Three takeaways from Wisconsin's 35-14 win over Georgia Southern
MADISON - In the last non-conference game of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers took care of the Georgia Southern Eagles, 35-14.
After a less than ideal road trip last weekend to play Washington State where the Badgers lost 31-22 on national television, they returned home for an easier matchup, on paper. Despite the comfortable final score, the game was anything but that. It began in a slow, frustrating fashion, before Wisconsin eventually woke up and took control.
Here are my three biggest takeaways from today’s victory.
1. A tale of two halves from the offense
Despite returning home to play a less talented opponent than last week, Wisconsin started just as slow.
The most detrimental early decision was the refusal to incorporate Braelon Allen, which was head-scratching until coach Luke Fickell revealed post-game that Allen got “dinged up” during practice. He finished last week’s game against Washington State with just seven carries, which prompted a meeting between Allen and Fickell this past Sunday. This week, Allen got even less attention early, not carrying the ball until there was 7:51 left in the second quarter.
It was tied 7-7 at halftime. Then, Georgia Southern scored on its next drive to take a 14-7 lead. That was when Wisconsin got serious.
“I don’t know if there was something that clicked, but it did seem like there was a bit of a different fire,” Fickell said. “It just felt different after about four minutes into the second half."
Of the first eight drives, five were three-and-outs and only one lasted longer than five plays. The very next drive after Georgia Southern scored, Allen finally got a major gain of 32, then scored two plays later. The momentum continued for the remainder of the game, leading to four consecutive touchdown drives in about 16 minutes of game time.
The offense may ultimately sleep well knowing they scored 35 points, but that kind of early stagnation may come back to bite them when the opponents become more crucial.
2. The defense made big plays, but that was about it
The story going into today was the defense’s inability to take the ball away. In their first two games, they couldn't muster a single turnover on defense. They heard the noise.
“It pisses us off as a defense that we can’t change the games the way we want to,” said safety Hunter Wohler after the game.
It first happened on the Eagles’ second drive. Ben Barten pressured quarterback Davis Brin, which led to a poor pass, into the hands of Wohler. He threw two more head-scratching interceptions in the first half, the first going directly to Ricardo Hallman, then another right to Jason Maitre. Brin finished the game with five interceptions and a fumble, also getting sacked six times.
The defense obviously deserves praise for their six takeaways and plethora of special plays, but there were also a plethora of mistakes that are worthy of concern ahead of a much tougher schedule. Hallman got beat by receiver Derwin Burgess Jr. for a 68-yard completion at the start of the second quarter, leading to a touchdown two plays later. Then, near the beginning of the second half, the defense allowed a 41-yard completion to Joshua Thompson, followed by a touchdown to Jjay Mcafee despite Preston Zachman sticking right by him.
Despite getting six turnovers, Wisconsin got beat in time of possession by almost three minutes. Most surprisingly, they were also out-gained, 455-451.
“Realistically, we needed them (turnovers),” Wohler said. “We gave up too many yards, too many first downs.”
3. Wohler has been the best player through three games
The Badgers have played three strange, unique games so far this year. The only noticeable constant has been the play of Wohler, the junior safety who has become the standout player on defense and perhaps the whole team. Wohler already entered today’s game leading the Big Ten in total tackles, and his 20 solo tackles ranked second nationally. He finished with 10 total tackles, six solo and two interceptions, all team-bests. He also got to Brin for just the second sack of his career.
The first and last interceptions of the day both belonged to Wohler. He benefited off of a bad pass from Brin, who was being tackled as he threw straight to the hands of Wohler. The second was far more athletic and impressive. Brin threw a deep sideline pass to Thompson that would’ve landed in his hands had Wohler not ran from the middle of the field to rise up and snatch it from the air.
While watching today’s game, I struggled to think of a different Badger who has both performed as well as him and provides as much value. Allen has looked like the best for the past two years, but his role has decreased in the new offense and he appears to be at least slightly injured. Mordecai has shown some substantial flashes, but has yet to play a complete, quality game. Maema Njongmeta, the linebacker who recovered the first fumble for the Badgers this season, is a close contender. But none play as well as often as Wohler.
Wohler is looking at an All-Big Ten season, and could feasibly win the conference’s defensive player of the year award. More than that, he’s kept this defense together through the transition to new coaching staffs, system and surrounding players. It’s still quite early in the season, but we may be watching the growth of Wisconsin’s next great defensive player.
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