Following a disappointing loss to No. 4 Ohio State (1-0 Big Ten, 5-0 overall), the Wisconsin Badgers (1-1, 3-2) are looking forward to a week off to both heal their bodies and sharpen up their play.
UW fell on the road in dramatic fashion for the second time this season. Once again costly mistakes lead to the Badgers falling short of victory. The team could not overcome the false starts, illegal formations, and missed opportunities on defense.
No moment was bigger than at the end of the first half. With Ohio St. leading 17-14 and driving the ball down the field, freshman cornerback Sojourn Shelton had an opportunity to have an interception and help the Badgers go into halftime down only three. Unfortunately for the Badgers, Shelton dropped the interception and the Buckeyes scored on the next play, going into the half up 24-14.
This play has not fallen lightly on Shelton. “I want to clean up any mistakes I made in terms of alignment or ball skills. I want to improve on everything, so I know I’ll come through with those plays in tight situations” Shelton said.
The Badgers could not find a way to catch up with the Buckeyes, ultimately falling 31-24.
Some positives did come out of the loss as the passing game looked better than it has all season. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Joel Stave threw for 295 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
As Badger nation has come accustomed to seeing, redshirt senior wide receiver Jared Abbrederis had another standout performance, racking up 10 receptions for 207 yards and one touchdown. Abbrederis undoubtedly took his matchup with junior all-american cornerback Bradley Roby as a challenge.
“I mean anytime you get to go against somebody with that talent you want to have a good game ... obviously going against a corner like that you have to have a little extra urgency to be at the highest level,” Abbrederis said.
Stave is hoping to use this bye week to both reflect on the games already played and to get prepared for the important weeks ahead.
“I think we are going to do a good job of learning not only about our opponent this upcoming week but also what we can improve on from the first five games. There’s so much learning to be had through the first five games. I mean we played alright, but there is a lot of improving we can do,” Stave said.
Redshirt senior linebacker Chris Borland likes what he has been seeing in practice so far in the off week.
“The guys that are practicing are practicing hard, so we’ll be fresh and sharp next week,” Borland said.
Next up for the Badgers is a home matchup with No. 16 Northwestern Wildcats (4-0 overall). The team is hoping to use the preparation they did last week for junior quarterback Braxton Miller to their advantage when crafting their game plan for Northwestern’s quarterbacks, senior Kain Colter and junior Trevor Siemian.
“Very simply I think Kain Colter has similar abilities. So, facing Braxton, we learned you have to contain the pocket and you can’t miss when you have him wrapped up… Cain is the same way,” Borland said.
He believes the early road tests the Badgers’ young secondary has faced so far this season will pay dividends in both this upcoming game and games in the future.
“I think more has been asked of our secondary this year than a lot of years. Our young guys have played really well and have been under a lot of stress because of our schemes and have responded,” he said.
“Those are two big games on the road for our young guys to get good exposure with good passing opponents,” Borland said.
Shelton echoed similar thoughts. “It has helped a lot. I think we have improved all over,” Shelton said. “We are accountable for anything that happened and we will continue to improve. That’s the main part: Continuing to improve, trust the defense and the coaches.”
On the offensive side of the ball sophomore running back Melvin Gordon is looking forward to certain matchups in the Northwestern defense. “They have a lot of talent in their secondary, so I would love the opportunity to get to the next level of the defense and take on some of those players” Gordon said.
Fortunately for the Badgers, the Buckeyes and the Wildcats will be facing off on national television on Oct. 5 lending the team the opportunity to both relax and scout. “You are watching film. I mean you are enjoying it. You aren’t breaking it down and re watching it but you are watching what guys do well and do poorly,” Abbrederis said.
