Wisconsin Badgers Lose ReliaQuest Bowl: Here’s What Stood Out

The Wisconsin Badgers football team (7-6, 5-4 B1G) traveled down to Raymond James Stadium and capped off year one of the Luke Fickell era with a 35-31 ReliaQuest Bowl loss to the No. 13 LSU Tigers.

Here are a few things that stood out from the Wisconsin Badgers season finale loss to Brian Kelly and the Tigers.

The Wisconsin Football Offense Finally Balled Out

It may have taken until the last game of the season, but the Wisconsin Badgers air raid offense under Phil Longo finally took flight, even if it didn’t result in a win.  

In the loss to LSU, the Wisconsin football offense produced its highest scoring output since September on the back of starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai. The Texas native completed 27-of-40 pass attempts for 378 yards and three touchdown passes en route to becoming the first Badgers signal caller to throw for 300+ yards since 2019. 

GOOD. BYE. 👋#OnWisconsin x @Will_Paul6 pic.twitter.com/6c1JvaLbAE

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) January 1, 2024

It also helped to have a healthy Will Pauling back at wide receiver, who caught eight passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Pauling, alongside Bryson Green, who hauled in seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown of his own, became the first two Wisconsin Badgers wideouts to eclipse 100+ receiving yards this season. 

Hell, even the running game made an impact without Braelon Allen. The duo of Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli carried the ball 21 times for 131 yards and a score on an impressive 6.2 yards per carry. 

Final drive aside, because, good God, that was an ugly way to end the game, Longo’s offense totaled 506 yards playing complimentary football and finished with an average of 6.8 yards per play. 

I don’t want to get too negative this fresh off a loss, and we’ll have all offseason to dissect some of this coaching staff’s shortcomings, but Luke Fickell and Longo both contributed to come head-scratching play-calling decisions and were far too conservative down the stretch for my taste.

Wisconsin Football Defense Made Little to No Impact

The Wisconsin Badgers defense knew how formidable LSU’s aerial attack was heading into the ReliaQuest Bowl, even without Heisman-winning QB Jayden Daniels lining up under center, and the Tigers lived up to the hype. 

Garrett Nussmeier stepped in at QB and connected with his receivers across all levels of the field, amassing an impressive 395-yard passing yards and three touchdowns with one pick that Ricardo Hallman stole. 

LSU’s receiving corps showcased their explosiveness repeatedly and was comfortable challenging Wisconsin’s secondary throughout the game. Brian Thomas hauled in eight receptions for 98 yards, along with a crucial pass interference penalty drawn, extending a scoring drive. 

Additionally, Malik Nabers, a Biletnikoff Award runner-up, logged three receptions in the first half, breaking LSU’s career receiving yards record before sitting out the latter part of the game (Bowl season is so weird). 

The Wisconsin Badgers gave up 492 total yards on 7.0 YPP and allowed a season-high 35 points. If nothing else, today’s performance and the overall lack of impact from the pass rush illustrate why the coaching staff is working so hard to add speed and athleticism to their front seven. 

Other Wisconsin Badgers Musings 

Wisconsin QB Tanner Mordecai laid it all out there against LSU.

He was the heartbeat of the Badgers’ offense after returning from injury, and even though Mordecai was a rental, I’ll always appreciate his grit.

I loved seeing QB1 have his best game of the season — just wish it could have ended in a victory. Thanks for everything, Tex.

***

Wisconsin football true freshman Trech Kekahuna got his first extended playing time of the season at wide receiver and looked like someone who will make an impact on the Badgers offense for years to come.

The Hawaii native caught four passes for 64 yards. I liked a lot of what I saw.

***

It was great to see Jake Renfro back on the field and starting at center for the Wisconsin Badgers offensive line.

This was his first game action since the College Football Playoffs in 2021 at Cincinnati, and I saw enough encouraging signs to think the Badgers have a potential start on the roster.

***

Ricardo Hallman’s 7 INTs on the season are tied for the most in the country. Despite the schematic change, Rico was incredible all season long in the Badgers secondary, and if he chooses to turn pro, I totally understand. But if the Florida native returns, Wisconsin football has a legit CB1 as good as anyone else in the country heading into 2024.

INT No. 7️⃣ pic.twitter.com/D0vWTq0Mmc

— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) January 1, 2024

***

Per usual, Hunter Wohler looked fantastic. He finished with seven tackles, a tackle for loss, and two pass deflections.

The in-state product passed Jason Doering and Ryan Aiello for the third-most solo tackles by a Wisconsin Badgers defensive back in a single season in program history.

Wohler already announced he’s returning next season, and I can’t wait to see what he does to help elevate this unit.

***

To say things didn’t go according to plan for Luke Fickell in his first year as the Wisconsin Badgers football program’s head coach would probably be an understatement. But rather than talk about what didn’t happen on the field, I’m going to reserve judgment the best I can and see what this staff can do with another offseason under their belt.

I think most people, myself included, overestimated the staff’s ability to seamlessly transition what Wisconsin wanted to be with who the Badgers currently were — and at times, it didn’t look pretty.

I’m still plenty optimistic about the future of the Wisconsin football team under Coach Fickell — and I am already looking forward to 2024.

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