SB Nation - Lance Kendricks

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)

View full size photo »

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

Monday Film Session: The wide receiver "pick" play

Adam Hoge — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:21:38 -0000

More photos » by Tom Strattman - AP

Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland (44) graded out well after UW's 31-28 win over Indiana. How did the rest of his team do? (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

Browse more photos »

Don't look now, but after the UW offense failed to score a touchdown in two straight losses against Ohio State and Iowa, the Badgers have responded well with a total of 68 points in two straight wins over Purdue and Indiana.

Still, while the points and yards continue to pile up on that side of the ball, there have been a few red flags. For instance, Saturday against Indiana, the only ones who could stop the UW offense was the UW offense itself.

After going back and reviewing the film from Saturday, two sequences of events in the first half stood out as Wisconsin left at least 7 points on the board in the first 30 minutes of play.

The first came when Wisconsin had a 10-7 lead at the start of the second quarter and a first and 10 at the IU 1-yard line. Like we have oddly seen before this season, Paul Chryst called a passing play on first down and the intended pass for Garrett Graham fell incomplete after being tipped at the line of scrimmage. On second down, Scott Tolzien fell down after his feet got tangled with center Peter Konz and on third down Issac Anderson was flagged for offensive pass interference (more on this in a minute), which wiped out a touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks. Wisconsin settled for a field goal, leaving four points off the scoreboard.

On UW's last drive of the half, Tolzien rolled out to his right and hit a wide open Garrett Graham down the field at the 25 yard line. The only problem? Graham started running before he secured the football and he dropped it for an incomplete pass. The completion would have at least put UW in field goal range, but it's very possible Graham could have scored on the play. He was that open.

All in all, UW left at least 7 points (maybe 10) off the scoreboard in the first half. To make matters worse, after Graham's drop, Anderson dropped one on third down that would have kept the drive going. Instead, IU went 80 yards and scored a touchdown. Now, to their credit, the Badgers managed to come back with a touchdown of their own before the half was over, but they could have been up as much as 34-14 at the half, instead of only 24-14.

Now, let's go back to the questionable pass interference call on Anderson on the first missed opportunity. This was very simply just a bad call. And I'll show you why.

If you look at the tape, Issac Anderson picks his own guy. The whole definition of the illegal "pick" play, is that while running a crossing route, you make contact with the defender covering your teammate, creating space for your teammate to catch the pass. Let's take a look at the tape:

Anderson is lined up at the top of your screen and is covered by cornerback Adrian Burks. Strong safety Austin Thomas is covering Kendricks.

Here's how the play unfolds:

Anderson simply runs forward and jams with the corner covering him. In no way is he "picking" the guy who is covering Kendricks. Now you can argue that IU was in a zone and Burks was going to go out to cover Kendricks, but at this point he has made no attempt to move towards the sideline and Thomas appears to be trying to go behind Burks the entire play. This is a mix up in coverage, not offensive pass interference.

Understandably, Anderson and Bielema weren't too happy about the call. After looking at the rest of the game film, they probably weren't too happy that Indiana got away with an actual pick play later in the game on their first touchdown of the second half.

Here's how the illegal pick play is actually run (and when offensive pass interference should be called):

Belcher is the wide receiver lined up to the outside, while Terrance Turner is in the slot. Belcher is going to run inside and pick free safety Chris Maragos who is covering Turner. Turner then runs an out-route underneath. Here's how the play unfolds:

As you can see, Belcher clearly runs into Maragos as Turner begins his cut to the sideline where he is wide open for the touchdown.

If the officials are going to be "picky" and call the pass inteference on UW when they shouldn't have, then they could at least be consistent with the call. Of course, it wasn't same official on that side of the field.

After watching the rest of the film, here's how I grade out the Badgers after their 31-28 win over Indiana:

Quarterback: B+
Scott Tolzien's numbers weren't fantastic (11-of-20 for 194 yards and one touchdown), but Graham and Anderson each dropped wide open passes and I thought he did a great job of managing the game. He didn't turn the ball over and he made great decisions all day long, specifically on his touchdown pass when he passed on a wide open Garrett Graham who was open right in front of him and went to Anderson instead, who was open in the end zone for the score.

Running backs: A+
267 yards, three touchdowns and no fumbles. It can't get much better than that. John Clay continued to dominate the Big Ten with 134 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries before a head injury put Montee Ball in the rest of the way. All Ball did was pick up 115 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and take over the final drive of the game to run out the clock and secure the win.

