Wisconsin/Michigan review

As a Wisconsin fan, I have been fortunate to not have to witness these types of games often, as the Badgers fell 38-13 to the Michigan Wolverines Saturday night at ‘The Big House.’ It was the worst loss since the 59-0 debacle in the 2014 Big Ten Championship game and the worst regular season loss since a 48-7 loss to Penn State in 2008. The game ended the Badgers 17-game conference winning streak, as well as the 10-game road winning streak. Sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor had a strong performance in defeat, rushing for 101 yards on just 17 carries. But Wisconsin’s keys to the game were to stop the run, control the time of possession and be at least plus-2 in the turnover differential. And Alex Hornibrook needed to be basically flawless. Well, the Badgers held the ball for 22 minutes compared to Michigan’s 38, Michigan ran for 320 yards and nearly seven yards per carry and Bucky was minus-2 in the turnover differential. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Hornibrook had one of his worst games as a Badger, going 7-for-20 for 100 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. They were obliterated in all four of my keys to the game. Incredibly, the young secondary did not play all that poor. Every category outside of rushing yards was terrible for Wisconsin. There were not many positives from this one.

I'd say Taylor and the offensive line were positives, though. Taylor ran for 100 yards once again, and has done so each game so far. The sophomore only ran the ball 17 times for an average of nearly six yards per carry. This is his 16th 100-yard game, which is 11th all-time, tying him with current Philadelphia Eagles running back Corey Clement. He now has 2,927 yards rushing in his career, and now is 486 behind John Clay for 10th place. In total, the Badgers ran the ball for 183 yards and 6.3 yards per carry, which is nearly double what the Wolverines averaged giving up this season (96.5). They also had some success on jet sweeps, getting big gains from Kendric Pryor (33 yards) and Danny Davis (37). The running game was having success, so it is a wonder why the Badgers didn’t do it more.

T.J. Edwards was a monster, registering three tackles for loss, his most tackles for loss since 2.5 in 2017 against both Minnesota and Michigan. He was all over the place for the Badgers. Wisconsin, as a whole, had eight tackles for loss, its most since having nine at Illinois last season. The young secondary actually did not play too poorly. Michigan’s quarterback Shea Patterson was 14-of-21 for 124 yards and had only 5.9 yards per attempt. For all the worries we had going in about this secondary, they were the least of Wisconsin’s concerns. Eric Burrell had 11 tackles, Rachad Wildgoose had five tackles and a pass break-up and Reggie Pearson five tackles, a tackle for loss and forced fumble.

There were plenty of negatives in this one, but Hornibrook will get the top spot for obvious reasons. He completed 7-of-20 passes for just 100 yards with a garbage-time touchdown and two interceptions. Up until the last drive of the game for Wisconsin, the junior quarterback was 3-of-15 for 25 yards and two interceptions. So, yes, he almost threw as many passes to Michigan than Wisconsin until late in the game. Amazingly, he actually started out 3-of-3, but then misfired on his next 12. Somehow, he didn’t complete a pass for nearly three whole quarters. It doesn’t matter if you are playing the No. 1 defense in the country. That is unacceptable. With his 26 career picks, he moved into a tie for 11th all-time in interceptions thrown. In his two games at Michigan Stadium, Wisconsin’s signal caller is 16-of-45 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. They have been his two worst games as a Badger. Fortunately for him and the Badgers, he won’t face any defenses like the one he faced Saturday. They can’t afford to have him play this poorly again. I predict he’ll have a bounce-back performance against Illinois next Saturday.

The run defense was supposed to be the strength. Everybody knew there would be an adjustment period in the secondary, having to replace three starters. But the defense returned nose tackle Olive Sagapolu, inside linebackers T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly and safety D’Cota Dixon, so you’d think the run defense would be a strength. Guess again. Michigan ran for 320 yards, the most rushing yards the Wisconsin defense has allowed since 2005 at Minnesota when it allowed 411. Edwards had a real nice game, but most everybody else in the front seven....not so much. Wisconsin actually did pretty well stopping the run in the first half, outside of Patterson’s 81-yard run early in the second quarter. But then, the undermanned Wisconsin defense wore down in the second half. After that performance, the Badgers dropped down to 69th in rush yards allowed per game (not nice) and 109th in yards per carry (5.0). The run defense has another major test against Illinois next week at Camp Randall.

This is a tough one to swallow, but Wisconsin will hopefully get a few key players back for the meeting with Illinois next Saturday. The kickoff will be at 11 CST and be televised by FS1.