaac Anderson, Nick Toon and the tight ends so far this season. Gilreath caught only two balls for a pedestrian 21 yards Saturday. Even the wide-receiver reverse play - Gilreath's trademark in 2008 - has been going to Anderson lately. He still has yet to make a really big play in the return game as well. It will be interesting to track his progress as the season goes along. He appears to have regressed and/or fallen out of favor with the coaching staff.

Secondary - A week after holding Wofford without a passing yard for the entire first half, the secondary broke down against Michigan State, particularly late in the game. The Spartans' quarterbacks combined to throw for 396 yards and four touchdowns. Chris Maragos' two picks were nice but the play of the cornerbacks simply must improve. Aaron Henry is a good cover guy who has been having trouble making plays on the ball, while Devin Smith and Niles Brinkley are just getting beaten.

No more home cooking - Tough to find three legitimately bad areas of play after a convincing Big Ten win. The bad news for the Badgers, though, is they now have to hit the road. Wisconsin is 4-8 away from Camp Randall Stadium since 2007. That figure includes wins over UNLV, Minnesota, Fresno State and Indiana, as well as two losses at neutral sites in bowl games. While going 4-0 to start the season is certainly impressive, do not underestimate the importance of playing those contests in a stadium where the Badgers are 36-3 since 2004. These next two weeks of competition in hostile and unfamiliar environmentswill demonstrate just how good Wisconsin really is.

-Jake Harris