The Wisconsin Badgers have seen their ups and downs to start the season, and the latter culminated in a 38-14 loss to the No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.
Wisconsin’s offense dealt with penalties, sacks, and turnovers behind a work-in-progress offensive line and a backup quarterback.
But, it was the defense that looked out of sorts, giving up touchdowns on five straight drives and getting gashed in the air by Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
Now, it wasn’t all negative for the Badgers. They actually
had some success defending the run, which was a key goal for them heading into the offseason. The Crimson Tide had just 72 yards on 22 carries, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. If not including the lone sack on Simpson, Alabama had a measly 4.1 yards per carry.
The Crimson Tide haven’t been able to run the ball well this season, as they’re figuring out their running back rotation. But, it was still a good sign that the Badgers had some success in that area.
“[Defending the run] was an emphasis for us,” head coach Luke Fickell said about the Alabama game on Monday. “We did a good job at defending the run, but there is a balance in everything that you do. I’ve always said: I don’t want to be the number one rush defense in the country, which might mean that you might not be the best pass defense.
“There are some rarities that you have seen, like a Georgia or Alabama team, that you have seen in however many years where they might have been a really, really good defense that also led the country in rush defense. But, there is a balance in what you want to be able to do. I thought we did a really good job up front against the run. But, I would say they also maybe went away from it, because of the way they were throwing the football. It was an emphasis, as you know from spring, finding some bigger bodies, finding some more length, and making sure that we put an emphasis and a focus on stopping the run, which gives you a way to earn the right to rush the passer. We’ve done a good job so far, but we also need to have a balance for what we are doing defensively.”
Wisconsin’s run defense has been solid for the most part. But, the biggest question with their approach this offseason was how they would make up for the pass-rushing with their bigger-bodied linemen up front. And that flaw came out against Alabama.
The Badgers only got six pressures on true pass sets on Saturday, as Ty Simpson had relatively clean pockets all offseason long. When they did get pressure after a few seconds, Simpson’s athleticism allowed him to escape and either hit receivers downfield or scramble.
Mason Reiger has been a good addition off the edge. But, the Badgers will need to keep him fresh. Darryl Peterson has gotten a couple of pressures with moves on the inside. Wisconsin needs more, though, from its pass-rushing group, especially on the interior.
Without as many sacks, the Badgers haven’t gotten to make those splash plays, which hurt against Alabama.
“Obviously, the takeaways haven’t been as good,” Fickell acknowledged on Monday. “They usually come in bunches. We obviously got two in the first game, one in the second game, and none on Saturday. Going on the road, I said the number one thing to win on the road, in particular as an underdog, is turnovers. And, not many teams win on the road as an underdog without winning the turnover margin. You could do whatever you want to do defensively, stripping at balls, the things you do, and you need to capitalize on them.
“We didn’t get a ball on the ground, and I don’t really think we had a hand on a ball, maybe one. They’ll come, they’ll be there. We have created more negative yardage plays. We have put ourselves in better situations, second and longs, but it is one of those situations where we need to get better. We are nowhere where we need to be, but I do feel like we have opportunities. Just need to take advantage.”
There have definitely been some positives defensively. But, Wisconsin’s unit got exposed on Saturday and will need to bounce back this weekend when taking on the Maryland Terrapins to kick off conference play.