Wide receivers: B
Nick Toon was outstanding with five catches for 123 yards. Four of those catches came on crucial third downs, including a 17-yard gain on 3rd and 8 with 2:28 remaining in the game. Anderson had a good game with three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, but his drop on third down late in the second quarter killed UW's momentum and put the ball in the hands of Ben Chappell who marched down the field in only three plays to keep IU in the game before halftime.

Tight ends: D
The blocking was fine, but Graham was virtually invisible in the passing game and dropped a pass on what could have been a 50-yard touchdown play in the second quarter. Kendricks caught one pass for seven yards and had a touchdown wiped out on the "pick play".

Offensive line: A
The run blocking was beautiful all day long, exemplified on John Moffitt's key block in the first quarter that sprung John Clay on a 47-yard run into IU territory. The line didn't allow a sack and Jake Bscherer actually made the line better when he came in for Josh Oglesby after the right tackle went down with an apparent left knee injury with 8:18 left in the second quarter. You have to feel for Oglesby because you could hear him scream on television when the injury happened, but he was struggling against Jamie Kirlew and Bscherer shut the talented defensive end down the rest of the game.

Defensive line: C
The run defense was stout, only allowing 2.4 yards per carry, but the line didn't put much pressure on Chappell who was able to pick apart the secondary for 323 yards and three touchdowns while completing 25-of-35 passes. O'Brien Schofield still managed two TFLs and he forced an interception when he hit Chappell on a throw in the third quarter. He didn't get much help from his fellow linemates, however.

Linebackers: B+
Chris Borland gets an A as the true freshman continues to play like a veteran out there. He led the team with nine tackles, added an interception and a TFL, while his blitzes wreaked havoc all day. Blake Sorensen got a good amount of reps at middle linebacker and he played well with five tackles, although he gave up a big pass play in the second half when he went for the ball instead of playing the man.

Cornerbacks: C-
Niles Brinkley continued to struggle, most notably on Indiana's touchdown late in the second quarter when he gave up a 33-yard pass to Terrance Turner and then two plays later gave up a 46-yard touchdown to Tandon Doss. Devin Smith played very well although he gave up a few tough plays on IU's final scoring drive. Antonio Fenelus was the nickel corner and looked average at best. Aaron Henry was nowhere to be seen and practiced at free safety during the week.

Safeties: C
Chris Maragos made a nice interception on underneath coverage, but both he and Valai looked confused at times in zone coverage. Both of them were having communication problems with the cornerbacks, specifically Valai and Brinkley who were caught covering the same guy a few times while the other receiver was busy catching the pass.

Special teams: D
Bret Bielema's unit continues to underachieve. The head coach's stubborness with David Gilreath cost the Badgers a touchdown in the first quarter when No. 85 muffed the punt at the 12 yard line. Gilreath should have lost his return job weeks ago, but Bielema still had him in there later in the game. Ironically, Borland had the best return of the day, a 32-yarder late in the second quarter that set Wisconsin up for a touchdown before halftime.

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)

Browse more photos »

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

Recap of Week 9 in the Big 10: Bob Davie is the New Pam Ward, Stanziballs, Purdue Drops

grahamfiller10 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:15:25 -0000

Iowa 42, Indiana 24

Bob Davie is the new Pam Ward, an announcer whose voice and comments make me want to implode. Bob was at his best Saturday, playing up the old "aw shucks, I don't have any idea what's going on" persona. Some lowlights:

Referring to Adrian Clayborn as "Adam Clayborn" about 5 times.
Davie flipped his lid after the late Stanzi touchdowns. "Some quarterbacks would have literally, literally gone back in the lockerrom, but Stanzi came out here and made plays," Davie commented incorrectly, as I have never ever seen a quarterback go sit in the lockerrom out of pure frustration.
"3-3, 177 yards is an unbelievable 4th quarter, that's 41 yards per reception!" Wrong.
"Who would have believed that Ricky Stanzi would be 3-3 for 177 yards in the fourth quarter? Who?" Davie's partner is silent, confused, probably embarrassed.

Terrelle Pryor had a tremendously bad third quarter against Purdue, throwing two picks and leading the Bucks to -7 yards. Ricky Stanzi had a much worst third quarter, whipping one unbelievably bad pick after another into the confused Indiana secondary. People at my gym were watching the game in disbelief, pointing at Stanzi and whispering excitedly like schoolgirls. Weird, weird times.

I love scoring clutch TD's, I love scoring clutch TD's...

The Hoosiers refuse to finish games after starting out like a house of fire against Michigan, NW, and Iowa. What gives? Two main reasons are behind this. First, the Hoosiers offense is built on clever misdirection passes from the Pistol formation, which allows them to succeed even with a little less talent on the offensive side of the ball. Once defenses get accustomed to the fakes and short passes, Indiana's offensive options become limited. Second, the Hoosiers secondary isn't very talented. When teams have to throw, this unit tends to break down.

Here's a fun Hoosier statistic:

First Half Points v. Michigan: 23...Second Half Points v. Michigan: 10

First Half Points v. NW: 28...Second Half Points v. NW: 0

First Half Points v. Iowa: 21...Second Half Points v. Iowa: 3

Minnesota 42, Michigan State 34

I still think I was right in calling for Weber to be benched in favor of Gray. Wait, what's that? 416 passing yards and 5 touchdowns?

Michigan State's 4-5 record serves as a constant reminder that 1) you should never ever gamble using my advice and 2) Pat Narduzzi's secondary is probably the most embattled unit in the entire Big Ten.

McKnight, Tow-Arnett, and Green stepped up with big time catches at a time when no one expected them to. Odd how the loss of Decker brought out the best in that young group. There's going to be a pitched battle between Andrew Quarless and Tow-Arnett for 2nd team All-Big 10 tight end.

Wisconsin 37, Purdue 0

Worst game of Hope's year, worse than the 7 turnover performance against Northwestern. There was no creativity, no run game, no toughness.

Worst case of the drops I have ever seen and I mean that. I'm guessing 8 drops by the receivers. Carlos, Smith, Valentin...Elliot's 5-23 performance probably could have been 15-23 or so.

Apparently the key to stopping Wisconsin...is exactly the same as it was the last 10 years. Slow the run game early and force the quarterback to throw into coverage. In Big Ten play, Clay has averaged 150 ypg rushing in wins, 67 ypg in losses. Purdue couldn't budge the Wisconsin line, averaging 320 lbs, and the Badgers picked up 266 yards on the ground.

Lance Kendricks: 4 carries, 91 yards, mostly on end arounds that kept Purdue off balance.

Illinois 38, Michigan 13

Big plays all day baby. I predicted Illinois didn't have the firepower to gash Michigan like everyone else has this year. I was wrong. The Illini has plays of 79, 70, 36, 35, 28, 27, 26, 22, 23 on their way to 500 total yards. The UM secondary was out of place on most of the zone reads and lacked the quickness to at least mitigate damage.

Michigan is a year away, just as we predicted at the start of this season. The biggest issue for RichRod and the coaches to work with Tate this offseason? Getting rid of the ball and taking care of the ball. Tate fumbled three times, and not even while taking big hits.

I am off the opinion that Denard Robinson and top recruit Devin Gardner are the future of this spread.

It was 31-13 with 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter - Michigan had the ball inside the Illinois 20, 4th and 6. Instead of kicking the field goal to turn it into a 2 possession game, RichRod decided to go for it. The pass failed and the game was over. Just some bad game management.

A Little Rest Does a Badger Good: Wisconsin Shuts-out Purdue, 37-0

hmlee — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:08:42 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

Browse more photos »

Well now that's more like it. I do enjoy starting my Saturday off with a completely dominating victory by the Wisconsin Badgers. Granted, it was against the Purdue Boilermakers - not exactly the class of the Big 10 this season - but after the way the Badgers have been playing the last few weeks, it was quite satisfying.

It seems as though Wisconsin's bye week came at exactly the right time this year. Like my Badgers, I also took some rest and relaxation time, returning to the dairy state to visit family and escape the grind of the midpoint of the law school semester. It seems as though this time in the college football season has much in common with my 1L year. The Badgers and I both came out of the gate strong - staying on top of non-con foes and contracts readings. But both of us stumbled a bit through the meat of the conference schedule and midterms, staggering into this past week just hoping for a break and a time to catch our breaths. While Bucky rested up from concussions and contusions I too had an injury break - seriously, that carpal tunnel is a bitch.

