Wisconsin Football Report Card From the Brutal 20-14 Loss to Indiana

Thanks to a disastrous performance, the Wisconsin football program suffered a 20-14 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers. The Badgers, now 5-4, are out of the race for the Big Ten West after heading into the game with a four-way tie for the division lead. 

Here are my grades for Wisconsin’s offense, defense, and special teams from the loss in Bloomington.

Wisconsin Football Offense Grade: D-

I should acknowledge that Wisconsin was hampered by injuries, playing without their No. 1 receiver and running back. I should also acknowledge that it is no excuse. This Badgers offense just could not get out of their own way, which goes for the players and the coaches.

Let’s start with Braedyn Locke. I know there are some Badger fans out there who think it’s time to move on from the redshirt freshman, but I’d seriously pump the brakes on that. It’s far too early to say that Locke isn’t the guy. I mean, he’s only played three games. That’s not to say he didn’t have a bad game; he absolutely did. Locke was flat-out inaccurate in several moments, but the worst of them was on the missed throw to a wide-open Will Pauling on a game-deciding 4th-and-2. Toss in some low throws early on and overthrown passes on deep routes, and it was an extremely underwhelming follow-up to his past two games, to put it lightly. Again, I still believe Locke has something, but this was a step back for the redshirt freshman.

One of the only positives I took away from this one was Cade Yacamelli until he had a back-breaking fumble in the fourth quarter. I thought the converted safety did a solid job in his first real reps. Yacamelli only finished with 48 yards on ten carries, but a couple of his runs were wiped out due to holding penalties. It was by no means a great game for Yacamelli, especially considering the late fumble, but he did show some flashes.

The Badgers offense had several opportunities to take advantage, but they couldn’t finish their drives. The worst example was when Wisconsin was at the Indiana 18-yard line. After getting all the way down to the red zone, UW had a delay of game penalty on 3rd-and-10, which was quickly followed by a sack that pushed them out of field goal range. Absolutely brutal.

The negatives far outweigh the positives here, so I have no choice but to give this offense a D-.

Wisconsin Badgers Football Defense Grade: C-

Credit where it’s due: Mike Tressel’s crew kept the Badgers in it near the end. Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner combined for back-to-back plays in the backfield to force an Indiana punt and give the offense a chance in the fourth quarter. Of course, UW’s offense couldn’t give them any help. Though the defense stepped up in the second half, the first half was a stark contrast.

In the first half, Wisconsin allowed Indiana to gain 225 yards. A big part of that was their failure to stop the Hoosiers on third down. The defense let up two 3rd-and-9 conversions on the first drive alone and several other 3rd-and-long conversions throughout the game. Sprinkle in some costly penalties, and it was a recipe for disaster for the defense.

I should note that Wisconsin took a step forward in the second half, allowing the Hoosiers to gain just 36 yards. A big reason for that was CJ Goetz, who finished the game with 12 tackles with 1.5 TFLs. It was good to see the big man wreak some havoc in some moments. If it weren’t for a key defensive pass interference call, this grade would likely be higher for the defense. However, I’m going to stick with a C-.

Wisconsin Football Special Teams Grade: C

There were several moments in this game where Wisconsin could have attempted a field goal but elected to go for it on fourth down. We found out after the game that Nathanial Vakos was hampered with a back injury and didn’t feel comfortable kicking long field goals. Still, the former Ohio transfer made both of his extra-point attempts.

Vinny Anthony had a 22-yard return that gave the offense some good field position, but of course, they couldn’t capitalize. The sophomore was serviceable while filling in for Chimere Dike, finishing with four returns for 29 yards. 

Atticus Bertrams had a very middle-of-the-road day. He did have one very poor 37-yard punt in the second quarter, but a few punts pinned the Hoosiers deep in their own territory. The Australia native has taken a bit of a step back recently, and this game didn’t do much to turn that streak around.

Overall, this was as brutal of a loss as you can get. The Wisconsin football program should have easily taken this one, but it was they just kept shooting themselves in the foot. With Big Ten West hopes out the window, all I’m asking for is for the Badgers to take home the Axe now. 

UW will look to bounce back against Northwestern next week at home. God help us if the Badgers don’t come away with a win.

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