September 30th, 2024
Johnny Raider – WSUM Radio – @johnnyraider29

Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

The Badgers traveled down to sunny Southern California to begin their Big 10 conference slate against the Trojans of USC. It truly was a tale of two halves. The Badgers took a 21-10 lead into half time, and left the field after the game having allowed 28 unanswered points.

Here's the report card for this disappointing outing…

Badger Receivers: B
The Badgers receivers definitely came to play on saturday. The explosive “air-raid” offense showed flashes with spectacular deep balls caught by Vinny Anthony and Bryson Green. Anthony led the team in receiving with 70 yards on three grabs with a score, and Green wasn't far behind his teammate with four catches and 65 yards of his own. However, that's where the good news ends for this group. The rest of the receiving room stayed fairly quiet with the rest of them combining for just 45 yards on six grabs.

Badger Offensive Line: A+
It is always a good thing for the big guys up front when nobody is blaming them for the loss. However, it won't stop me and others from pointing out a lack of utilizing arguably the biggest strength of this offense. When you're averaging nearly 5 yards per carry on the ground, it's a sign to run the ball and rally behind the big guys with an 11 point lead at half. When it comes to pass protection, they kept Locke clean with an impressive 0 sacks allowed. An outstanding performance from the line, and it once again brings the question of why the badgers aren't playing to their strengths.

Badger Running Game: B
This badger running game once again looked very good, but underutilized. On just 25 carries, the badgers ran for 106 yards and 4.5 yards per carry among the group. Tawee Walker led the group in carries with 12 runs for 55 yards on 4.6 yards per carry. Showing his explosiveness early in the game on a one play drive consisting of a 18 yard touchdown run. As for Chez Mellusi, the opportunities were scarce. Given just ten carries on which he racked up just 32 yards. In a game where you're gifted a 21-10 lead, you'd like to see the opportunities grow for this promising group of backs.

Brayden Locke: D+
Brayden Locke once again looked inconsistent. An almost identical performance to his last outing against the Alabama Crimson Tide where he once again completed just 13 of 26 passes for about 150 yards, a touchdown and a turnover. The problem with Brayden Locke isn't his potential or the throws that look a little “Mahomie”, it's a problem of not executing the little things in an efficient way. The intermediate throws seem to be the biggest issue for the young quarterback. It's a coin flip whether it'll be accurate or if the ball ends up in the dirt. The inconsistency is not a recipe to win games, no matter the opponent you play. If this offense is going to live and die by the identity of an “air raid” offense, then Brayden Locke will need to step up his game by multiple notches.

Badger Front Seven: C+
Obviously 38 points on the scoreboard speak for themselves. However, that doesn't tell the full story for this Wisconsin front seven. Wisconsin's offense did the badger defense no favors in terms of time of possession. The offense was on the field for 19 minutes and 53 seconds compared to the USC offense possessing the ball for a whopping 40 minutes and 17 seconds. They held up well in the second half with the offense being competent, but that's where the positives end. Miller Moss stepped up and made key throws on crucial downs, and the offense went two for ten on third down. That's not a recipe for success against a high power offense. All in all the front seven racked up a sack, four TFLs, and 66 total tackles in a very busy day.

Badger Secondary: C
Miller Moss had himself a day against the back end of Wisconsin's defense completing 30 of his 45 passes for 308 yards, Three Touchdowns and a pick. To a box score viewer, this looks like an awful day for the badgers secondary. However, the touchdowns and big throws down the field were usually covered beautifully. Miller Moss came to play in terms of making unbelievable throws on key downs, and his receivers in turn made incredible highlight reel catches. Whether it was a fade ball that looks like the catch of the year, or a hospital ball that's sandwiched between two badgers with a textbook hitstick from Hunter Wohler. A perfect throw and catch will always beat textbook coverage, and that's the best way to describe this outing for this Wisconsin secondary. To put it simply the USC offense made more plays with more opportunities. In the end, you'll see better days from this group with the competition lightening up in terms of offensive firepower.

Badger Special Teams: C+
Not much to write home about in terms of the kicking game. The Badgers attempted zero field goals, but made all three of their extra points. When it comes to punt returns, the Wisconsin special teams gave up a muffed punt. However, the badger punt coverage recovered a USC muffed punt evening the turnover differential. The kick return game looked promising as well with Vinny Anthony returning two kicks for 92 yards. Overall, it seems there is lots of positives with this group, however turning the ball over on punt return is inexcusable and contributed to the disastrous second half.

There are clear strengths and weaknesses on this Wisconsin Badger squad. This team can be very special if they learn to play to their strengths and learn to adjust to their
opponent as games progress.