MADISON - Wisconsin never managed to find its footing against No. 4 Alabama and the Crimson Tide cruised to an easy 42-10 win.

BadgerBlitz.com has grades and game balls from Wisconsin's Week 3 defeat at the hands of the Tide.

Wisconsin's offense was in for a day of tough sledding well before Tyler Van Dyke was carted off the field during the Badgers' first drive. Still, that made matters much worse. After mustering a field goal on a 40-yard drive to open the game, the Badgers did next to nothing for the rest of the game save for one touchdown drive that required 17 plays and a 4th-and-goal conversion.

It's a lot to ask to expect your backup quarterback to be surgical against Alabama after being thrusted into action on the first drive of the game, but Braedyn Locke left some meat on the bone despite the admittedly tough situation. He looked jittery early, missing several quick hitters and RPOs, concepts where he's usually automatic. He also missed two deep shots, one coming at a critical juncture in the game right before halftime, overthrowing Will Pauling in the end zone. In the third quarter, he also missed Trech Kekahuna, who ran wide open on a slot fade, overthrowing his pass-catcher once again.

With how dominant Alabama was for much of this contest, Wisconsin's two fumbles didn't even feel that back-breaking by the end of the game. Still, they were absolutely crushing blows that just can't happen if you want a chance to upset the No. 4 team in the nation. On the Badgers' fourth drive, Chez Mellusi coughed up the ball after a great 21 yard run that got Wisconsin out of the shadow of its own end zone. In the third quarter, Cade Yacamelli put the ball on the ground just when Wisconsin had strung together a score and a stop.

The Badgers' ground game needed to show up for them to have a shot, and it didn't in the slightest. Wisconsin finished with 149 yards on 3.6 yards-per-carry, with much of that yardage coming with the game well out of reach. Its longest run came on the aforementioned play when Mellusi fumbled. There was nothing doing in between the tackles, and the Tide consistently set the edge and kept contain so as to not allow anything outside either. The Badgers got themselves into to many obvious passing downs, part of the reason they finished a measly 3-for-14 on third down.

Overall, this unit remained extremely lethargic. There was nothing explosive down the field. Receivers struggled to get open, and when they did, Locke couldn't get them the ball. The Crimson Tide defense was never off-balance; the running game failed to set up the pass and vice versa. Once again, there was no semblance of an identity, nothing resembling a cohesive plan of attack.