Wisconsin’s (3-2 Big Ten, 6-3 overall) defense was playing at its best level all season until the last drive of regulation for Michigan State (1-3, 5-4), which ultimately snapped the Badgers’ 21-game home winning streak.
Redshirt sophomore kicker Kyle French’s field goal in overtime wasn’t enough for the Badgers, as Spartans’ junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell found junior wideout Bennie Fowler from 12 yards out on a third-and-8 that gave them the 16-13 overtime win.
The touchdown spoiled the Badgers’ otherwise dominant defensive performance, with the only exception being the Spartans’ last drive, when they marched 75 yards on 12 plays to tie the score at 10 with just over a minute left on the clock.
“Yeah, I mean, the whole game we were feeling it [besides the Spartans’ last drive in regulation],” redshirt senior linebacker Mike Taylor said.
Redshirt junior quarterback Danny O’Brien, who replaced an injured redshirt freshman quarterback Joel Stave after one play into the second half, was unable to get anything going in the final 1:08. Senior running back Montee Ball ran for 19 of his 46 yards in that drive, but a sack that cost the Badgers 13 yards with just over 10 seconds left at the Badgers’ 42-yard-line ended the game.
“It had been a field position-type game,” O’Brien said. “That’s kind of what we preached. Don’t turn it over there.”
The Badgers only averaged 0.5 yards per rush, something that sounds unheard of considering the performances they turned in over the last three weeks.
“We were just never really able to get anything going on the ground, which anytime that happens for us offensively, it’s never going to be a good day,” head coach Bret Bielema said.
Wisconsin also let two critical mistakes out of the “Barge” formation slow its momentum.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, White bounced right on the Spartans’ 18-yard line and found the endzone, but a holding penalty on sophomore tight end Sam Arneson negated the score.
“I didn’t see [the flag] until I turned around,” White said. “It was unfortunate but we still had other opportunities.”
Redshirt junior center Travis Frederick also sailed a snap over White’s head late in the third quarter that both White and Bielema thought would turn into a huge play.
“The corner ran with Montee in motion, so I’m pretty sure the tight end could’ve hooked whoever was outside and it was going to be an outside run,” White said.
“That [was] a shame because that was probably a big hit if we would have been able to execute it cleanly,” Bielema added.
White finished with 16 yards on seven carries and Ball ended up with 46 yards on 22 carries.
Stave was in the middle of perhaps his best performance of the season when he went down with a shoulder injury after Spartans’ junior defensive lineman William Gholston sacked him on the first play of the second half. Stave was 9-of-11 with 127 yards and a 31-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior tight end Jacob Pedersen before exiting.
O’Brien finished 5-of-11 for 44 yards.
The scoring drive that ended with Pedersen’s score went for 90 yards—the Badgers’ longest of the season—but the Badgers only had 100 more yards in every other drive combined.
Wisconsin started four-of-six on third down conversions but went on to finish only six-of-16.
“We can’t play behind the chains and that was causing us to play off-rhythm and not get ourselves into a position to have success on third down,” Bielema said.
Maxwell finished 24-of-39 for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Spartans and junior running back Le’Veon Bell finished with 77 yards on 21 carries.
Besides the loss of momentum the Badgers have built up over the last month, Saturday’s loss means little considering the virtually clear path the Badgers have ahead of them to reach Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game.
“I think this group, after what we’ve been through earlier in the year, felt they were on a mission to get to a special place and those things are still in front of us,” Bielema said. “I think the options that we had before today are still there for us.”
Taylor, who finished with eight tackles, left the game with the same message.
“We just have to move forward and we’ll do that,” Taylor said. “We still have a lot to play for.”
