Wisconsin headed to Columbus to take on Ohio State this weekend. The Badgers were dominated from the opening kickoff and lost this one 52-21. Here are three observations from the matchup.
Defense MIA?
We have come to expect Jim Leonard’s group to be able to compete with the best in the country. They had absolutely no resistance from the opening kickoff. In the first two drives, Ohio State was averaging 18 yards a completion. It was 28-0 Buckeyes after four drives, at that point almost ending the Badger hopes.
This Wisconsin defense has been ranked top in the country the last few years, and it was disappointing to see such a poor effort tonight. Allowing 52 points, it’s hard to win a game after giving up four touchdowns on the first four drives of the game.
Offense struggles again
If you are going to walk into Columbus and upset Ohio State, your quarterback has to have the night of his life. Graham has shown his struggles against ranked teams so far in his career, and tonight was no different. His very first throw of the game was a miscommunication with Chimere Dike that resulted in an ugly-looking interception.
Wisconsin just had nothing going offensively, so all the blame is not on Mertz — it’s simply something to note as we have seen this happen versus other ranked opponents.
One thing I really liked from the offense tonight was the wildcat action and Braelon Allen's decision-making. Some of the best runs of the night came from this look, something to watch moving forward. Will that be a permanent wrinkle in the offense for Bobby Engram? Shoutout to Braelon Allen for also never giving up, as he was rewarded with a late 75-yard touchdown. The young man showed a lot of heart tonight.
What next?
It’s hard to bounce back from a game where you are embarrassed in prime time. To add to the tough loss, tight end Clay Cundiff seemed to have suffered another serious injury. Wisconsin will try to bounce back next week as they host Illinois. I hope to see a much more well-rounded game for the Badgers.
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