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.