Takeaways from Wisconsin's 23-16 Loss to Minnesota

MADISON, Wis. – For the first time in nearly 30 years, Paul Bunyan’s trophy case at the University of Wisconsin will remain empty for consecutive seasons.

And while Minnesota did a lot of things well in a 23-16 victory over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium, including outscoring the hosts 10-0 in the fourth quarter, the Badgers have to be shaking their heads for untimely mistakes on defense and an offense performance that could be best be described as watching paint dry.

Here are the takeaways from the final game of the 2022 regular season.

If there’s one moment to encapsulate the pathetic-ness of Wisconsin's offensive attack, it was the final minute of a rivalry game where the Badgers needed a touchdown to force overtime. With its second-string quarterback, the Badgers converted a fourth-and-1 with a 14-yard rush, completed a 16-yard pass to Chimere Dike, and drew a pass interference penalty to get to the Minnesota 5 with under a minute to play.

That’s when the comedy started. First was a holding penalty by offensive lineman Riley Mahlman that backed UW up 10 yards, only for the offense to be pushed back another five yards by a Tanor Bortolini false start. After Chase Wolf threw the ball out of the end zone on first down, the Badgers went back-to-back false starts from Tyler Beach and Mahlman. Suddenly, UW was sitting at second-and-goal from the 30. No chance for this offense.

“Chase came in to a really tough situation, cold, hasn’t played all game, and he executed at a high level,” interim coach Jim Leonhard said. “He gave us a chance … First and goal on the five. It can’t end the way that it ended. It got really sloppy there. It’s unfortunate. It’s frustrating to walk off the field that way after sitting there at first and goal at the 5-yard line and plenty of time to take our shots."

Bortolini and Beach said the Badgers were in quick cadence on that final drive and were dealing with a loud stadium, saying that center Joe Tippmann might not have heard that call. Both concurred that it had nothing to do with Wolf being under center.

“We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot and back us up all the way to the 30,” Bortolini said. “Five yards is much, much easier to go than 30.”

The Badgers entered the fourth quarter with a 16-13 lead but had just 70 yards of offense, averaged 3.7 yards per play, and were 0-for-5 on third-down conversions.

“It comes down to executing, myself included,” Beach said. “The Minnesota game at the end of the year is always kind of time to send our seniors off on a good note. When you lose that, it’s devasting … It’s a hard loss when you lose to this team.”

The Badgers were playing without Braelon Allen (right leg) injury, taking their biggest weapon off the field. The lack of a home-run threat was evident.

The Badgers had the ball four times in the opening half and gained 4.4 yards per play, choosing to be more methodical than explosive. Wisconsin had just one rush over 10 yards and one pass play over 15 but had two series that were at least 10 plays long. But closing the season in a rivalry game, I would have thought the Badgers would roll the dice more often.

UW chose a field goal over going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 24, cutting the deficit to 7-6, and chose a punt in a similar fourth-and-1 scenario from its own 43 on the final drive before the half.

The Badgers were a wreck for most of the season with a constantly reshuffled offensive line (seven different combinations in 12 games), not having a punishing fullback to help open holes, and a quarterback that is the definition of mediocre.

“If one guy takes a play off, that hurts the whole play,” Beach said. “If you got 11 guys for 11 plays taking a play off, that changes the game. I think for the offense to take the next step, guys have to take responsibility for everything and execute whatever they are given the best they can.”

It was funny in a way because the only touchdown Wisconsin scored was the one time where they went misdirection.

The Badgers’ best field possession was almost immediately nullified when Tippmann and Bortolini were flagged for a 15-yard penalty for chop blocking, backing the offense up to the 31. However, Chez Mellusi’s 14-yard run got the Badgers near the original line of scrimmage, Mertz completed passes to Chimere Dike (8) and Isaac Guerendo (6) to move the chains, but it was a 28-yard pass to fullback Jackson Acker that Graham Mertz hit while rolling left that was a huge boost.

It was the longest pass to a Wisconsin tailback since the Purdue game and gave the Badgers a first down at the Minnesota 13.

UW went to the well again for its first touchdown, with Mertz handing off to Mellusi in the shotgun, the tailback flipping to Dike at the 15, and the receiver going untouched into the end zone, as Mertz sealed the edge.

After that, however, the Badgers went three-and-out for three straight drives and then watched as Mertz committed the game’s only turnover when he threw a deep ball down the field on third-and-5 and saw it get intercepted. Mertz did not address reporters after the game.

“They did a good job of getting one guy unblocked, making a play, getting to the ball,” Bortolini said of those three-and-outs. “Offensively, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got everyone accounted for, hat on a hat, and I don’t know if we did that. At the end of the day, guys have to make plays. If guys don’t go out there and execute, we can’t make plays and we can’t win games like this.”

