SB Nation - Maurice Moore

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

The Takeaway: Wisconsin

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:33:23 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

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Sure, Iowa just choked the life out of the Badgers, 20-10. But how much do we really know? What was really important about beating Wisconsin? What does it all mean, Basil? The Takeaway has the answer.

"Thank you for getting with the program."

This week's theme: Frailty. No, we're not talking about the Bill Paxton thriller, we mean the actual condition of frailty and how it relates to last week's win for the Hawkeyes.

1) The frailty of 7-0: Iowa is now 7-0 for the first time in almost a quarter-century, and on the precipice of the most successful start to a season ever in school history (the undefeated, untied seasons of 1921 and 1922 were seven-season games, so... suck on that, Duke Slater). We are, quite literally, one game away from Iowa history.

And yet, it's come with three wins in which Iowa trailed in the second half, another where Iowa won by three points, and another still where Iowa won by just two. Their average margin of victory is calculated in microns. It's a strange and unexpected development for a team about whom, just eleven months ago, we wrote this:

The difference between 2001 and 2008 is salary. Just like 2001, this is the first time in a few years that Iowa has enjoyed a distinct physical advantage with their opponents, but they're coming up just short. In 2001, 7-5 was awesome. It was positive. It was "we're not getting beating by Western Michigan this year!"

The problem, of course, is that Kirk Ferentz isn't paid for growing pains anymore. And when you get a situation like this where Iowa hasn't won their last 8 games decided by three points or fewer, that starts to become an indictment of the head coach.

Going back as long as the seniors have been suiting up, the Iowa program has real, fatal trouble in close games. Coming into a game against a PSU team that's superior in both discipline and physical talent, that spells automatic loss this weekend. Don't let the 7.5-point line fool you--while Iowa's certainly capable of making the game competitive for all four quarters, there is very, very little to suggest they can come away from the game with an upset win.

Well then, times have certainly changed, haven't they? Even with a patchwork-at-times offense and a schizophrenic quarterback, Iowa has now won four straight games decided by three points or fewer. That those four games have come in a ten-game stretch is somewhat troubling, but as 2002 Ohio State proved, wins are wins.

We're also struck by the 2001/2008 corollary, which is proving itself true beyond our wildest imagination thus far in terms of W/L improvement. The specifics aren't quite there, as anybody who watched 2002 Iowa football can tell you, but it seems evident that the "2008 as a nostrum for the horror of 2005-2007" fits in nicely with where the 2001 season belong in the arc of Hawkeye history.

As allegories for the Wisconsin offense go, this was pretty bad.

2) The frailty of John Clay's lower body. First of all, thank God John Clay's okay, because we've never seen anyone get bent like that, then get up and continue playing football. We could have easily imagined a season-ending injury to any of four places--back, hip, knee, ankle--and not have been surprised. But lo and behold, Clay got up and kept getting at it. We're really going out on a limb here, but we say that's a good thing.

That all said, that man should not have played football for the rest of the day, because here's a breakdown of Clay's production before and after the injury:

Pre-injury: 12 rushes, 68 yards, 6 first downs
Post-injury: 9 rushes, 7 yards, 0 first downs

With Zach Brown nursing a concussion (and we hope he gets at least two more weeks of rest; the absence of symptoms DOES NOT EQUAL full recovery), Wisconsin had to choose between Clay and true freshman Montee Ball, who had rang up 5 carries for 21 yards and a 10-yard score on Iowa's defense. Incredibly (but only if you don't know who we're talking about), Bret Bielema chose Clay for the entire second half; Ball may as well have beaten the traffic home after halftime. Bielema must be proud of himself.

We may want to check Mr. Tolzien for a concussion as well. No, seriously, this looks really bad, like a Mortal Kombat finishing move.

3) The frailty of Scott Tolzein: Bucky's Fifth Quarter chalks the implosion of Wisconsin's offense up to Bielema's--ahem--debatable decision to insert Curt Phillips in at quarterback with the Badgers holding a 10-3 lead:

Holding a 10-3 lead (and the momentum) in the second quarter, UW took over at their own 26-yard line having just completed a 92-yard touchdown drive in which Scott Tolzien coverted 5-of-6 passing attempts for 67 yards. It appeared as if Tolzien had successfully rebounded from a shaky start at Ohio State last week, but in a shocking move, back-up quarterback Curt Phillips replaced Tolzien at quarterback and the UW offense went three-and-out for the first time all day.

Tolzien played from that point on, but the only time Wisconsin even got a whiff of the redzone was when the defense forced a turnover at the Iowa 25-yard line. Wisconsin didn't score a point there either.

