When the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers (2-1) take on the No.13 University of Southern California Trojans in Los Angeles on Saturday, both teams will look to avenge recent losses.
Wisconsin and USC have both faltered in high-profile early-season battles.
But those two losses are not created equal. While USC lost a heartbreaking 27-24 game at No.18 Michigan last Saturday, Wisconsin enters coming off an eye-opening 42-10 home beatdown at the hands of No.4 Alabama.
As a result, the Badgers enter Saturday as 15.5-point underdogs, desperate to prove their worth in the debut season of the expanded Big Ten.
Saturday’s match-up will be USC’s first in-conference game as a member of the Big Ten.
When Wisconsin last took the field two weeks ago, the results were patently disheartening. Playing against one of the top teams in the nation, Wisconsin looked desperately distant from the championship-level football that head coach Luke Fickell hopes to bring to Madison. And if it couldn’t get worse than being thoroughly outplayed in every facet of the game, Wisconsin also lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
As the sour taste of embarrassment met the unexpected task of breaking in back-up quarterback Braedyn Locke, Wisconsin received a well-timed bye week to prepare for their next foe, the Big Ten-crashing Trojans.
Luckily for Wisconsin, Locke has been put in a similar situation before, as he played three and a half games last season when starter Tanner Mordecai broke his throwing hand. The results were mixed for Locke, who threw five touchdown passes and only one interception but only completed about half of his passes and never seemed in control of the games.
Wisconsin lost three of the four games where Locke filled in, falling to Iowa, coming back to beat Illinois, battling but losing to Ohio State and embarrassingly losing at Indiana.
“For me, overall, it was really good to experience all the emotions that I think you get in a season in just that three weeks, " Locke said. “I think that has definitely helped me now and will continue to help me as I move forward.”
And if his experience as a starter last season wasn’t enough, Locke frequently led the first team throughout spring and fall practices in a quarterback battle with Van Dyke, something Fickell alluded to in a press conference earlier this week.
But starting quarterback or not, Wisconsin’s offense has continued to look slow in Phil Longo’s second year as offensive coordinator. Wisconsin put up 28 points followed by 27 points in close wins against lower-quality opponents but scored a mere 10 in the loss against Alabama.
The story has been the same for Wisconsin — a continually sputtering offense. The high-flying offense Longo so confidently predicted has yet to be seen 16 games into his tenure.
Wisconsin ranks 111th nationally in total offense this season, 47th in rushing yards per game and 105th in passing yards per game. Those numbers don’t scare anybody. And with only 34 plays of 10-plus yards, the Badgers’ inability to generate explosive plays has doomed them.
When Longo took the helm of Wisconsin’s offense with his ‘Air Raid’ philosophy, the concept aimed to strike with a balanced attack. By continually passing the ball downfield, Longo hoped to open up the field for Wisconsin’s traditionally successful running backs to pounce.
But neither the passing nor running game have been successful enough to force opposing defenses to worry too much about a single facet of Wisconsin’s offense. The balanced attack Wisconsin hoped for has morphed into a mostly dysfunctional offense, unable to consistently move the chains.
Nonetheless, some encouraging signs have emerged within the Badgers offense. Fickell continues to speak of his confidence in the running game, pointing to balanced contributions from Chez Mellusi, Tawee Walker and to a lesser extent Cade Yacamelli and Jackson Acker. Wide receiver Will Pauling has built on his breakout 2023 campaign, leading the receiving corps with 19 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown in non-conference play this season.
If Wisconsin’s running game can punish USC’s defensive front and get the chains moving, the rest of the field is bound to open up. From there, Locke will have better opportunities to air the ball out and live out Longo’s offensive hopes.
While USC’s defense has been traditionally weak, they have shown improvement this year. The Trojans enter the matchup ranked 30th nationally in total defense, a step up from their 121st spot last season. And while the Trojans did lose in Ann Arbor last week, their defense looked tough and physical. USC’s defense, while largely unproven, features obvious athleticism, which could cause the Badgers some trouble.
