Week 2 was a true roller coaster for the Wisconsin Badgers, who needed until well into the third quarter to get things rolling in a meaningful way against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
While the 42-10 score looks good, and the finals stats (for the most part) appeared solid for Fick’s guys, there were some tense moments that left me with a sense of foreboding about how things will go in Week 3 against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
So, let’s get into our report card for Week 2 and evaluate how things
played out on both sides of the ball.
OFFENSE
I’ll start with the positives. Quarterback Danny O’Neil played well and certainly looked the part using his feet, arm, and mouth/body language. While he’s a bit undersized and he doesn’t have a rocket arm, he has intangibles and attitude to burn, and did one hell of a job smoothing over a shocking number of bad snaps. I’m not sure if this kid stays the starter once Billy Edwards Jr. is healthy, but there’s a decent chance he’s giving his coaches some food for thought. Additionally, tight end Lance Mason looked outstanding on several occasions, and the wide receivers made some big plays, whether running (Vinny Anthony), catching balls (Jayden Ballard), or both (Trech Kekahuna).
Now the bad news: The offensive line, at least in run blocking, was a disaster, more so in the first half. I get that everyone was playing a new position besides Joe Brunner, and sometimes that takes time, but the utter lack of a rushing push was troubling.
The yards per carry were totally skewed upward by a couple of long runs. Dilin Jones, Darrion Dupree, and Cade Yacamelli averaged less than 4 yards per rush combined and had little room to navigate until Middle Tennessee wore down in the second half. Also, Kerry Kodanko, starting for the injured Jake Renfro at center, played decently for most of the game, but had a number of bad shotgun snaps. Wisconsin got away with these shortcomings last Saturday, but won’t against Alabama.
GRADE: C
DEFENSE
While it wasn’t as dominating a performance as it was vs Miami (OH), this group was very good yet again, keeping Middle Tennessee off-balance with a number of looks.
One can argue that the unit gave up a bit too much possession and yardage, but the bottom line is that it allowed only 10 points and put together eight tackles for loss and five sacks.
At no time last year was the Wisconsin defense causing chaos like that. And seeing young guys like Omillio Agard (interception) and Mason Posa (sack) contributing speaks well of both the unit’s depth and future.
GRADE: B+
SPECIAL TEAMS
Not a ton to talk about here, and that’s not a bad thing. Nathanial Vakos made all six of his PATs with no field goal attempts, and Atticus Bertrams was a bit better than vs Miami, posting a 39.5 average on only two punts. We will have better days. The lone kick and punt returns were uneventful.
GRADE: B
COACHING
The defensive game plan appeared sound and performed well. No concerns there.
As far as the offense, I have two issues.
The first is the Badgers limping into halftime only up four points against a team they should be dominating. There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that, had this been vs Alabama, the Badgers would have been down double digits before halftime.
Slow starts have been a problem for Fickell-coached Badger teams before, and I don’t know what the solution is. Yes, the final margin of 32 was fine, but the accelerator needs to be engaged the entire game.
The second is with the offensive line. As noted, there were four guys doing new things. That’s not easy for anyone, but the results on the field were worrisome as far as run blocking and snapping the ball. Both have to get a lot better in a very short amount of time, or Wisconsin will simply not move the ball against quality defenses. That’s just a fact.
GRADE: C+
OVERALL
As noted, the final 32-point margin was decent, and there were some fun big plays. But it was an uneven, frustrating performance. The squad needs to have a good week of practice and execute far better to stay in the game Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
GRADE: C+