If one series of giving a backup some snaps (a stupid decision, even as Wisconsin came within a yard of converting a first down) is all it takes to shake Tolzien's poise, that's not a good sign. Nonetheless, here comes another split:

Pre-substitution: 7-9, 80 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 3 first downs (and one easy pass that bounced off a wide open Maurice Moore's hands in the end zone; Wisconsin would score on the next snap)
Post-substitution: 8-16, 63 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 3 first downs

That, sir, is a certified BITCHMAKING, and those gentlemen with puffy eyes are Austen Arnaud, Matt Scott, Daryll Clark, and Tate Forcier. They'd like to share their stories about how Iowa's defense ruined their day with you too.

4) The frailty at tight end: Tony Moeaki would be the most injury-fucked Iowa player in Ferentz's Iowa career--by a wide margin, even--if it weren't for fellow Wheaton-Warrenville alumnus Dace Richardson, both of whom are experiencing a wholly unlikely resurgence in this, their senior season. Moeaki is back and delivering the ass-kicking everybody expected for the last four years or so, recording his third touchdown in two weeks with a scintillating 24-yard reception (you can pretty much end the video after that, as the highlights are marred by excessive fan-woofing).

Meanwhile, Wisconsin was further hampered after their own weapon at TE, Garrett Graham, suffered his own game-ending injury with a concussion (again, one that we hope Bielema or any other college coach would treat with a month off). In that second half, the Badgers really had no chance, even as they led coming out of the break with the ball. Missing their best tailback and super-talented tight end? Who can bounce back from that? OH HO HO, WAIT A SECOND...

5) The mental frailty missing from the Iowa Hawkeyes, from the top down: For as much as Wisconsin's success depended on the health of Clay and consistency from Tolzien or smart calls from Bielema, Iowa never wavered, never panicked, never abandoned the aspects of their gameplan--well, unless we're talking about going for it on the 31-yard line. Let's keep going to Daniel Murray on that one, shall we?

The first and only picture we've ever saved as "awesome.jpg."

As has been pointed out by multiple members of our community, Iowa has an unshaking resiliency that has carried them this far through the season, whether it be from Ferentz not panicking in his gameplan (even ARRGH ARRGH ARRGH running Wegher on first down when we all know it means 2nd and 12), Ricky Stanzi not letting his STANZIBALLs get to him, or the defensive front seven not giving up after 20 minutes of pure Wisconsin beatdown in the rushing game (and let's be honest, that's what it was). But Iowa brings it for 60 minutes, six seconds of hell at a time, and nobody this season has stood up to the Hawkeyes and dished it back in greater amounts...yet.

There are five games between here and 12-0. The second-toughest remaining game looms this week. If Iowa wins, you absolutely must be on board with where this season's headed.

It's a strange situation, one in which a decidedly strong team have worked their way into a national championship scene that isn't ready for them (and probably vice versa) this season. Is Iowa's hold on the Top 10 frail? Perhaps, but not relative to the rest of the Big Ten.

Decidely unfrail, flu be damned.

Photo credits: The Iowa City Press-Citizen and Cedar Rapids Gazette

Grading out the Badgers: A midterm report card

Adam Hoge — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:49:08 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

The fire under Bret Bielema's seat has cooled down a bit this season, but he, his coaching staff and team could still grade out better . (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

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With six games in the book, it's amazing that we are already halfway through the 2009 regular season schedule. At 5-1, it's safe to say the Badgers are playing a little bit above expectations, but one could easily argue they still have a lot to improve on.

Wisconsin's six opponents are a combined 18-15 so far this season, which is not a bad number when you consider its opponents have played tough schedules (Fresno State lost to two Top-15 schools, Minnesota lost to California and Ohio State lost to USC).

If the Badgers can get by Iowa this weekend, an 11-1 regular season record would not be out of the question with the remaining schedule. Not including the Hawkeyes, UW's remaining opponents are only 14-15. But if that is going to happen, UW will have to improve in some areas.

Here's a unit-by-unit report card for the first half of the season:

Quarterback - B

Scott Tolzien has yet to give himself an "A" performance this season even though I might have after a couple of his efforts. He's at least been a B+ at home and more like a C+ on the road, but when you consider the prospects for UW's quarterbacks coming into the season, it's hard not to give a B grade here. Wisconsin is still only ranked seventh in passing in the Big Ten, but Tolzien still ranks third in passing effeciency with a 139.60 rating.

Running back - B

Expectations for running backs at Wisconsin have gotten so high that most fans would be shocked to know UW leads the conference rushing despite it being a struggle at times this season. John Clay is the conference's leading running back (106.8 yards per game) and has only started one game. When's the last time that happened?

