How Wisconsin Football Can Breathe Life Into Its Ailing Passing Attack

MADISON, Wis. — This season, the Wisconsin football team’s passing attack has been nothing short of disappointing. Promoted as an “air raid” system under Phil Longo, it has hardly lived up to its billing. 

Injuries to key positions like quarterback and running back, along with inconsistencies, have plagued the Badgers, leaving them searching for answers to right the ship.  

As it stands, the Badgers lack a clear identity and, surprisingly, find themselves in a worse position on offense than they were a year ago — a fact that truly astonishes me, given the offseason expectations. 

UW enters its final three games ranked No. 92 in the country in total offense — and at this point, I haven’t seen anything that suggests they’ll suddenly turn this thing around between now and bowl season. 

How Can the Wisconsin Football Passing Game Find Some Rhythm?

Undeniably, it’s been a rollercoaster ride with Wisconsin football starting quarterback Braedyn Locke — which, in many ways, was to be expected. 

While he’s shown flashes of brilliance, this past week against Indiana saw him struggle mightily with accuracy. Locke missed key throws, including a critical fourth-down pass that essentially ended any hope of a Badgers W.

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— Badgers Film Clips (@Badgers_Film) November 5, 2023

So far, the Texas native has completed 76 out of 152 pass attempts, equating to a 50% completion rate, amassing 777 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception—additionally, his average yards per attempt stands at just 5.1. Not bad for a redshirt freshman—but not great, either.

Phil Longo’s offensive scheme is traditionally predicated on throwing quick hitters and prioritizing easy completions — to sequence plays that open up opportunities in the run game or to take a deep shot later on. The issue with that this season — is accuracy at quarterback has been hit or miss — and the wide receivers have a Big Ten-leading 24 drops between them.

So, what’s the solution — if one even exists at this point?

When Healthy, the Badgers Should Start Tanner Mordecai

Albeit unlikely, if Tanner Mordecai is healthy enough to play in any of the final three games, he would likely present an upgrade. Before Mordecai’s injury, he completed 65.7% of his passes and had an EPA per pass of (0.167) — which is higher than Locke’s EPA of (0.043) for reference.

He also gave the Wisconsin football offense a much more viable threat as a runner — and Phil Longo was more than willing to use him as such — evidenced by Mordecai’s 15% usage rate as a runner — compared to Locke’s, which is understandably sitting at just 3%.

I understand that most people want to roll with Braedyn Locke down the stretch and get him more experience to build on heading into next year. But winning games is what matters most — and if Mordecai gives you the best chance to do that — which Luke Fickell and his staff clearly thought heading into the season — then it should be a no-brainer to make the switch.

It’s worth noting that we don’t know if Mordecai will even be a possibility down the stretch — but given what we’ve seen and the injuries that have occurred — I don’t see any other solutions other than pepper Will Pauling and Bryson Green with targets and pray for the best.

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