ARLINGTON, Texas—Wisconsin pulled off a program-defining win Oct. 16, 2010 that shocked not only the country, but itself. Moments after the then-No. 16 Badgers toppled No. 1 Ohio State, fans rushed onto the turf of Camp Randall Stadium, celebrating a win that would propel them to their first Rose Bowl in a decade. Although the collective euphoria permeated Madison, one thing was very clear: Wisconsin proved it was for real.
For moments during the Badgers’ 35-17 loss at the hands of Alabama Saturday in Arlington, Texas, it was difficult to avoid thinking how a win over the Crimson Tide would have a similar legitimizing effect. No. 20 Wisconsin faced a No. 3 Alabama team that was a win away from the National Championship game a season ago, and, with a new feel about the program brought on by head coach Paul Chryst, a victory in Texas would have been a perfect way to launch into a new era.
When redshirt senior quarterback Joel Stave marched Wisconsin down the field at the beginning of the second quarter, completing 6-8 passes for 59 yards, capped off by a 5-yard strike to senior Alex Erickson, the game was tied at seven. UW looked to be in control, as Stave seemed to be on the way to the sharpest performance of his career, the defense had just clamped down and the Badgers were running away with the field position game.
But then reality hit.
Alabama carved up a Wisconsin defense, which, without Michael Caputo, who left early in the first quarter with a head injury, was lost. Senior quarterback Jake Coker capped off an 88-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Robert Foster to put Alabama up 14-7.
Wisconsin’s next drive ended with a missed field goal, and when its first drive in the second half fizzled and resulted in a punt, which led to Derrick Henry’s 56-yard touchdown run, UW’s hope for a season-bending win came crashing down. While Badger fans may have been crushed by what transpired within the vast expanses of AT&T Stadium, the team is feeling much more even-keeled. Senior linebacker Joe Schobert saw the loss as something Wisconsin can actually build on, rather than any sort of lost opportunity.
“The chance to play one of the premier teams in the history of college football in Alabama, the kind of team to start the season off, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Schobert said. “It’s a great way to get ready, it’s great for the offseason, camaraderie, bonding, get ready to build up for a game like this, and I wouldn’t want to start my season any other way.”
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Chryst felt the same way, acknowledging that while a win would have been something special, this team in particular, which is very much in a state of flux, benefits simply from being on the same field as upper-echelon talent like Alabama.
“Anytime that you can play against an opponent like Alabama in a great stadium, that means a lot,” Chryst said. “You’ve got a lot of players that this meant a lot to. And absolutely we would have liked to have played better and won the game. But it’s—what a great experience for a lot of our guys.”
The consensus within the Badger locker room is that this is by no means a lost season because of the opening-night loss to the Crimson Tide. But there are certainly areas of concern, beginning with injuries.
As with all head trauma, it’s unclear what the next steps are for Caputo. Until he can be fully evaluated, his status is up in the air, which means that sophomore D’Cota Dixon will have to take on a huge amount of playing time at a position he’s still learning.
Junior Leon Jacobs seemed to aggravate the toe injury that held him out of much of fall camp, which meant that the inexperienced freshman Chris Orr and redshirt freshman Ryan Connelly will have to adapt to the college game very quickly.
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Perhaps most concerning of all is the state of junior Corey Clement, the heir apparent to Wisconsin’s legion of elite running backs. After being limited to eight carries and 16 rushing yards through three quarters, it was finally announced in the last quarter that he was out with a groin injury. After the game, Clement revealed that it was a recurrence of a tweak he suffered during the summer that was fully healed until he hurt it again this past Tuesday.
“It sucks,” Clement said of his marred debut as a starter. “You feel like you fell short, letting your team down. It’s not the image I want to leave for the first game of my starting career. Just very unfortunate, but hopefully I comeback even healthier next game and just make up for this game.”
With a new cast of defensive players that will surely be rolling in during the next few weeks, Dave Aranda will have to find some combination of talent that can put Alabama’s 502-yard performance behind them. Schobert believes the pieces will fall into place, but it’s a matter of finding consistency.
“I wouldn’t say I have too many concerns,” Schobert said. “I think when we played our gaps, when we played sound, we were winning the line of scrimmage, we were making plays in the backfield, we were able to stop their drives. We’ve just got to focus on not having as many missed assignment because that led to the big plays which they took advantage of.”
There are positives to build on, starting with Stave going 26-39 for228 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and Erickson reeling in six receptions for 73 yards and a score.
There’s solace to be found in how Schobert and junior Vince Biegel wreaked havoc on Coker during the first half and proved why they’re going to be the focal points of the defense moving forward.
Alabama is simply in a different class. Wisconsin isn’t in a position to compete for a National Championship, and there shouldn’t be any expectations for that to happen this year. While the loss is tough to swallow, the Badgers now have a schedule that provides an opportunity to put Saturday behind them and move forward through their process of change. It was no Saturday night upset over Ohio State, but in a strange way, it’s still a step in the right direction.
