The honey badger is known for its tendency to play dead when wounded.
On Friday, the Wisconsin Badgers (5-7) let themselves be killed off by the Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-5).
It was a fitting end to a miserable second season for Luke Fickell — who fell to 12-13 as Wisconsin’s head coach after the 24-7 home loss — lifeless, uninteresting, cold and limp.
The Badgers put up no fight in attempting to keep their 22-year bowl streak, the third-longest (now no longer) active in the country, alive against their border rivals, finishing the season with an empty cabinet for the first time since the team added a third trophy game in 2014 in what was a game full of “firsts.”
The first five-game losing streak since 1991. The first Badgers team to lose Paul Bunyan’s Axe three of four times to Minnesota since 1990. And, somehow, the first and only start for quarterback Braedyn Locke without an interception this season.
Don’t worry, Locke didn’t look any better than usual.
The coldest game at Camp Randall since 1964 started off slow, with one first down between the two teams in four drives.
A 37-yard strike from Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer to wide receiver Daniel Jackson warmed Minnesota up, propelling them into Badgers territory. A Brosmer touchdown run near the end of the first quarter gave them a lead they never relinquished.
It seemed as though the Badgers were ready to roll over and let the season come to an end.
Jackson consistently beat star cornerback Ricardo Hallman, and running back Darius Taylor gashed the once-fearsome Badger front-seven for 143 yards.
Later in the second quarter, a 40-yard Marcus Major run off a fake tush push put the Gophers in scoring position. Even after Brosmer connected with Jackson in the end zone to give the Gophers a 14-0 lead, the Badgers had a chance late in the first half.
Receiving the ball first to start the second half gave Wisconsin an opportunity to go two-for-one — scoring twice before Minnesota touched the ball again — and tie the game up.
Instead they punted on their next three drives.
Wisconsin struggled to move the ball throughout the game, totaling an uninspired 167 yards on the day. Their biggest play was an 18-yard scamper by running back Tawee Walker, but it didn’t come until the start of the fourth quarter. The run gave the Badgers a breath of fresh air and a chance to cut the Gophers’ lead down to seven, but a third-and-7 holding penalty and incomplete pass put the Badgers in full give-up mode.
With just over 12 minutes to go, down 14, a bowl on the line and a team that could barely scratch its way into enemy territory, Fickell decided to attempt a field goal rather than trying to keep the season alive.
Naturally, kicker Nathaniel Vakos, a 66.7% field goal kicker from 30-39 yards coming into the game, missed from 37-yards out. Perhaps he just wanted in on the air of failure surrounding the team Friday.
Just two drives later, Wisconsin’s season ended on a fourth-and-1 run from the shotgun.
How fitting.
Tomer Ronen is the Features Editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has covered protests, state politics, sports and more. Follow him on Twitter at @TRonen22.
