The Wisconsin Badgers fell to the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers 31-7 on Saturday, struggling in the second half after a competitive opening 30 minutes.
Early on, it seemed the Badgers had a great gameplan to keep
things competitive, but they ultimately didn’t have enough offensive firepower, while the defense gave up a few chunk plays against an explosive offense.
Wisconsin allowed Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza to throw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 22 of 24 passes. They were able to contain the run game enough, while sacking Mendoza five times, but the explosives proved to be a big deal.
Offensively, the Badgers couldn’t get much going on the ground in the second half and suffered another running back injury as Gideon Ituka was carted off.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 31-7 loss to No. 2 Indiana on Saturday.
Jeff Grimes’s playcalling
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’s playcalling in the first half was almost as good as you could’ve asked for.
He helped orchestrate a 13-play drive that took up 7:39 of clock to open the game, getting the Badgers to field goal range before Nathanial Vakos missed a 45-yard field goal.
The playcalling was a run-focused approach like last week with some easier throws for freshman quarterback Carter Smith, who was able to get the ball out quickly and complete a few passes early.
Getting a positive play on first down was key, as the Badgers struggled on 2nd and 3rd & long as expected. And Grimes was able to get the ball moving on two drives by churning the clock and calling a beautiful play-action on 4th & 1 that completely fooled Indiana and led to a 41-yard touchdown.
Here’s how that drive went: 14 yards (1st & 10), four yards (1st & 10), five yards (2nd & 6), two yards (3rd & 1), incompletion (1st & 10), six yards (2nd & 10), three yards (3rd & 4), 41 yard touchdown (4th & 1). Positive plays on early downs were key, and Grimes was able to facilitate that while controlling the time of possession.
The lone playcall that was questionable in the half was a long dropback from under center on 1st & 10 on the opening possession in an empty set. There isn’t an advantage for the Badgers there with a freshman quarterback if it’s not a quick drop to get the ball out quickly. That led to an easy sack, and Wisconsin was derailed from there, getting enough yards to settle for a field goal.
But, apart from that, Grimes made things simple for Smith in the first half and gave Wisconsin a chance.
In the second half, Indiana started to figure out the run game, and Wisconsin couldn’t really recover. It’s clear the Badgers are still trying to protect Smith with his development, running the ball on a 3rd & 9 deep in their own territory. He did have an ugly interception in zone coverage and a fumble on a quarterback sneak, but the Badgers aren’t really opening their passing game up yet for Smith in an attempt to keep things simple.
Grimes is handicapped at the moment. He’s got big-time injuries at running back, and I’m not sure he can fully unleash the quarterback run either because of the depth at the position with Danny O’Neil out. But, I thought there were some good things in the first half from the offensive coordinator.
Carter Smith’s ups and downs
Piggybacking off the last section, it was an up-and-down day in Carter Smith’s first career start.
Things were not going to be easy on Saturday. Smith was facing the No. 2 scoring defense in the country and coming off a day where he completed 3 of 12 passes for eight yards against Washington.
It also didn’t help that the Badgers run game struggled as the game went on, with the offensive line getting beaten up front by Indiana’s top-tier defensive front on a windy day. This game was going to be more about the line of scrimmage than quarterback play, so that made the circumstances harder.
Smith finished the day 9 of 15 passing for 98 yards and an interception. He also had five carries for 15 yards and a fumble on the ground, not including sacks, which was down from his 13 true rushing attempts a week ago.
There were the easy plays Grimes schemed for him, such as a 19-yard shovel pass to Jackson Acker for his first attempt and the 41-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Lance Mason on fourth down. Smith only had one completion for more than 10 air yards (the touchdown pass), primarily checking things down and getting the ball out quickly.
He continued to be a little slower with his progressions, taking a little too much time moving off his first read, but Indiana’s defense is always a tough one to read, and his first option wasn’t often open on the afternoon. Once that processing speed, which was his biggest hurdle in the offseason, gets up to speed more, I’d expect Jeff Grimes to put more on his plate.
The interception he threw can’t happen against zone coverage. He hadn’t made a decision like that in the air up until late in the fourth quarter, but that’ll be a learning experience for Smith.
At the moment, it’s clear Smith still has a ton of growth to do as a passer. And his running may be limited by Wisconsin’s quarterback injuries. But, he was definitely dealt a tough hand in his first career start, facing the No. 2 team in the country.
Defense shines and struggles
The defense kept Wisconsin afloat in the first half after giving up a touchdown on Indiana’s first possession.
They forced back-to-back punts and kept the Hoosiers to a field goal in the second quarter after they went nine plays and 56 yards on a drive.
It was clear the goal was to try and take away explosive plays, as Wisconsin’s cornerbacks primarily played off the line of scrimmage. That allowed Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza to take advantage of the underneath throws and be efficient as a passer, keeping the chains moving.
The Badgers saw some early holes in the run game, but the defense shored up and played well there in the second half, holding backs Roman Hemby, Khobie Martin, and Kaelon Black to under 3.6 yards per carry. They also got five sacks on Fernando Mendoza, which kept things close as they forced the Hoosiers into negative plays.
Darryl Peterson had 2.5 sacks on a monster day, while freshmen linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano each had a sack.
But, explosive plays were Wisconsin’s kryptonite, despite their efforts to limit those plays in the air. Indiana had gains of 31, 37, 48, 21, and 29 yards in the air. The 31-yarder was a touchdown from Mendoza to Charlie Becker, opening the scoring for the Hoosiers as Austin Brown was beaten over the top.
The 37-yarder was a well-timed screen pass to Riley Nowakowski that caught the Badgers completely off guard (which was a common theme on screen plays), leading Indiana near the red zone on their field goal drive.
Becker had another huge catch on 3rd & 8, catching a 47-yard pass as he beat D’Yoni Hill with his release, and Brown was too late to come over.
Nowakowski had another explosive with a 21-yard touchdown pass, catching a crosser and running past some poor tackling efforts for an easy score.
Then, Omar Cooper Jr. had a 29-yard catch that set up Indiana’s final touchdown drive, sealing the deal at 31-7. Wisconsin had some negative plays forced and limited the run game. But, explosives in the air killed them on Saturday.
