Author: Noah Clark

MADISON- Saturday afternoon, the No. 16-ranked Wisconsin Badgers fell to the No. 12-ranked Indiana Hoosiers 14-6. Here are the Badgers' grades in a disappointing game against the Hoosiers. 

First Half:The Badgers struggled on their opening drive on the offensive side of the ball, as they couldn't produce any points. But as usual, the Badger defense bailed them out. It was a good start for them after their first drive against the Hoosiers where the offense and the defense had the same result. It was also a huge loss for Wisconsin on their offensive line as starting center Kayden Lyles suffered a game-ending injury on the second series of the game. Many of the Badgers' issues in the secondary were shown today, as Wisconsin was without Rachad Wildgoose (NFL Draft) and Semar Melvin (Injury), they struggled to contain Indiana starting quarterback Jack Tuttle. One bright spot again in the Badgers offense is freshman running back Jalen Berger. He ran for 50 yards in the first half on eight attempts as well as averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Good things happen when Berger has the ball in his hands, even though the backfield committee with Garrett Groshek and Nakia Watson has been a complete disaster for them. Along with the issues on offense, the Badgers offense gave up only one turnover, when Graham Mertz got his bell rung and lost the ball. The fumble turned into a score for the Hoosiers. Wisconsin needs a better start coming out of the first half as well as adjusting to moving the ball on offense. The defense can only take you so far.

 Grade: C- 

Second Half: Wisconsin's secondary got torched on the opening drive of the second half as Tuttle utilized the senior receiver Ty Fryfogle with a huge bomb to set them up with a touchdown pass to Whop Philyor. This is not what you wanted to see from the Badgers on the defensive side, as this has been a team that hadn't given up many points. The touchdown exposed a depleted secondary that was outmatched by the speed and smarts of the Hoosiers passing attack. The second half had another rough start for the Badgers offense as well as for Mertz, ending in him throwing an interception on the opening drive. Oh boy was that a bad one, he was looking to receiver Chimere Dike who wasn't looking for the ball, and Wisconsin gave it right back. A few positives in the second half that I noticed, were that the Badgers finally started waking up and feeding the rock to Berger and giving him his reps. As I said before, the backfield committee of Groshek and Watson has not been working and it's time to start feeding the New Jersey back. The offense did put up a fight on their last drive but could put the finishing touches on it to tie the game. 

Grade: C 

Overall: This Badger team needs to make changes and adapt. Mostly the offense, but It starts with hiring a guy who knows football and knows the ins and outs of the game. Another loss certainly puts Wisconsin out of consideration for the Big Ten Championship game, and instead puts them in consideration for the “Whatever You Want To Call It Bowl.” Overall, this team's Achilles Heel is the offense, and it cannot take them to new heights without some changes at the coordinator position and on personnel changes in the game. 

Grade D+