EVANSTON, Ill.—Wisconsin began its Big Ten schedule with a humiliating road loss to Northwestern Saturday in a game that should have served as a springboard into the rest of conference play.
Instead, the No. 17 Badgers (0-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) limped off Ryan Field after falling in a 20-14 train wreck.
Another slow start doomed UW, as it was held scoreless by Northwestern (2-0, 3-2) in the first half and is now averaging a dismal 5.8 points in the first quarter.
While the Badgers had poor starting field position in the first half, as their initial drives began on their own 11-yard line on average, they were unable to efficiently move the ball against a Northwestern defense that came in allowing 364.2 yards per game.
Redshirt junior Melvin Gordon gained 259 yards rushing, but his 9.6 yards per carry were nullified by a nonexistent passing attack.
The Badgers came close to scoring on their first drive of the game, as Gordon gained 58 yards on his first touch to move the ball into Northwestern territory.
Wisconsin then worked to the Wildcats’ 19-yard line, but redshirt junior Tanner McEvoy threw an interception in the end zone on a wobbly pass that was intended for redshirt junior Alex Erickson, who was running a corner route to the front pylon.
After Wisconsin’s three ensuing drives all ended with a punt, head coach Gary Andersen pulled McEvoy in favor of redshirt junior Joel Stave, who had not seen game action since the Capitol One Bowl Jan. 1. Andersen was frustrated with McEvoy’s inefficiency, as he went 4-10 for 24 yards, and felt that Stave was ready to play after a promising week in practice.
“Again, in quick review, this was the first week where I really felt that, I looked at Joel and I asked Joel is he ready to go,” Andersen said. “Like I told you guys all week long that this was the week that we felt like he was ready to go and I believed it. When I felt like we needed a spark, looking for a spark, we made the change. So it wasn’t necessarily the quarterback production, it was the offense as a whole and we needed to move in that direction.”
Any spark that Andersen was looking for from Stave never came to light.
The Badgers finally got on the board on their first drive of the second half via a Gordon 2-yard touchdown run, but Stave failed to revive the passing game.
He threw three interceptions that squandered hope of a UW comeback. His first turnover was not truly his fault, as he was hit as he threw and the ball sailed up for grabs, but the next two were inexcusable. Stave threw an interception directly to a Wildcat defender in their own end zone after Wisconsin had driven to NU’s 2-yardline, and his final pick came on the Badgers’ last drive of the game, with no clear target in the area.
Stave completed a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to senior Kenzel Doe on a 19-yard fade to the front corner of the end zone that pushed the score to 20-14, but he felt lukewarm about his 8-19, 114-yard performance.
“Obviously you can take as many practice reps as you want, it’s different in the game,” Stave said. “You’re getting hit live, it’s a game, it’s different. I felt good, I felt confident, basically ready to go. Prepared the same way as I would any other week and I felt good when I got the shot.”
Andersen explained that both quarterbacks will likely be used in upcoming games to take advantage of McEvoy’s mobility and Stave’s ability to air the ball out deep.
The Badgers were worn down by freshman running back Justin Jackson, who gained 162 yards in wake of a defensive effort that Andersen was displeased with.
“We did not tackle well,” Andersen said. “Numerous times we had a free hitter or a guy who freed a block early on the line of scrimmage and we bounced off those blocks. These kids ran hard on tape, they’ve shown that every game they’ve played this year and they ran hard again today. And I’m guessing now, but it appeared to me, without seeing the tape, that’s the worst tackling game we’ve had this season.”
Northwestern exposed Wisconsin’s weaknesses in its interior front seven after redshirt senior linebacker Marcus Trotter left the game with a groin injury early in the first quarter. The read option killed UW, as Jackson was able to grind short chunks of yardage that extended drives and kept the Badger defense on the field for long periods of time.
Redshirt senior quarterback Trevor Siemian, who had struggled in his previous four games, picked up 12.1 yards per completion, threading the ball in between the levels of Wisconsin’s secondary and exploiting coverage mismatches caused by the Wildcats’ frantic pace between plays.
Wisconsin will return to Madison Oct. 11 to take on Big Ten opponent Illinois.