Still, fumbling has been a problem and while Clay came up big with a 72-yard touchdown run at Fresno State and singlehandedly took over the second half of the Minnesota game, the rushing attack could still be more consistent.

Receivers - C+

Don't get me wrong, the receivers have improved and while a tight end (Garrett Graham) still leads the team in catches and touchdowns, Nick Toon leads the team in receiving yards (322) and averages 53 yards per game. But the reality is that UW's receivers are still not great. They only have three touchdowns on the season and Issac Anderson hasn't caught a touchdown pass since the first offensive play of the season when he caught an 80-yard bomb from Tolzien. David Gilreath, Maurice Moore and Kyle Jefferson have a combined 13 catches.

Tight ends - A-

What more can you ask for from Garrett Graham? With 27 catches, he ranks third in the nation for catches among tight ends (the leaders have 28) and he has four touchdowns on the year, including three in one game. Meanwhile, Lance Kendricks is fourth on the team in receptions and has two touchdowns himself. That's right, UW's tight ends have double the touchdowns than the receivers. What's new?

Offensive line - B-

Roughed up by injuries, the line has been better, but still inconsistent. Ohio State called the UW offense line "the best we've seen all year" and that included USC. But that was before the game. Tolzien was sacked six times, and while the line had only given up two sacks all year in its first five games, the reality is that it really hadn't been tested yet. The return of John Moffitt helped the running game, but in the first four games, John Clay and Zach Brown found few holes to run through.

Defensive line - B+

O'Brien Schofield continues to perform like an All-American. That's right, I said it. He leads the country in tackles for loss with 14.5 and is twelfth in sacks with 6.5. His TFLs add up to 74 yards lost. That's 12 yards more than David Gilreath has accumulated on all his end-around rushes combined this season. After a hot start, J.J. Watt has cooled off a bit, but he, Dan Moore, Patrick Butrym and Louis Nzegwu have all been key contributors this season.

Linebackers - B

The linebackers have been solid all season. None of them will be first-team All-Big Ten, but you can't complain about the performances of Mike Taylor, Jaevery McFadden and Culmer St. Jean. They certainly haven't made any major mistakes. And you have to be happy that redshirt freshman Taylor leads the team with 43 tackles and has contributed 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack and an interception.

Defensive backs - C-

This would be a "D" if were not for free safety Chris Maragos' 28 tackles, three TFLs, one sack and three interceptions. Otherwise, Jay Valai has made no one miss Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant, who were kicked off the team in August, but the cornerbacks have not been good.

Who would have thought sophomore Aaron Henry would have zero interceptions and only three pass break-ups halfway through the season? All four cornerbacks have been beat deep and given up touchdowns they could have stopped with easy fundamentals. For the most part -- save the first half against Fresno State -- the corners have put together solid games. Unfortunately, they consistently give up two or three big plays a game that put the entire team in a hole or allow the other team to dig out of one.

Special teams - D

Here's a trivia question for you. How many total yards does David Gilreath have on punt returns this season? The answer? An astonishingly low 29 yards on seven returns. That's 4.1 yards per return. And seven returns is also a low number because he has played head games with himself all season long, calling fair catches in situations where he could have returned the punt and not called a fair catch in situations where he should have.

Meanwhile, Bret Bielema replaced Gilreath on kick returns -- where he is actually averaging an OK 21.5 yards per return -- instead of on punt returns. Bielema's coverage teams have not been good either. While UW's punt coverage team ranks a very average 51st in the country, its kickoff coverage team ranks 120th out of 130 FBS teams, giving up 26.28 yards per return. Maybe its finally time the head coach gives up his special teams duties.

Coaching - B-

There's no question the players bought into a new mindset this offseason that encouraged focus, physicality and commitment. But UW is still averaging six penalties per game (No. 42 in the country) and that is costing them 52.5 yards per game.

The game plans have been better this year, but there is still a void in execution (see Ohio State game). Baby steps, my friends.

An early guess at the offensive depth chart

Adam Hoge — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:21:17 -0000

Catch the The 5th Quarter Radio Show Monday night at 7 PM CT right here. We will wrap up the 2009 Schedule Tour by breaking down the Northwestern Wildcats and the Hawaii Warriors. Jay from Lake the Posts and Mark Carman from WGN Radio 720 in Chicago will join us to talk about the Kitty Cats.

Eric and I will also have the latest from Fall Camp and we'll check in with our Badger Insider, Ben Worgull from BadgerNation.com.

Don't miss it. 7 PM!!

The official two-deep for the Northern Illinois game will be announced Wednesday, but so much information about the offense has come out of camp in the last week that we can make an educational guess at what it will look like.

Here's an early stab at it:

Quarterback
Curt Phillips, Fr.
Scott Tolzien, Jr.

We still don't know who the starter will be, but we know senior Dustin Sherer has fallen behind Phillips and Tolzien. Phillips didn't exactly end the week on a high note. He struggled in Saturday's scrimmage and didn't look good when I was at practice Thursday. Tolzien still has a realistic chance at winning the job, but I'm sticking with Phillips.

Running back
Zach Brown, Jr.
John Clay, So.
Montee Ball, Fr.

Brown leapfrogged Clay in practice last week, which is by far the biggest shocker of fall camp. But it's important to realize that this happened because Brown has worked incredibly hard all summer and simply wants the job more than any of the other backs. Clay still looks like a star and the fact that Brown passed him only means that UW is packing the best backfield in the conference. Ball looks like a future star too and he will play this season.

Wide receiver - Z
Issac Anderson, Jr.
Kraig Appleton, Fr.
Kyle Jefferson, Jr.

Wide receiver - X
Nick Toon, So.
David Gilreath, Jr.

I'm going out on a limb a little bit by saying Appleton will be the back-up, but when I saw him last week in person he played great and he just looks like a receiver out there. The bottom line here is that a lot of receivers are going to get a lot of reps. Don't forget about Maurice Moore and T.J. Theus. Freshman Jeff Duckworth will likely redshirt.

Tight end
Garrett Graham, Sr.
Lance Kendricks, Jr.

Mickey Turner is still a tight end, but he will lineup as a fullback most of the time.

Left tackle
Gabe Carimi, Jr.
Ricky Wagner, Fr.

Carimi is still nursing an injury, but he should be ready for the opener and no one is unseating UW's best offensive lineman.

Left guard
Jake Bscherer, Jr.
Jake Current, So.

Center
Travis Frederick, Fr.
John Moffitt, Jr.

No one has had a better inaugural camp than Travis Frederick who has had to do a little bit of everything since coming on campus early in the spring. The true freshman's ability has been more reliable than the status of Moffitt who has missed all of camp with a shoulder injury. It's a stretch, but he could start.

Right guard
Bill Nagy, Jr.
Kevin Zeitler, So.

Nagy's status is still questionable right now as well. Like Moffitt, Nagy has missed all of camp as well. Still Zeitler hasn't impressed like Frederick and Nagy should be back in time for the opener.

Right tackle
Josh Oglesby, So.
Peter Konz, Fr.

Day 10 recap: Phillips appears to be No. 1 QB

Adam Hoge — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:42:52 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Dustin Sherer (18) had a good day Thursday, but it appears he's been passed by Curt Phillips as UW's starting quarterback. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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MADISON, Wis. - While nothing is official, based on what I saw at practice Thursday -- and from what I heard from numerous sources earlier this week -- Curt Phillips appears to have passed Dustin Sherer as UW's starting quarterback.

A starter for the season opener won't be named until Wednesday, but by my count Phillips took 61 percent of the snaps during the final portion of Thursday's practice. Meanwhile, Sherer took less snaps than junior quarterback Scott Tolzien who seems like an afterthought for the starting job.

But despite the number of snaps given to Phillips, it was Sherer that looked like the sharper quarterback on this day. Sherer was 3-for-5 in the late portion of practice including a nice touchdown pass to Maurice Moore on a play action fake inside the 10-yard line. Earlier in practice, Sherer completed a 40+ yard pass to Issac Anderson down the left sideline.

Meanwhile, Phillips was only 2-for-8 in the 11-on-11 portion of practice and was sacked five times (although the sacks are always arguable because the defense can't hit the quarterback). The redshirt freshman was a part of our play of the day, however.

After fumbling the ball on a dropback, Phillips rebounded on the next play with a nice touchdown pass to freshman Kraig Appleton while dodging heavy pressure. Credit has to be given to running back Erik Smith who blocked two blitzers on the play allowing Phillips to get the pass off.

Just to be clear, it's entirely possible that Sherer is still the No. 1 quarterback, but based on my conversations with other members of the Badger media, Sherer's number of reps has decreased all week and today was no exception. He had a good day Thursday -- while Phillips struggled -- but I wouldn't be surprised if the competition is already over with Phillips as the starter and Scott Tolzien as the backup.

Player of the day: Adam Hampton. On a day lacking big plays and standout performances, Adam Hampton, the younger brother of former Badger Zach Hampton, had two nice interceptions, including one off of Phillips that he returned for a touchdown.

Practice schedule: The Badgers return tomorrow for the fourth day of two-a-days. The morning session gets underway at 9:30 a.m. and the night practice starts at 7:40 p.m. The Big Ten Network will be on hand during the morning practice and they will air their 90-minute Badger practice report at 9 p.m. CT Friday night.