Offensively, the Trojans are led by sophomore quarterback Miller Moss. USC’s transition away from Heisman-winning Caleb Williams hasn’t been as difficult as it could have been, as Moss has completed 65% of his passes, with five touchdown passes and one interception. Against particularly tough competition, Moss has been accurate and effective, making it hard on opposing defenses by spreading the ball effectively.
However, Moss has not been perfect — against Michigan he fumbled and threw a pick-six. If Wisconsin wants any chance at stealing a victory, they must put Moss in uncomfortable positions and force him to turn the ball over.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, their defense has been much like the offense in terms of lacking an overall identity. Once known as a consistently dominating force, Wisconsin’s defense has become increasingly unreliable.
“We haven’t performed to where our expectations are at all,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said on Monday.
Wisconsin has several solid pieces on its defense. Its secondary is made up of two of the Big Ten’s best defenders, safety Hunter Wohler and cornerback Ricardo Hallman. Playmaking potential can be seen throughout all three defensive fronts.
But Tressel’s goal of meshing his defensive philosophy with the one that had worked at Wisconsin for so long has yet to come into fruition. The Badger defense ranks 69th nationally, and like the offense, has come up short in making explosive, game-breaking plays. They rank 78th nationally in takeaways per game and 83rd in sacks per game.
“The mentality of creating havoc, I think that mentality needs to improve,” Tressel said. “There’s no doubt about that. We need to create a few more negative plays.”
The opportunity to disrupt lies ahead, and if Tressel’s group can produce a vintage Wisconsin defensive domination, the Badgers have a chance at pulling off a season-changing upset.
For Wisconsin, playing another highly-ranked team like USC is a two-pronged fork. Saturday provides the Badgers another opportunity to get their season on-track, but alternatively, if things go south, USC could further propel Wisconsin’s downward slide.When the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers (2-1) take on the No.13 University of Southern California Trojans in Los Angeles on Saturday, both teams will look to avenge recent losses.
Wisconsin and USC have both faltered in high-profile early-season battles.
But those two losses are not created equal. While USC lost a heartbreaking 27-24 game at No.18 Michigan last Saturday, Wisconsin enters coming off an eye-opening 42-10 home beatdown at the hands of No.4 Alabama.
As a result, the Badgers enter Saturday as 15.5-point underdogs, desperate to prove their worth in the debut season of the expanded Big Ten.
Saturday’s match-up will be USC’s first in-conference game as a member of the Big Ten.
When Wisconsin last took the field two weeks ago, the results were patently disheartening. Playing against one of the top teams in the nation, Wisconsin looked desperately distant from the championship-level football that head coach Luke Fickell hopes to bring to Madison. And if it couldn’t get worse than being thoroughly outplayed in every facet of the game, Wisconsin also lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
As the sour taste of embarrassment met the unexpected task of breaking in back-up quarterback Braedyn Locke, Wisconsin received a well-timed bye week to prepare for their next foe, the Big Ten-crashing Trojans.
Luckily for Wisconsin, Locke has been put in a similar situation before, as he played three and a half games last season when starter Tanner Mordecai broke his throwing hand. The results were mixed for Locke, who threw five touchdown passes and only one interception but only completed about half of his passes and never seemed in control of the games.
Wisconsin lost three of the four games where Locke filled in, falling to Iowa, coming back to beat Illinois, battling but losing to Ohio State and embarrassingly losing at Indiana.
“For me, overall, it was really good to experience all the emotions that I think you get in a season in just that three weeks, " Locke said. “I think that has definitely helped me now and will continue to help me as I move forward.”
And if his experience as a starter last season wasn’t enough, Locke frequently led the first team throughout spring and fall practices in a quarterback battle with Van Dyke, something Fickell alluded to in a press conference earlier this week.
