From its initial appearance, Wisconsin's 4-0 record demonstrates that the Badgers are a solid team that has performed well on both sides of the ball. But the statistics behind the games don't reveal that. Against Northern Illinois Saturday, the Badgers should have been by far the dominating team. A 24-21 win says that they were not. Instead, UW put up a lackluster performance for three quarters against a Husky team that outplayed them in most aspects of the game, partly because the Badgers underestimated NIU.
\I hate to say it, but I think maybe a lot of people on the team didn't get as pumped for the game or didn't get as mentally prepared before the game,"" sophomore cornerback Scott Starks said. ""They came out fast and we came out slowly and we could see a result in the game. ... We felt that the opponent wasn't at the caliber we were but they came out fighting and we were kind of on our heels at first [and] we had to come back fighting at the end.""
Mentally and physically, the Badgers did not prepare for a Husky offense that produced 273 passing yards and 182 rushing yards. Then again, UW appeared mediocre on their own offense, gaining 207 yards passing and only 68 yards rushing.
Wisconsin is known for putting out a 1,000-yard rusher every year, most recently sophomore running back Anthony Davis. Davis rushed for only 49 yards against NIU, the third week in a row he has not rushed for more than 100 yards.
""I definitely need to go back and look at the film and maybe make some adjustments to my game,"" Davis said.
The offensive line, which returned all five of its starters this season, is one reason for Wisconsin's lackluster performance in rushing. Wisconsin's rushing game was far below the usual performance and is a factor in the Badgers' game that the team knows must be improved.
""I haven't really seen any frustration out of [Davis]. I know he's not seeing the holes but that's just probably our fault,"" senior left tackle Ben Johnson said. ""We're not making big enough holes.""
However, assisting in improving UW's running game is not the offensive line's only concern. Senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger saw the turf 10 times, for a loss of 71 yards. All offensive parties are to blame, according to offensive coordinator Brian White.
""We need to get better in those areas, whether it be the running backs in protection, the offensive line or [Bollinger] getting the ball out of his hands,"" White said.
One reason for the lackluster offensive line's blocking, according to Johnson, are the types of blitzes NIU ran, some that the Badgers had not seen on the Huskies' film.
""They ran a lot of different blitzes than what they ran last week,"" Johnson said. ""We can only pick up so many blitzes but we've got to leave some guys hot and that's just the way it is.""
There is no doubt in the mind of players and coaches alike that the Badgers need to correct offensive problems in order to stay afloat in the Big Ten.
""We can't play football like that today on offense and expect to win a whole bunch of games,"" White said. ""I think everybody who was at that football game ... knows that we got totally outplayed, outhit, and quite honestly, they deserved to win the football game but we won it. ... We have a lot of work to do to get better.""
That's what the statistics from the game show.