Of course, it did help the newly rejuvenated Badgers that the Purdue team that showed up at Camp Randall looked more like the Boilermakers of the beginning of the season than the team that stunned Ohio State and rolled over Illinois. Purdue's offense once again lost the turnover battle, losing two fumbles and tossing one INT to Wisconsin's single garbage time interception. This alone would seem to be a significant hurdle for Purdue to climb, but unfortunately for them, it was also accompanied by a rash of drops among their receiving core. I don't have a total of the number of balls that bounced off their buttery fingers, but it seemed that any time Purdue got a bit offensive momentum, they were undone by a receiver forced incompletion. This had the effect of killing most of their drives before they even got started. Some of these incompletes were due to the aggressive and solid play of the Wisconsin D, who showed great coverage, especially in the secondary. The efforts of the secondary kept Purdue from making big plays - their longest pass play went for only 16 yards, and the linebacker Culmer St. Jean seemed to be tackling guys all over the field.

In fact, with one notable exception, almost everything about this game was positive, and I can't recall a recent conference game that has been quite as fun to watch as this one.

More about that exception as well as my takes on the great, the good, and the mediocre after the jump...

Graham takes a look at the defenses in the Big 10...

My week 7 recap of the Iowa travesty...

My Bucky the Badger pumpkin wishes you a happy Halloween!

As I said above, there really was not much, if anything, bad about the play of Wisconsin this game. So, instead of going with the tried and true (and some might say cliche) break down of the good, the bad, and the ugly, I'll be bringing you an edition of the great, the good, and the medicore.

The Great:

John Clay: Big, bad John Clay is baaack, and I am quite happy to see him return from the bye in apparently good health. Clay took a huge hit in the Iowa game two weeks ago and completely lost effectiveness during that game's second half. He suffered some sort of leg injury and I feared that he might have been out for a few games or done for the season. Instead, Clay rolled over Purdue's run defense for a total of 123 yards and 3 TDs. He, along with Philip Welch, was the entirety of the Badger offense today. If Clay keeps this rate of production up against Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, and Hawaii he should easily surpass 1,000 yards and may make it into the upper teens in TDs. Those would be very nice stats from a guy who wasn't even the sole running back going into the season.

The defense: The young Badger defense, which had been plagued by inconsistency of late, giving up twice as many second half points as first half points during their last two games, stepped up today and showed why they should be feared in the conference for the next several years. I touched on the play of the secondary above, but really, the entirety of the defense played well. They had a consistent pass rush on Joey Elliot, and managed to contain Ralph Bolden to only 37 yards on 10 carries. And what's more, they managed to not fold in the second half as they have done several times before this season, preserving the shutout. They started strong and finished strong, which is what I want to see out of them on a weekly basis.

The Good:

Philip Welch: Welch has been struggling lately so it was good to see him post another perfect game. Welch made three field goals, for 22, 32, and 42 yards as well as four extra points. Welch was sporting spiffy new black socks today and I say, if a wardrobe change is what it takes for our kicker to be consistent, then lets just have him wear whatever color socks he wants. Red socks? Black socks? Those rainbow socks with the cute little toe thingies? Fine by me! Wisconsin is a very good team when it comes to scoring in the red zone, but for the times when the offense fails to punch it in, we need our kicker to be able to make the chip shots and ensure points on the board. Hopefully Welch will continue playing like he did today for the rest of the season.

Lance Kendricks: Kendricks had a solid game at tight end today, even despite the lack of a Badgers passing game. Kendricks was brought into the run game and managed 91 yards on 4 carries, with his longest being a brusing 51 yarder. Wisconsin has always had a great tight end team between Garrett Graham and Kendricks, but it was heartening to see him make an impact even when Tolzien was pretty much a non-entity.

Special teams: I have a bone to pick with part of the special teams below, but I would like to mention the blocked punt by David Gilbert which was returned into the end zone for a touch down by Aaron Henry. This turned a 17-0 advantage into a 24-0 pounding going into the half. It's good to see all units of the team keep up the pressure and grind their opponents down instead of letting them make adjustments and get back into the game.

The Mediocre:

Scott Tolzien: I have been one of the bigger Scott Tolzien bosoters in the blog world, but his play the last few weeks has been on the bad side of medicore. Coming into this game he had five interceptions and no TD passes in the last two weeks, an alarming change from his 9-3 TD-INT ratio through the first five games of the season. Well, he didn't throw any interceptions today... but that was largely because the coaching staff decided to take the ball out of his hands. He threw only 13 times with six completions for 87 yards, no TDs, and no INTs. On the one hand, I feel a bit bad about quibbling with this decision when it seems to have led to the shutout win. On the other hand, I wonder if Tolzien's confidence hadn't taken a hit in the last two games, and it might have been nice for him to throw a TD or at least triple digit yardage coming off the bye. Hopefully Tolzien can regain his confidence and performance levels from the start of the season and help carry the Badgers to a bowl victory this year.

