1. Protecting the ball
A yard shy from punching the football into the end zone and taking a late fourth quarter lead against Iowa, redshirt senior quarterback Joel Stave tripped over redshirt freshman right guard Micah Kapoi and fumbled the ball, gifting the Hawkeyes possession and the game as a result.
The botched handoff, however, was the most colossal turnover in a game defined by carelessness with the football. Wisconsin’s miserable ball security manifested itself in the form of four turnovers, causing UW to lose one of the ugliest games at Camp Randall in recent memory.
Wisconsin surprisingly outgained its conference rival in total yards, but the inability of the offense to take care of the football cost it countless scoring opportunities and spoiled a terrific defensive effort.
The sloppiness that held the Wisconsin offense to only six points became especially problematic in the second half, as the Badgers only came away with points on one occasion, despite finishing each of their second half drives inside Iowa territory.
After starting the season remarkably well, the Hawkeyes’ defense made life difficult on Stave. He tossed two intercep- tions, fumbled twice and finished the day 21-of-38.
If UW expects to get back to its winning ways next week in Nebraska, it will have to clean up its mistakes against a Cornhusker team with a knack for taking the ball away.
Already suffering their first loss of conference play, winning the West looks like a whole lot less of a sure thing. This loss has amplified the importance of winning every game moving forward, and losing the turnover battle is not going to allow the Badgers to do so.
2. Running game needs to start clicking
With the injury to feature back Corey Clement, everyone expected the Badgers running game to take a step back, but there was still hope that Wisconsin could overcome the loss.
Much of that faith may have fallen by the wayside in the Big Ten opener Saturday.
The Wisconsin ground game was virtually non-existent against Iowa, averaging a meager 2.5 yards per carry for 86 total yards, a number that falls short of an already underachieving unit’s average.
While it looked like the running game was coming to fruition with noted improvement each week, staunch defensive play from the Hawkeyes proved that the Badgers’ rushing attack still has a great deal of work to do. This loss also affirmed the notion that Wisconsin still needs to run the ball effectively in order to have any kind of offensive success. Although Wisconsin hasn’t needed strong performances out of their running backs at times this season, UW isn’t built for the pass and must find a way to kickstart its rushing attack.
Facing off against a stingy Nebraska defense, which surrenders an average of only 85 rushing yards per game, next week might pose another uphill battle for Wisconsin if the ground game remains dormant.
3. Stifling the run
Following a heartbreaking fourth-quarter meltdown against Illinois Saturday, the Nebraska Cornhuskers fell to 2-3 on the season. Even though Nebraska hasn’t fared too well this season, one area where the Cornhuskers have found success is in their running game.
In its last game, Nebraska running backs turned in a strong performance, with 187 of the team’s 292 total yards coming on the ground. This trend persisted throughout the first five games of the season, as Nebraska boasts an impressive average of 193 rushing yards.
If Wisconsin can continue their defensive dominance and contain Nebraska on the ground, it will place the onus on redshirt junior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr., who struggled mightily against Illinois and has proven rather shaky all year.
Therefore, shutting down the run should be the primary focus for defensive coordinator Dave Aranda going into next week’s contest. Without the run, Nebraska becomes one-dimensional on offense and reliant on a subpar passing game.
