Wisconsin's depth could be tested after injuries to Braelon Allen, Chimere Dike vs. Ohio State
MADISON – When the season started, the Wisconsin football team had one of the best backfield tandems in the nations.
As we head into November, the Badgers have questions.
Running back Braelon Allen suffered a left leg injury on the second to last play of the first half and didn’t return in the team’s 24-10 loss to No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium.
What that means moving forward is uncertain. UW coach Luke Fickell didn’t have an update on Allen’s status after the game.
What we do know is that given the season-ending injury Chez Mellusi suffered at Purdue, Wisconsin’s running game could have a much different look when the team takes the field Saturday at Indiana.
What once was Allen and Mellusi could be redshirt sophomore Jackson Acker and redshirt freshman Cade Yacamelli.
“He’s a great back, a big part of this team and offense,” Acker said of Allen.. “Unfortunate things happen in this game of football. You have to stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready. I felt I was ready coming into this, but it’s unfortunate what happened.”
It was a next-man up kind of day for the Badgers, who also had to do without senior receiver/return man Chimere Dike. He suffered a right leg injury in the first half. He remained in uniform and on the sideline in the second half, though he never re-entered the game
Ohio State LB Tommy Eichenberg shut down this Wisconsin shovel pass to RB Braelon Allen.
Allen was injured on the play and is now on the sideline for the upcoming 4th-and-1. pic.twitter.com/4y3BCoxrYg— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) October 29, 2023
Braelon Allen, Chimere Dike both miss the second half
Allen also returned to the sideline in the second half … dressed in street clothes and a walking boot.
The Badgers were without their top running back and most experienced receiver against the best defense they’ve faced so far this this season. It's fair to say Wisconsin’s offense was hampered despite a no-excuses mindset that was being taken in the huddle.
“You can’t plan for things like that, that is why we’ve got to have guys ready to go,” quarterback Braedyn Locke said. “You’ve got to be able to answer the call when your number is called.”
Wisconsin finished with 259 total yards, its season low by 73 yards. The team generated just two plays of 20 yards or longer.
But the offense was more productive in the second half than the first. UW had 83 total yards during the first two quarters and 176 in the second. The Badgers also scored their only touchdown in the third quarter.
Wisconsin’s biggest improvements came in the passing game, where it gained 125 yards in the second half after garnering 43 in the first.
Badgers have more depth at receiver than running back
Wisconsin has more capable replacements for Dike than Allen.
The receiving corps has rotated five or six players all season. Dike entered play fifth on the team with 16 catches. He didn't have a catch against Ohio State but posted 60 return yards, including a 35-yard punt return in the first quarter that was his longest of the season.
In his place Saturday, sophomore C.J. Williams received more snaps. Junior Bryson Green and sophomore Will Pauling were targeted nine times. Locke went sophomore Skyler Bell’s way six times.
Filling Allen’s shoes was tougher. He finished with 50 yards in 10 carries in the first half. Acker gained 34 yards in nine carries and caught four passes for 16 yards in the second half. Yacamelli got the first carry of his career, a 4-yard loss.
Allen’s best running has come during the second half the past couple of weeks His best runs Saturday came on the final possession of the first half when he had gains of 8, 7 and 9 yards to help UW reach first and goal from the 1.
UW couldn't punch it in from there, though. After a poorly thrown screen pass by Locke went for no gain, Allen had a run for no gain and then caught a shovel pass for no gain and suffered the injury that ended his night.
For what it’s worth, Fickell said he planned to kick the field goal regardless of Allen’s status.
“We had to get points, we had to get positive momentum going into the halftime, especially us getting the football,:” Fickell said. “So, no, it wouldn't have changed my mind, but I think those are the plays that in order to beat a team like that, you got to capitalize on in those situations. We just weren't able to do it.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Injuries to Braelon Allen, Chimere Dike leave Wisconsin in tough spot
