The Wisconsin Badgers fell 38-14 to the No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Badgers are now 0-7 against ranked opponents under Luke Fickell.
For the Badgers to have a chance of an upset, they had to start strong. They struggled to do so. After Wisconsin stopped the Crimson Tide on fourth down, Danny O’Neil threw an interception that set up Alabama’s first of five consecutive touchdowns.
Wisconsin needed to control the line of scrimmage against Alabama’s defense. They struggled
to do so. The running game today was non-existent, and the Tide defense sacked Danny O’Neil four times.
Wisconsin needed to avoid penalties and turnovers. They struggled to do so. The Badgers committed six penalties for 65 yards, including a killer roughing-the-passer penalty on third down to set up Alabama’s second touchdown. In addition, O’Neil threw a second interception in plus territory near the end of the third quarter.
There isn’t much else to say that hasn’t already been said about the Badgers’ performance today. Alabama dominated Wisconsin on both sides of the ball for the second-straight year. It’s another game that Badger coaches must ask themselves this question:
Is this what you want Wisconsin football to look like?
Here are three standouts from Alabama’s dominant victory over Wisconsin.
Ty Simpson
The Crimson Tide got a splendid performance from their signal caller. Simpson shredded the Badger defense today by completing 24 of 29 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns. No matter what defense the Badgers threw at Simpson, whether it was man-to-man or zone, Simpson was simply unfazed.
Following Alabama’s upset loss to Florida State, there were many questions about whether Simpson could lead the Crimson Tide as their No. 1 quarterback. He settled those doubts in a big way.
Ryan Williams
There were some questions about Williams going into this game. Will Williams repeat his All-American performance from last year? Why is Williams in the slot this year?
The sophomore wide receiver was dominant against the porous Wisconsin defense. Williams torched the Badger secondary with five catches for an astounding 165 yards, including 109 yards after the catch. Williams’ touchdown catches from 75 yards and 41 yards in the second half made this game a rout for the Crimson Tide.
Jake Renfro
I want to give Renfro a shoutout here for gutting it out on the offensive line. He was a game-time decision today with a lower-body injury, but he chose to participate. In the second quarter, Renfro suffered an ugly-looking lower-leg injury, but he returned to action before halftime.
Without Renfro, an already-shaky offensive line became out of sync against Alabama’s defensive pressure.