Wisconsin finished with 143 yards on the ground, 191 yards in the air, averaged 5.1 yards per play, and was 5-for-16 on third down. Before exiting, Mertz was 16-for-27 for 170 yards (long of 28), no touchdowns, and one interception.

“Consistent quarterback is going to give you a chance every week,” Leonhard said. “That’s how valuable that position is to football. Whatever it takes, we have to create competition and whatever it takes, you have to get consistent play out of the position.”

If John Torchio was told that the Badgers would hold Minnesota tailback Mohamed Ibrahim to 70 yards and no touchdowns, the senior safety would have likely guaranteed a win. The Badgers did that, but they were torched by redshirt freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and the run-pass option.

Ibrahim had rushed for 100 yards in 19 straight games and had scored a touchdown in every game this season, but Kaliakmanis threw for 319 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and nine pass plays over 15 yards to four different receivers.

“We thought Tanner Morgan was probably a better thrower than me, but he came out and proved himself,” said Torchio, a statement echoed by Leonhard. “Even with the passing yards, we were still in position to win the game.”

Kaliakmanis did things Wisconsin fans wish Mertz could do – throw the deep ball in places where receivers can make a play on it, execute a run-pass option correctly to move the chains, and not make mistakes with the ball. Would it pain you to remind you that Kaliakmanis took a recruiting visit to Wisconsin, but the Badgers didn’t offer because they were mostly locked on recently-transferred quarterback Deacon Hill?

The problems were evident early because Wisconsin defense’s first two drives were Charmin soft. The Gophers marched 81 yards in 10 plays the first time they touched the ball, connecting on four plays of at least 11 yards, and began the second drive with a 43-yard pass play. When the first quarter ended, Minnesota had 144 yards of offense and averaged 9.0 yards per play.

UW was better in the second half but made two mistakes that led to points. The Badgers were ready to get off the field to start the second half with a three-and-out, but outside linebacker C.J. Goetz took a couple steps before throwing his shoulder into Kaliakmanis, a 15-yard roughing penalty that extended the drive and led to the Gophers putting three points on the board.

Late in the fourth, needing a stop to preserve the tie, Kaliakmania hit Lemeke Brockington for 45 yards on a slant route that saw cornerbackAlexander Smith having his eyes stuck in the backfield because of the initial fake to Ibrahim on the RPO.

Minnesota ran for only 97 yards but the threat of the run caused plenty of headaches for the defense.

“They get you to show what you’re going to run, then they look (at the coaches), and the offensive coaches change it to make it so it’s a perfect look,” Torchio said. “It’s just tough, but that’s what makes them good. They try to get to the perfect thing.”

Torchio didn’t think so, saying Minnesota has gotten better the last couple of years. Well, a full two games better this year.

Bortolini believed that hiring Leonhard could help take Wisconsin to the level they want to be at – competing for Big Ten titles and getting into the College Football Playoff conversation. With respect to Bortolini, those two things seem laughable at this point with the Badgers stuck in a three-year rut of solid defensive play and poor offensive execution against bowl-eligible teams.

“How far off (are we)? It’s hard to say,” Bortolini said. “Obviously 6-6 isn’t going to get it done. We definitely have the guys that are capable of doing it. We have a young group, if we can use that, bounce back next season, capitalize on the bowl game first, I think we have the potential to be that team.”

Torchio wouldn’t say what needs to be changed moving forward, but he was clear in saying that on the 2019 Rose Bowl team Wisconsin had players who would go out and make plays. The Badgers don’t have anyone on offense that can do that consistently because the unit, frankly, doesn’t have an offensive line and quarterback who can be consistent enough to play at a high level.

Forced to sit in the first half because of a targeting penalty whistled on him in last week’s second half, Nick Herbig had four tackles in his limited action. He was the last of the five players to speak to the media, arriving more than an hour after the game ended wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses. He was soft-spoken for the early portion but was poignant in his comments when asked if he expects Leonhard to be named the head coach.

“At this point, I don’t know what to tell you, man,” Herbig said. “I feel like this whole year has been crazy. It baffles me every day that they just leave us out to dry. I kind of feel like we’re just sitting around hoping and praying that we’re going to get an answer. We’re kids. We’re still in college. We’re young. All you guys, all the outsides, you’re grown. You’ve been through life already. We’re growing. We’re becoming men. A lot of these guys came in as early enrollees, and I feel bad for them, all the stuff they had to go through. I don’t wish that upon anybody. I just wish we could get an answer.”

Herbig went on to call Leonhard the greatest Badger of all time, but Leonhard finishes the year 4-3 in charge and 2-2 against bowl-eligible teams. Is that good enough? And if Chris McIntosh hired Leonhard, why didn’t he just do it earlier when the Badgers were clearly playing better? Maybe UW could have held on to some of the recruits it has lost, and Leonhard could have approached things with more clarity. We’ll never know, other than this has been a regrettable season for all those involved.

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