The Wisconsin Badgers fell short in a tough 24-10 loss to the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, falling to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in Big Ten play.
It was the third straight loss for the Badgers, who are
now 0-8 in Top 25 matchups under head coach Luke Fickell.
Wisconsin was competitive for much of the game, being within 10 points, but its offense never got going, while its defense wore down after an impressive start in the fourth quarter.
Let’s break down how Saturday’s game went from start to finish.
1st Half
Wisconsin started off hot with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a five-yard Dilin Jones rushing touchdown. It felt like a classic Wisconsin drive with nine runs and three passes, and was arguably Wisconsin’s best drive of the season.
Michigan followed that up by relying on its rushing prowess, going five plays for 75 yards to respond with a touchdown of its own. Justice Haynes was the answer, going for 54 yards on four rushes, including a one-yard touchdown run to tie things up at seven apiece.
From there, the Badgers offense went mute. They punted after getting one first down on their following drive, but the defense was resilient, forcing a punt of its own. Overall, there were five consecutive punts in a row, with both sides going three-and-out after that and the Badgers punting after four plays on the ensuing drive.
But, Michigan finally got back on the board with an eight-play, 44-yard drive, thanks to a great 32-yard pass up the sidelines from Bryce Underwood to Andrew Marsh. Wisconsin neutralized the damage by forcing a field goal, though, keeping the lead at 10-7.
After another pair of three-and-outs from both sides, the Badgers had a chance with a two-minute drill. But, they played things conservatively, running the ball twice after getting a 16-yard completion to Lance Mason, which brought Wisconsin to its own 44-yard line on the first play of the drive.
That led to a 3rd & 3 inside Michigan territory, which Hunter Simmons couldn’t complete, leading to another punt and giving the Wolverines a 10-7 lead at halftime.
2nd Half
The Wolverines opened the half with the ball, which made Wisconsin’s conservativeness to end the first half even more questionable.
And Michigan came out swinging, going 11 plays and 66 yards to get to a goal-to-go situation. Still, Wisconsin’s defense held up well enough in its own territory again, forcing the Wolverines into a field goal attempt at the Badgers’ nine-yard line, which reliable kicker Dominic Zvada missed.
The Badgers’ punt streak continued, however, as they had back-to-back three-and-outs. While Michigan had a three-and-out after Wisconsin’s first punt, they were able to get their second touchdown of the game on the following drive, taking advantage of a Badgers’ defense that had been on the field for much of the half.
That gave Michigan a 17-7 lead, and prompted Wisconsin to finally become more aggressive after running the ball quite often on first down. Hunter Simmons repaid that trust with a 27-yard ball to Vinny Anthony 1-on-1 down the sideline. But, after a four-yard run from Darrion Dupree, Simmons underthrew a pass to Chris Brooks Jr. that was intercepted. It seemed to be a pass interference on the play, but there was no call and Wisconsin turned it over.
Michigan didn’t capitalize, turning it over on downs in Wisconsin territory, but the Badgers had no answer with another three-and-out. The Wolverines turned that into their final touchdown, increasing their lead to 24-7.
Wisconsin finally showed some life offensively with a field goal drive, but head coach Luke Fickell waved the white flag after that, electing not to use any of his three timeouts to try and get the ball back with three minutes left in the game.
It was a game where the Badgers fought hard, but still faced offensive struggles and questionable coaching choices, leading to another loss.
Things need to turn around fast for the Badgers coming up, as they host the Iowa Hawkeyes next weekend at Camp Randall Stadium in dire need of a win.
