Wisconsin’s upset of No. 16 USC came with some ugly offense attached, and the biggest warning sign wasn’t the passing total or the penalties. It was what the Badgers did with the takeaways they created.
Wisconsin finished with just 200 total yards and 58 passing yards, and the offense never exactly looked smooth. The Badgers averaged only 3.3 yards per carry, and a handful of avoidable flags only made the night messier. Even so, the defense delivered the kind of performance that can hide a lot of issues.
The one thing Wisconsin couldn’t hide was its wasted chance to put USC away sooner. Jayden Maiava entered the game having thrown just three interceptions over his previous 224 pass attempts this season, but Wisconsin picked him twice and came away with only three points.
After the first pick, the Badgers managed just two yards on three plays before settling for a 33-yard field goal. After the second, they again gained only two yards on three plays before missing a 51-yard field goal attempt.
At the time, that looked like the sort of mistake that could swing the game back toward USC. It never did, because Wisconsin’s defense shut the door and didn’t allow another Trojans point after the 9:44 mark in the second quarter.
That lesson matters again this week. Wisconsin heads to Kinnick Stadium on Halloween for the Heartland Trophy game against Iowa, and the margin for error figures to be tiny. Both teams bring elite defenses and offenses that have struggled, especially through the air, so points are likely to be hard to come by.
Turnovers could decide it. Iowa has lost seven this season, one more than Wisconsin’s six.
The Hawkeyes were doing a strong job protecting the ball until last week’s loss to Minnesota, when they gave it away four times - three interceptions and a fumble. Minnesota, though, didn’t score off any of those turnovers, which allowed Iowa to stay in the game.
Wisconsin also has its own recent issues in this matchup. Under Luke Fickell, the Badgers have turned it over seven times against Iowa and forced only one takeaway in their three meetings with the Hawkeyes. That imbalance doesn’t explain everything about Wisconsin’s recent struggles in the series, but it does underline how often the Badgers have failed to handle the game situation well against Kirk Ferentz’s team.
“We were disappointed we didn’t finish with more points. Two interceptions, and we only got three out of that.
We felt a little bad about it, but that’s what I’m talking about, that fight. No one sat there and said, ‘oh, the game’s over because we didn’t capitalize on those interceptions,'" wideout Chris Brooks Jr said after the win over USC.
Now Wisconsin needs that same edge, but with better payoff. Saturday is shaping up as a grind between two physical teams with very little room to breathe, and if the Badgers get a short field against Iowa, they have to cash in.
In Other News...
Wisconsins Rotation Is Taking Shape Around One Growing Concern
Wisconsins exhibition slate offered enough to feel encouraged and enough to keep the staff measuring the depth chart with caution. The Badgers finished 3-0, capped by a win over Oklahoma State, and Owen Foxwell looked like the guard most ready to steady things early. He brought efficient scoring and a clear presence in the backcourt, the kind of start that can settle a team while the rest of the rotation sorts itself out.
The bigger question now is what happens in the minutes around him. Other players have flashed, but nobody has yet locked down a dependable scoring role, which leaves the Badgers with a real sense of possibility and a lingering concern as the season approaches. Wisconsin has a workable foundation, but the way those non-Foxwell possessions are filled in may end up shaping how quickly this group finds its rhythm once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Badgers Showed Real Promise But One Issue Still Stands Out
The Badgers closed the preseason with a convincing 82-65 win over Oklahoma State, a performance that offered a cleaner snapshot of what this group can be when the offense is clicking. Owen Foxwell led the way with 19 points and three assists, and he was especially sharp from deep, going 3-for-3 from three-point range as Wisconsin shot 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with the strong shooting night and a defense that held the Cowboys to 65 points, there was still a familiar issue sitting in the background. Wisconsin turned the ball over 15 times, and while that did not spoil the result in an exhibition setting, it remains the kind of detail that can undercut a promising night once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces Two Iowa Unknowns That Could Decide The Heartland Trophy
Wisconsin heads to Iowa this week with the kind of game that can turn on small details, and the matchup already has a little extra uncertainty baked in. The Badgers, now No. 25, are facing an Iowa team that slipped out of the AP Poll after its loss to Minnesota, but the bigger question is what the Hawkeyes will look like on offense with the quarterback situation still unsettled and Hank Brown set to start.
There is another layer of unpredictability around Iowas backfield, too, with star running back Kamari Moulton out for the season and the workload shifting elsewhere. For Wisconsin, that means preparing for a rivalry game in which the usual scouting report may not hold up for long, and the Heartland Trophy could come down to which side adapts fastest once the ball is kicked off. [Read more 🡒]