But starting quarterback or not, Wisconsin’s offense has continued to look slow in Phil Longo’s second year as offensive coordinator. Wisconsin put up 28 points followed by 27 points in close wins against lower-quality opponents but scored a mere 10 in the loss against Alabama.
The story has been the same for Wisconsin — a continually sputtering offense. The high-flying offense Longo so confidently predicted has yet to be seen 16 games into his tenure.
Wisconsin ranks 111th nationally in total offense this season, 47th in rushing yards per game and 105th in passing yards per game. Those numbers don’t scare anybody. And with only 34 plays of 10-plus yards, the Badgers’ inability to generate explosive plays has doomed them.
When Longo took the helm of Wisconsin’s offense with his ‘Air Raid’ philosophy, the concept aimed to strike with a balanced attack. By continually passing the ball downfield, Longo hoped to open up the field for Wisconsin’s traditionally successful running backs to pounce.
But neither the passing nor running game have been successful enough to force opposing defenses to worry too much about a single facet of Wisconsin’s offense. The balanced attack Wisconsin hoped for has morphed into a mostly dysfunctional offense, unable to consistently move the chains.
Nonetheless, some encouraging signs have emerged within the Badgers offense. Fickell continues to speak of his confidence in the running game, pointing to balanced contributions from Chez Mellusi, Tawee Walker and to a lesser extent Cade Yacamelli and Jackson Acker. Wide receiver Will Pauling has built on his breakout 2023 campaign, leading the receiving corps with 19 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown in non-conference play this season.
If Wisconsin’s running game can punish USC’s defensive front and get the chains moving, the rest of the field is bound to open up. From there, Locke will have better opportunities to air the ball out and live out Longo’s offensive hopes.
While USC’s defense has been traditionally weak, they have shown improvement this year. The Trojans enter the matchup ranked 30th nationally in total defense, a step up from their 121st spot last season. And while the Trojans did lose in Ann Arbor last week, their defense looked tough and physical. USC’s defense, while largely unproven, features obvious athleticism, which could cause the Badgers some trouble.
Offensively, the Trojans are led by sophomore quarterback Miller Moss. USC’s transition away from Heisman-winning Caleb Williams hasn’t been as difficult as it could have been, as Moss has completed 65% of his passes, with five touchdown passes and one interception. Against particularly tough competition, Moss has been accurate and effective, making it hard on opposing defenses by spreading the ball effectively.
However, Moss has not been perfect — against Michigan he fumbled and threw a pick-six. If Wisconsin wants any chance at stealing a victory, they must put Moss in uncomfortable positions and force him to turn the ball over.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, their defense has been much like the offense in terms of lacking an overall identity. Once known as a consistently dominating force, Wisconsin’s defense has become increasingly unreliable.
“We haven’t performed to where our expectations are at all,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said on Monday.
Wisconsin has several solid pieces on its defense. Its secondary is made up of two of the Big Ten’s best defenders, safety Hunter Wohler and cornerback Ricardo Hallman. Playmaking potential can be seen throughout all three defensive fronts.
But Tressel’s goal of meshing his defensive philosophy with the one that had worked at Wisconsin for so long has yet to come into fruition. The Badger defense ranks 69th nationally, and like the offense, has come up short in making explosive, game-breaking plays. They rank 78th nationally in takeaways per game and 83rd in sacks per game.
“The mentality of creating havoc, I think that mentality needs to improve,” Tressel said. “There’s no doubt about that. We need to create a few more negative plays.”
The opportunity to disrupt lies ahead, and if Tressel’s group can produce a vintage Wisconsin defensive domination, the Badgers have a chance at pulling off a season-changing upset.
For Wisconsin, playing another highly-ranked team like USC is a two-pronged fork. Saturday provides the Badgers another opportunity to get their season on-track, but alternatively, if things go south, USC could further propel Wisconsin’s downward slide.
