MADISON - Captain Keeanu Benton left no doubt regarding the team's energy this past Saturday against Washington State. Playing a role in the team's 17-14 loss, he felt Wisconsin was flat and said it was like they'd given up after going down three points to the Cougars.
With one last non-conference game on the schedule before a road clash against Ohio State to kick off conference play, the Badgers strung together a complete game on Saturday during a 66-7 win over New Mexico State.
"I think across the board guys are playing physical," quarterback Graham Mertz, who threw for a career-high 251 yards, said after the win. "You look at special teams, you see guys flying around and having fun doing it, and I think that’s what this team is about. I’d say it was really good having a complete win."
Mertz guided a dominant offense against an overmatched opponent. Wisconsin put together nearly 600 yards against the Aggies - 335 coming through the air and 260 on the ground.
Mertz eclipsed the 200-yard mark for the third consecutive game. Coming into the season, he had done so just six times in his career - with three such games in 2020 and 2021. He never did so in three straight games.
"He’s playing with conviction," junior leader Chimere Dike said. "I’m happy to see the improvements that he’s made and I think that this is something that he’s ready for and he’s taking advantage of it. It’s so good to see a guy that comes in and works so hard every day being able to have success on the field."
Throwing an interception in the red zone on a pass in the direction of Skyler Bell, Mertz made his way over to the wide receivers to go over the play with Bell. That moment is just an example of the way the third-year starter has stepped up his leadership role. The incompletion was also just one of three incompletions on the afternoon for Mertz and just his second interception this season.
"I think the biggest thing that’s changed for him is just his leadership role has improved greatly," Dike continued. "He’s continued to take strides. When he came back, you can see he’s an older guy now. He’s confident, he’s better than before and I think it’s showing up on Saturdays. It shows up every day the way he leads the offense, leads the team."
Coming into the season, questions floated around Mertz and whether he could ever become a consistent quarterback. Through three games, he's played his best football and checked every box. He's limited poor decisions, been accurate and moved the offense. On top of that, the depth of his receivers has shown up. Saturday afternoon, he once again spread the ball and connected with six different players.
"My whole theme for this offseason is how do I do my job better for this team to just move the ball?" he said. "That’s completions... I’m holding myself to a standard where I got to do my job. Every time the ball is in my hands, I got to be locked in and what’s my job on this play. That’s find the completion and move the ball. It’s as simple as that. When you simplify the game, it kind of frees you up to go play."
On the ground, the offensive line and backs were dominant. In all, the group scored six touchdowns, with Isaac Guerendo, Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi all going over 70 yards. The beatdown of the Aggies got underway 90 seconds into the game when Allen went the distance for a 39-yard touchdown.
Turning over to the other side of the ball, the Badgers put together a Wisconsin-like performance against a lesser team. At the end of the first quarter, the unit had allowed 15 yards and just 100 yards in the first half - 82 coming on the Aggies' final drive of the half.
UW will want to clean up some issues when it comes to tackling and wrapping up ball carries. Aside from that, though, the defense did its job. In the win, the group brought its interception total up to seven, with Jake Chaney, Maema Njongmeta and Ricardo Hallman all recording a takeaway.
Coming off a contest in which they racked up 11 penalties, the Badgers were called for just a pair of infractions through 43 minutes of play. In the final quarter, Wisconsin was called for a trio of penalties, but for the most part played a cleaner game. After being called for a hold on a second-down run in the second quarter, center Joe Tippmann was visibly frustrated.
"It shows that guys care and they know that details win games," Mertz said.
How much a does performance against an opponent the caliber of New Mexico State means? Probably not much. That said, Wisconsin needed to put together a bounce-back performance after a let down against Washington State.
"I would hope and want to believe that there are lessons that we experienced in the first three games that we can truly learn from, what things allowed us to be successful and build on that," head coach Paul Chryst said.
"And the truth is, time will tell. Do we truly learn those lessons? I appreciate the way they've gone through it. But we certainly have not arrived."
With conference play now on the horizon, Wisconsin won't get any chance to ease into Big Ten play. The first test will be a bout with conference powerhouse Ohio State in Columbus.
"I think we’re in a great spot," Mertz said. "I’m proud of the response this week during practice. Guys were competing, having fun and pushing each other to get better. You see that in the secondary with our receivers. I mean, guys really competed this week and they pushed it to another level and we’re going to keep doing that. Keep working to get better."
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