My thoughts on the Alabama game

It has been nearly a week since Wisconsin opened its 2015 season with a 35-17 loss to Alabama and reading around the web, you'd think the Badgers had lost to Florida A&M. Even talking heads such as Tom Dienhart from the Big Ten Network gave the Badgers a grade of a "D" for their performance against the Crimson Tide. Hell, he even gave a higher grade to Indiana, which barely beat the mighty Southern Illinois Salukis last week. Despite an 18-point loss, there were plenty of positives from the game. Obviously, there are things the Badgers will have to work on, but plenty of good things came from this game.

I'll start out with the negatives from the game because of the chicken littles came out in full force after the game. First of all, the offensive line play was obviously not very good in run blocking. However, that is to be fully expected considering the unit has three new starters and has had to battle through constant injuries throughout the offseason and has very little chemistry. It does not help that the makeshift offensive line had to go up against arguably the best front seven in all of college football in the opener. However, the offensive line will only improve as the season goes on. The chemistry will only improve each week. Last year, Ohio State's offensive line looked terrible early in the season, especially in the loss to Virginia Tech, but by the end of the season ended up as one of the best units in the nation. I am not saying Wisconsin's offensive line will improve to be one of the top units in college football, but I think that the Badgers will end up with one of the better offensive lines in the Big Ten once again.

Wisconsin also struggled with defending the run. Alabama's Derrick Henry rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries. That's the bad news. The good news is that the Badgers will not face a running back or offensive line as good as Alabama's until Indianapolis against Ohio State if the Badgers were to win the Big Ten West. One of the biggest problems was the tackling. Some of that was bad angles and some was inexperience and just whiffing. The loss of senior captain Michael Caputo really hurt the run defense as he is another man in the box for run defense. Leon Jacobs and T.J. Edwards, the two new inside linebackers, struggled a bit going against the big Alabama offensive line, but they will improve. It also did not help that the Badgers were breaking in a new defensive line.

And finally, Wisconsin struggled defending the middle of the field. The loss of Caputo really hurt. His leadership would have been a huge help for the youngsters in getting players in position. This needs to be corrected in order to make a return trip to Indianapolis.

And now, for the positives from the game and what better way to start it off by mentioning the solid performance by the much-maligned Joel Stave? I basically told everyone who would listen that Stave would have a good season. He made me look pretty smart week one. He looked more confident and accurate. People complained about him not making many throws down the field. He took what the defense gave him. Was he supposed to force the ball downfield to appease you? I liked the fact that he was able to get the running backs involved in the passing game. That had lacked in the Gary Andersen era. Alex Erickson also was impressive. Stave will eventually get Tanner McEvoy involved. I also liked what I saw from Austin Traylor, who had stone hands a season ago.

The Wisconsin outside linebackers may be the best tandem of linebackers in the Big Ten. Vince Biegel was his usual solid self once again and Joe Schobert played great. Schobert played great, even against Alabama All-American tackle Cam Robinson. The outside linebackers are the least of Wisconsin's worries going forward.

Also, the play of the cornerbacks was impressive, especially junior Sojourn Shelton. As a sophomore, Shelton had a major sophomore slump after a solid freshman season. Shelton made some great plays on the ball to break up passes. One play specifically sticks out in the first half when Jacob Coker had a receiver open deep downfield. Shelton, who was initially beaten, recovered to break up the deep pass.

And finally, the coverage teams were fantastic. Alabama averaged less than 12 yards per kick return. Considering all the athletes on Alabama's roster,

I expect to see improvement as the year goes on and it starts tomorrow with a game against Miami of Ohio. The Redhawks are coming off a 26-7 win over Presbyterian, but only led 13-7 after three quarters. Miami has problems in the front seven, so Wisconsin should be able to run the football, no matter who the running back is. If they cannot, then it might be time to start worrying a little bit. But despite an 18-point loss last Saturday, there were plenty of positives for the Badgers.

Flashback Friday: The last time Wisconsin faced Nick Saban

When Wisconsin meets No. 3 Alabama on Saturday, it will mark the first time Wisconsin has played against a Nick Saban coached team since 1999 when the Badgers feasted on Michigan State mistakes to blow out Saban's Spartans 40-10.

It was October 23, 1999, and No. 11 Michigan State came into Camp Randall Stadium a hungry bunch. The Spartans had started 6-0, but were beaten soundly by Drew Brees and Purdue the prior week in West Lafayette 52-28. They had the nation's best rushing defense, allowing just 1.3 yards per carry. The Spartans also had one of the best receivers in college football, Plaxico Burress, who would end up being a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft.

On the other side, Wisconsin came into the season with high expectations. But after rolling over Murray State and Ball State by a combined score of 99-20, Wisconsin was upset by lowly Cincinnati and lost a home date to Michigan in consecutive weeks. After four weeks, Wisconsin was unranked and sitting at 2-2. But there was hope for Wisconsin as freshman Brooks Bollinger, taking over for the injured Scott Kavanagh nearly rallied the Badgers to beat Michigan. The following week, Wisconsin trailed No. 12 Ohio State 17-0 in Columbus before the Badgers scored 42 consecutive points to blast the Buckeyes 42-17 and turn their season around. That win started a nine game winning streak to end the season, including three out of the first four being against ranked opponents. The last of those three games against ranked foes was against the Spartans.

Trying to solve Michigan State's vaunted run defense would be Ron Dayne, who started out a front runner for the Heisman, but after a crucial fumble in the end zone against Cincinnati and disappearing in the second half against Michigan, Dayne's Heisman hopes were fading fast. He rebounded with great games against Ohio State and Indiana before the showdown with the No. 1 rush defense.

Star cornerback Jamar Fletcher had his own issue to worry about: how to slow down Burress. Two weeks prior, Burress had a school-record 255 yards receiving in their 34-31 victory over rival No. 3 Michigan.

Both key matchups were won by Wisconsin in a big way. A big, big way. On Wisconsin's second play from scrimmage, Dayne rumbled for 18 yards, the longest run Michigan State had allowed all season. Two plays after that, Dayne broke loose for a 51 yard touchdown to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead and set the tone for the game. The Great Dayne ended up rushing for 214 yards on 34 carries and added two scores en route to breaking Archie Griffin's Big Ten record for most career rushing yards. As a team, Wisconsin rushed for 301 yards.

While Dayne was running roughshod over Michigan State's defense, Fletcher was locking up the Spartans' All-American wide receiver. Earlier in the week, Fletcher asked to guard Burress. He did not disappoint as Burress only had five receptions for 58 yards and was a complete non-factor. Fletcher also caught two passes of his own, both in Spartans territory setting the Badgers up to add to a big lead.

When the dust settled, Wisconsin rode Dayne to a big win over mistake-prone Michigan State 40-10. That win was the 66th for Barry Alvarez, which made him the all-time winningest coach in Wisconsin football history.

I doubt Wisconsin will have the sort of win tomorrow, but a "W" sure would be nice as the Badgers will play in perhaps their biggest regular season non-conference game ever.