Thoughts On Wisconsin’s Loss Against Ohio State
The eighth ranked Badgers have officially hit the halfway point in their regular season after playing the second ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. They played a hard fought game, but came up short 30-23 in overtime. There were some good things and some bad things, which will both be touched on below.
1. The Badgers played a really good game – The loss in overtime is crushing, but the overall play of the team was excellent. They faced a top team and hung with them for the second game in a row. The running game looked like the Badgers of old at times, the defense played well, and the atmosphere was second to none.
The game plan was also well thought out. Too much was not asked of Alex Hornibrook (more on him below) and Paul Chryst stuck with the game plan for the entire 60 minutes plus overtime. That may have hurt them in overtime (see the final two plays of the game), but the philosophy did not change.
Chryst made it a point to run the ball even when the Buckeyes seized control at 20-16, he kept running the ball. He did so again in the final three minutes and in the overtime. For all the complaining about the lack of Badger-like rushing, this game should alleviate those concerns for the time being.
2. Hornibrook had another Jekyll and Hyde performance – For the most part, Alex Hornibrook looked good. He made the smart play, whether that was throwing the ball away or taking what the defense gave him. He made a nice throw on the touchdown pass to Jazz Peavy to put the Badgers up 10-0 in the first quarter. There were times, however, he looked like the freshman he is.
All four sacks in the game occurred on third or fourth down. The first two came on third and manageable during the first half. The third sack was on third and seven early in the third quarter and the final sack was on the last play of the game. Hornibrook has to at least put the ball up on the final play.
There were also a few bad throws. His only pick was a floated ball towards Robert Wheelwright that was picked off by Gareon Conley.
PICKED OFF GAREON CONLEY!!! https://t.co/OzIyCQrbtb
— Grant Kelly (@GrantKelly07) October 16, 2016
Conley had another chance for an interception on a poorly thrown ball by Hornibrook but it was ruled incomplete (video below).
Gareon Conley!!! Gareat coverage!! Gareat Interception!!! #OSUvsWIS pic.twitter.com/dWzinSnRXl
— TC (@TravChina) October 16, 2016
Hornibrook is a freshman and he will make mistakes. Overall, it was a good performance and the coaching staff will no doubt work on some of those mistakes.
3. The running game looked Badger-esque – The Badgers came to run the ball against Ohio State and that did not change even when they saw momentum turn to the Buckeyes. Corey Clement broke a 68 yard run on the Badgers’ second drive though he was fortunate to not lose the fumble on the play. He finished with 164 yards on 25 carries. The Badgers also employed the end around with Jazz Peavy gaining 70 yards on 6 carries running only that play.
The offensive line was physical all night long and that showed. The Badgers finished with 236 yards on 46 carries with negative 34 yards by Hornibrook on the sacks he took. Including that, the Badgers finished at 5.1 yards per carry, which is a nice bump from their opening five game average of 3.8.
4. The offense did show some inconsistencies – Hornibrook’s performance was touched on as was the running game, but there are other worries. The offense put up 313 yards in the first half, but struggled mightily in the third quarter with just 11 yards on 10 plays. Yes, Ohio State did make some good adjustments, but only 11 yards in 15 minutes of play cannot happen.
Another concern is the red zone touchdown efficiency. The Badgers have shown issues with scoring touchdowns earlier in the season. Coming into the game, the Badgers were 12 for 19 (63%) in scoring red zone touchdowns. Against Ohio State they were 1 for 3 and now sit at 13 for 22 (59%) for 2016. This inefficiency may continue through the end of the season.
5. The defense played solidly against J.T. Barrett – Ohio State presented the Badgers with a new challenge in J.T. Barrett. They did not face a quarterback with his dual threat ability and they performed decently. They did not let him break a big run as he finished with 92 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries. They also played well against the pass with Barrett finishing 17 of 29 for 226 yards.
The Badgers did give up a few long passes, but for the most part they did not get torched in the secondary. The one area of concern was the tackling on Barrett. There were quite a few missed open-field tackles, which are understandable, but are also the difference between touchdowns and field goals.
6. Andrew Endicott builds his confidence – Replacing Rafael Gaglianone is no easy task, but Andrew Endicott has done so admirably thus far. He was shaky against Michigan State when he missed his second extra point, but he finished the game with a 41 yard field goal and three of four on PATs. He did not have much to do against Michigan with just one extra point attempted and made.
The game against Ohio State was much better. He converted both extra points, but more importantly converted on all three of his field goals. He opened with a 46 yarder on the opening drive before hitting the next two from 32 yards and 22 yards, respectively. He may need to come up big down the stretch and this game is something to keep in mind when he is called upon.
The Badgers are now 4-2 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play after the loss to Ohio State. They will face the Iowa Hawkeyes next week on the road as they look to end their two game losing streak. Below are the previous columns for the Wisconsin games in 2016.
Wisconsin versus Georgia State
Wisconsin versus Michigan State