MADISON - The questions being offered to Wisconsin players Saturday evening after a loss to Washington State centered around miscues, what could have been executed better and the sloppy errors on the day.
Those questions likely would've had a different tone to them had Badgers eked out a win despite the errors. At least senior cornerback Jay Shaw thinks so.
“I’m going to keep saying this, but I really think I should have held onto the ball and I really think sitting down right now, we’d be having a totally different conversation,” Shaw, who tallied a tackle and interception in the loss, said. “We’d probably be seeing 17-10, 21-10, somewhere around there. We’d be real beautiful. The questions would be different, so I take this one on me, to be completely honest.
'Sometimes my brain just goes end zone. I have to worry about catching it and securing it."
After the game when speaking with reporters, Shaw brought up his fumble unprompted on three separate instances. Ball security could have been the difference after he brought in an interception with UW leading, 14-10.
“I just wish I held onto the ball,” Shaw said. “That time I was so focused on getting into the end zone. I have to worry about protecting the football."
That mental lapse is just one in a long list of self-inflicted errors that haunted the Badgers Saturday afternoon against the Cougars. When the team goes over the film on Sunday, the coaching staff will have multiple miscues to go over in all three phases of the game.
The offense was called back for a penalty on five separate occasions, which brought the Badgers back a total of 50 yards.
A pair of holds called against center Joe Tippmann reversed 12- and 16-yard runs from Braelon Allen, and Logan Brown was called for a hold as well. The negated 16-yard run would have had Wisconsin up at the WSU 30-yard line with a first down. Instead, the drive ultimately ended with a missed 43-yard attempt from kicker Vito Calvaruso.
Early in the first quarter, Bobby Engram turned to some trickery with a handoff to wide receiver Skyler Bell. With Bell past him, Hayden Rucci looked to do too much and was called for an illegal block in the back. Another chunk play brought back. In all, Wisconsin tallied 11 penalties for 106 yards.
“An early season game like this, it can be an opportunity to reinforce and to drive, whatever that may be,” head coach Paul Chryst said after the game. “We did some things that make it hard to win. I think we had double-digit penalties and certainly had a couple turnovers.
"You got to make it to where you're playing the opponent and not doing some things to hurt yourself. We've got to be better. And it can be better."
The final nail in the coffin for the Wisconsin offense came on the back end of a reception from tight end Clay Cundiff with UW nearing the red zone. The redshirt junior turned upfield after finding a soft spot in zone coverage. Unsuspecting of a Washington State defender behind him, he had the ball poked out, which was pounced on by the Cougars.
WSU went on to effectively run out the clock with three first downs - two on the ground and one on an 18-yard reception. The turnover overshadows what would have a game where Cundiff caught four passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns.
"I had a good first half but none of that matters unless you finish on the right foot, and I didn’t do that today," Cundiff said after the game.
The turnover was the end result of a 16-play drive for Wisconsin. Of the four drives that totaled 11 or more plays, UW didn't score on either. The results were two missed field goals, a turnover on downs and the fumble on the offense's final drive.
"We got to finish," quarterback Graham Mertz said. "I think that’s the whole team. That’ll be the emphasis all week. Every day. On the field, in practice, in the meeting room, in the weight room, we got to finish. We’re not going to split us up, offense, defense, we need to finish and we will."
The defense played its part in limiting Washington State to 17 points, but the process was far from perfect. After an eight-yard reception on first down in the second quarter, Cameron Ward got the offense set and caught the Badgers unprepared for a wheel route that turned into a 38-yard gain. That up tempo, quick game from the Cougars had UW consistently scrambling with substitutions.
"I would just say it’s more so the scheme they were running. We were running on the field and they were already getting their play off. We’re just getting set and they’re snapping the ball. It’s a tough scheme," outside linebacker Nick Herbig said.
Those lapses carried over to special teams with a pair of missed field goals from Calvaruso and a blown coverage that set WSU up at Wisconsin's 27-yard line. That ultimately led to a field goal.
"Certainly in games like this, those are all big, right?" Chryst said. "I don't what happened on the second one because that one didn't have a chance. He's been good in practice but would like to be better. We need to be. That can be difference."
Walking away from Week 2 of the season, Wisconsin has a litany of errors to clean up. The good news is many those are correctable mistakes with 10 games to go. The bad news: UW let a game get away that it had every opportunity to win.
"Definitely stings. Just a bunch of controllable stuff that we’ll go back and see and definitely see more tomorrow. Definitely a lot of stuff to learn from for a lot of groups today so this definitely stings," Mertz said.
"First off, Washington State came in, they played with an edge. Really well coached team but we definitely had a lot of controllable things that we’ll learn from and we’ll correct. It definitely leaves a sour taste in your mouth. It’s part of our process this year. We have to learn from it. We have to move forward and I’m very confident that I can help lead these guys to that."
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook
