Advertisement

Wisconsin football insider: Why the Badgers are still in good shape in Big Ten West

mark stewart, milwaukee journal sentinel
·4 min read
1

MADISON – A recap of Wisconsin’s 24-10 loss to No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium.

BIG PICTURE

Do you know your Big Ten tie-breakers? You may need to become familiar with them if you care about Wisconsin getting to the Big Ten championship game.

The loss drops the Badgers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) into a four-way tie for first in the Big Ten West with Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. The good news for UW is that Iowa, which beat the Badgers Oct. 14, seems ripe for another loss and Nebraska and Minnesota are upcoming games on the schedule. Barring missteps against Indiana and Northwestern in the next two weeks. UW has a good chance to control its destiny in the division in the coming weeks.

Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen leaves the field after being injured during the second quarter Saturday night against Ohio State.
Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen leaves the field after being injured during the second quarter Saturday night against Ohio State.

THE TURNING POINT

The loss to Braelon Allen was a bad omen for UW

Not only did Wisconsin miss a golden opportunity to reach the end zone at the end of the first half, it lost Braelon Allen for the remainder of the game due to a left injury. The Badgers had a first and goal from the 1 and couldn’t get in. The punch to the gut was quarterback Braedyn Locke’s pass for Skyler Bell on first down that initially appeared to be a touchdown was reviewed and Bell was correctly ruled down at the 1. Allen ran for no gain on second down and was also dropped for no gain on a shovel pass. He needed medical attention after that play and was later ruled out for the game. A prime opportunity to put pressure on the Ohio State fell by the wayside.

WHAT TO KNOW: Wisconsin Badgers running back depth chart after Braelon Allen injury

THUMBS UP

Ricardo Hallman intercepts another pass, Chimere Dike has longest punt return of season, Mike Tressel turns up heat

  • UW stayed in the game in the second half with the help of a couple of third down blitzes that resulted in intentional grounding penalties for Buckeyes QB Kyle McCord. Outside linebacker Darryl Peterson got the first pressure with about 1 minute left in the third quarter. Linebacker Jake Chaney got the second with about 8 minutes to go and UW down, 17-10.

  • Cornerback Ricardo Hallman had a solid performance against All-American receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Hallman broke up a potential touchdown in the first quarter and made a great break on the ball while in zone coverage to intercept a pass to Harrison in the first quarter.

  • Chimere Dike made four people miss on his 35-yard punt return in the first quarter. That was the senior receiver’s longest of the season. He later left the game with a right leg injury.

  • What a hit by end James Thompson Jr. and linebacker Maema Njongmeta on TreVeyon Henderson on Ohio State’s third-and-1 play in the first quarter. The play went for a 1-yard loss.

  • Quarterback Braedyn Locke isn’t as mobile as Tanner Mordecai but throws well on the move, something he showed when he moved up in the pocket and fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Will Pauling in the third quarter.

Braedyn Locke completed just 46% of his passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.
Braedyn Locke completed just 46% of his passes for 165 yards and a touchdown.

THUMBS DOWN

Braedyn Locke misses TD throw, penalties hamper Badgers' chances

  • Locke’s inaccuracy on the first-and-goal from the 1 play cost the Badgers a touchdown. The screen pass was so low that Bell had to take a knee in the process of catching the ball. Bell reached the end zone, but the play was called back to the 1 after replay review. If that pass is on the mark UW goes into halftime down, 10-7, instead of having three points.

  • Somehow UW got a delay of game penalty late in the first quarter after almost drawing Ohio State offside on a third-and-5 play from the Buckeyes’ 31. Coach Luke Fickell took the fall for the play, saying he should have called timeout. The penalty pushed UW back to the 36 and after an incompletion on third down Nathanial Vakos missed a 54-yard field goal with 3:32 left in the first quarter.

  • Nose tackle Gio Paez can thank Preston Zachman for getting him off the hook for a taunting penalty that immediately followed Thompson’s and Njonmeta’s aforementioned third down stop in the first quarter. The penalty gave Ohio State a first and goal from the 9, but Zachman’s interception in the end zone erased the Paez’s mistake.

  • Gavin Lahm sent the opening kickoff out of bounds.

Wisconsin football schedule: Trip to Hoosier country on deck for Badgers

Wisconsin’s visit to Bloomington comes with the Hoosiers (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) fresh off an inspired effort in a 33-24 loss to Penn State. The game was tied, 24-24, until the Nittany Lions scored the winner with 1:46 to play. In the teams’ last meeting, Indiana beat UW, 14-6, in 2020.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin is in good shape in Big Ten West despite loss to Ohio State