Wisconsin couldn't get out of its own way in a disheartening loss to Indiana on the road.
BadgerBlitz.com has grades and game balls from Week 10.
OFFENSE: D+
Wisconsin started slow and then picked up some steam before ultimately imploding on the offensive side of the football. It was't pretty; even the Badgers' scores didn't feel like the offense was operating cleanly.
The biggest key to the game for the offense was to establish the run in order to take pressure off Braedyn Locke's shoulders. That didn't happen. For a brief stretch in the second half, the Badgers were able to run the ball downhill with Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli. Yacamelli's fumble in the fourth quarter, however, completely erased any semblance of a running game the Badgers had. Ultimately, they only ran for 101 yards on 3.6 yards-per-carry. Not nearly good enough.
The 14 points Wisconsin scored is almost misleading. It scored right before half and immediately coming out of halftime, and that was it. The rest of its drives consisted of four punts, two turnovers on downs and two fumbles. There was optimism the Badgers would be able to overcome their litany of injuries against a lackluster Indiana defense. No such thing transpired; it was extremely ugly on that side of the football.
Not only did Wisconsin struggle to move the football, but it was painfully sloppy in the process. Wisconsin's offense was called for five penalties, many of them backbreaking drive killers: two holdings, two delay-of-games and a false start. When the offense is suffering from serious injury concerns, you simply can't dig yourself into a deeper hole, and that's exactly what the Badgers did.
The execution overall was poor, but it was an especially forgettable game from the quarterback Locke. He finished 21-of-41 for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but the stats don't paint the most accurate picture. Neither did Locke, as he struggled with ball placement all afternoon. Early in the game, he put balls into the turf. Later in the game, he seemed to miss high, like the critical fourth down attempt in which he sailed the ball over the wide open head of Will Pauling.
Locke's lack of situational awareness also hurt the Badgers big time. On a drive in which Wisconsin was easily in range for a game-tying field goal, the quarterback failed to get the ball snapped, resulting in a delay-of-game. He then immediately took a sack, knocking the Badgers out of field goal range.
Yes, Wisconsin is essentially playing with it's second-team at the quarterback and skill positions. No, that's not an excuse to play as poorly as it did against a bad Hoosiers team. Coaching has been much maligned in Madison, but this unit's putrid effort falls squarely on the execution.