Special teams punt returning: David Gilreath, I'm looking at you. Gilreath had one or two good punt returns when the Badgers were already up by 24, but he made a completely inexcusable decision on the first punt return of the day, when Wisconsin was only up by 7. Gilreath caught the ball at the 5 and then somehow managed to run sideways and backwards for a loss of 2 to pin Wisconsin on the 3 yard line. This has been going on all season and it has got to stop. I don't know whether we need a different return man or an actual special teams coach, but something needs to change. Wisconsin cannot keep getting hamstrung by its own return game if it expects to contend at the top of the Big 10 or in bowl games.

Those two issues aside, Bucky played a solid game today and looked like the 5-0 team from the start of the season instead of the 0-2 team from the last few weeks. I'll conclude this wrap-up with wishes for an awesome and safe halloween for everyone up in Madison (I wish I was there!) See you next week and...

On to the Hoosiers, On to 7-2, and ON WISCONSIN!!!

Badgers pass test, shutout Boilermakers

Adam Hoge — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:05:03 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

Wisconsin defensive lineman David Gilbert (11) leaps over the Purdue wall to block a punt by Purdue kicker Chris Summers (13) during the Badgers 37-0 win Saturday. Aaron Henry picked up the ball and scored on the play. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

Browse more photos »

If Saturday's game against Purdue was considered a test to see if this year's group could handle adversity better than last year's team, then the Badgers passed the test with flying colors.

Behind 381 total yards and a stellar performance by the defense, the Badgers shutout Purdue 37-0 at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday afternoon.

UW outplayed the Boilermakers in every facet of the game, running for 226 yards, holding a good Big Ten offense to only 141 total yards and even adding a special teams touchdown.

More importantly, the Badgers did not turn the ball over until the game was well out of reach and they did not make any silly mistakes. Wisconsin left that up to the away team, which dropped at least seven passes in the game.

Saturday appeared to be a fork in the road for this year's team and maybe even Bret Bielema's program. The win puts Wisconsin in prime position for a 5-0 regular season finish with a bright future for next season, while a loss would have brought out many of the demons that bothered the Badgers last season when they finished 7-6.

Not only did Wisconsin pick the right road, it did so in inconvincing fashion with its first shutout since Sept. 2006 when the Badgers shutout San Diego State 14-0.

Bielema has talked about a return to Wisconsin football all season long and the first quarter certainly looked like old-fashioned, pound-it-out Wisconsin football when UW ran the ball on 11-straight plays to go ahead 7-0 on a 1-yard touchdown run by John Clay.

"It a beginning," Bielema said in regards of returning to Wisconsin football. "We've made strides. We're a good football team."

Clay, who finished with three touchdowns and 123 yards on 23 carries, added his second touchdown run in the second quarter to put UW on top 17-0. And if fans were worried about the Badgers surrendering the lead like it did against Ohio State and Iowa, true freshman David Gilbert ended those chances when he leaped over three blockers to block a punt on Purdue's next possession. Aaron Henry scooped the ball up and scored to put Wisconsin on top 24-0.

"Happy 18th birthday. Today was [Gilbert's] 18th birthday. It's kind of amazing," Bielema said. "David looked at me right before that play and said, 'Coach, can I jump this one?' And I said, 'Absolutely. Knock yourself out.' And he did ... Unbelievable play."

It was the first time all season the Badgers seemingly executed their gameplan to perfection. The Boilermakers never had an answer for Paul Chryst's persistent end-arounds. Lance Kendricks gained 91 yards on four end-arounds, including a 54-yard gain on a play where he stiff-armed Purdue linebacker Joe Holland and sent him flying to the ground.

Purdue had a chance to score their first points of the game late in the fourth quarter, but J.J. Watt knocked down Caleb TerBush's pass on 4th and goal to perserve the shutout.

"I'll tell you what fellas. We're a good football team now," Bielema said. "We're all sophomores and freshmen. We got a couple of really good seniors giving us great leadership, but our youth and the ability that they have is very, very good."

It appears Bielema is right. Going into Saturday's game it felt like either way the Badgers were show their true identity. Badger fans should be pleased, because it looks like Wisconsin has a realistic shot at finishing 10-2 and heading to their fifth New Year's Day Bowl game in six years.

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

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)

Browse more photos »

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.

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

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

More photos » by Paul Battaglia - AP

Browse more photos »

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

Browse more photos »

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!!