Wisconsin Football Report Card From the 24-10 Loss to Northwestern

The Wisconsin football program has hit rock bottom — again. The Badgers are now 5-5 on the season after suffering a soul-sucking 24-10 loss to Northwestern.

Coming off of a brutal loss to arguably the worst team in the Big Ten, UW needed to generate some sort of spark to finish out the season on a high note. Instead, the Badgers are now in jeopardy of losing their 21-season-long bowl streak if they can’t come away with a win in the final two matchups of the season.

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

Wisconsin Football Offense Grade: F

In nearly every aspect, this offense was unconscionably poor against Northwestern. 

Tanner Mordecai returned just weeks after suffering a broken hand, but the sixth-year senior couldn’t carry the offense all by himself. Although he had a solid start to the game, his production quickly tapered off. That’s not entirely his fault, though.

This was about the worst performance I’ve seen from a Wisconsin offensive line. It was a poor showing in every way for a school that prides itself on its big men in the trenches. The offensive line couldn’t get clear running lanes open for Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli, and the pass protection wasn’t much better. The meteoric downfall of Jack Nelson should be studied, as the redshirt junior put up yet another terrible performance with three holding penalties. It was just an all-around embarrassing performance from this group. 

Wisconsin’s receivers just can’t get out of their own way. Drops have been an issue all season long, and there has been no sign that it’s slowing down. Of course, I should acknowledge that having Mordecai back with one of his favorite targets, Chimere Dike, playing in a limited capacity was an ailment on the passing attack. Still, this receiver corps has been largely unimpressive, especially after all the talk of how good this group would be in the preseason — which I am absolutely guilty of. 

It’s tough to generate a good running game with Braelon Allen receiving just three carries as he continues to work back from injury. Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli could hardly get anything going, as the duo combined for just 97 total yards. Again, part of this was due to the offensive line, but it was still an extremely underwhelming performance from a tandem that seemed to be trending in a good direction.

Wisconsin Badgers Defense Grade: F

At this point, I think it is impossible for Wisconsin’s defense to start out on the right foot. Slow starts have plagued Mike Tressel and company all season long, and this one was no different.

The Badgers got punched in the mouth immediately as Northwestern orchestrated a quick drive to take a 7-3 lead. The Wildcats didn’t look back from there and kept piling on the points, taking a 24-3 lead into halftime. Wisconsin’s defense let up a whopping 295 yards and 16 first downs in the first half. UW also couldn’t slow down Northwestern on third down as the Wildcats finished 10-11 on third down in the first 30 minutes of play.

After the break, UW looked to have a brand new defense. The Badgers allowed just 31 total yards in the second half, but the offense didn’t provide any help. Second-half turnarounds have been a relatively common theme for this Wisconsin defense throughout the season. It’s disheartening to know that if the Badgers had that same energy in the first half, some games could have been a different story. Either way, this defense is too undisciplined for its own good right now. 

Wisconsin Football Special Teams Grade: D-

I can’t give this group an F, but I’ll give them the next best thing. 

Nathanial Vakos, who was limited last week, hit one of his two field goal attempts. The former Ohio transfer’s 40-yard miss was the nail in the coffin for Wisconsin in this one. Vakos did make his sole extra-point attempt.

Atticus Bertrams continues his streak of mediocre play. There weren’t any egregiously bad punts, but another lackluster showing from the Australia native.

Vinny Anthony brings this grade up for me ever so slightly, as he looks like a good returner option in place of Chimere Dike. The sophomore receiver logged four kick returns for 69 yards on the day.

The Wisconsin football program will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers next weekend as they look to become bowl-eligible.

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