Three takeaways from Wisconsin's 35-31 loss to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl

In the first college football game of 2024, the Wisconsin Badgers (7-6) and LSU Tigers (10-3) traveled to Tampa, Florida to face off in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It’s not necessarily seen as a marquee bowl game, but both teams exceeded expectations and played one of the most exciting games yet this bowl season.

The Badgers jumped out to an early lead and played one of their best games on offense all season, before the Tigers roared back and won, 35-31.

Here are my three biggest takeaways from today's loss.

After Braelon Allen declared for the NFL Draft and opted out of the bowl game, the focus of Wisconsin’s offense shifted to Tanner Mordecai.

In the last game of the season, and the last of Mordecai’s collegiate career, the fifth-year senior took advantage with what was likely his best performance as a Badger.

“I don’t think you can say enough about that kid,” Luke Fickell said postgame, holding back tears. “In this time, it’s tough. To have guys that stick things out, a guy that some people would say came into a place to rent it, there’s no rent in that guy. There was never a hesitation at what he wanted to do and what he was going to do.”

“The guy’s a winner. I know he didn’t win today, but he left it all out there. I’m not one of those guys for sixth and seventh years, but if there was a way, I would do everything I could to get him back.”

He used his mobility, like always, and was as accurate as ever. But what made Monday’s performance special was his efficiency throwing down the field. On passes over 15 yards, Mordecai completed six of 12 attempts for 167 total yards.

It didn’t take long for the offense to get going, either.

On Wisconsin’s very first drive, Mordecai completed passes of 12, 41 and 20 — the last of which being a touchdown to Bryson Green. This was the first time they scored a touchdown on their opening drive since the Purdue game in the fourth week of the season.

Mordecai ended the first half having completed 5-5 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, with a 14-0 lead.

Will Pauling, Mordecai’s go-to receiver all season, both contributed to and benefitted from his quarterback’s performance.

No Badgers receiver reached 100 receiving yards in any game this season. Pauling had 102 in the first quarter. He finished the game with a whopping eight catches for 143 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Wisconsin eventually lost some of their rhythm on offense, allowing LSU to storm back. Mordecai was still completing big passes deep into the second half and doing his best to keep plays alive, but it wasn’t enough.

Throughout the final few drives of the game for the Badgers, their interior offensive line caved, resulting in four fourth quarter sacks. Once Mordecai lost his comfort, Wisconsin lost their momentum.

There was plenty of uncertainty heading into Monday, given the many opt-outs. Wisconsin lost six starters to the transfer portal or NFL Draft. LSU only had one opt-out, but it was the Heisman winner and leader of the offense in Jayden Daniels.

The one certainty, however, was the mediocrity of LSU’s defense. They were the worst unit in the game, without debate, and it was obvious early. Mordecai was able to complete so many deep passes because his receivers were either open, or caught it in the face of LSU’s poor defense.

The Tigers are used to this. They allowed 27.8 points and 408.8 yards per game entering Monday. The real issue was that their offense was failing to wake up.

Their first four drives featured three punts and a turnover on downs. The Tigers didn’t score until halfway through the second quarter.

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s inexperience was obvious. The Badgers were using multiple safeties to defend deep passes, and it took time for Nussmeier to adjust.

Yet once the sophomore gained some confidence and momentum, it became a shootout.

Nussmeier would go on to complete 31 of 45 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns, completing his share of downfield passes in the process.

He was able to comfortably sit back in the pocket and throw on his own time. Fickell even went out of his way to comment on their lack of quarterback pressure.

“We couldn’t pressure the quarterback. They did a really good job uo front of protecting him, buying him time and really letting him throw the ball,” Fickell said.

“You can look at it as ‘You didn’t play well in the back-end and they threw balls on you’, but there’s a balance to that. If you can’t get to the quarterback, you can’t put pressure, you can’t make him throw under duress, it’s really hard to cover those guys.”

It felt as if the last team with the ball was going to win, but that’s not what happened.

The final score of the game occurred with just over three minutes left, when LSU completed a 98-yard touchdown drive over three minutes to take their first lead of the game.

In a twist, the LSU defense was actually responsible for shutting the Badger offense down and securing a victory. Mordecai was sacked four times in the fourth quarter, three coming on the final drive alone. It no longer mattered how efficiently he was throwing downfield. He was running for his life.

The LSU offense ultimately responded to the early deficit by putting on an offensive clinic of their own.

The plethora of opt-outs gave Wisconsin’s younger and lesser-utilized players one last opportunity to impress, before the incoming influx of transfers and recruits. It was somewhat of an early spring game for the coaches.

Wisconsin’s most significant opt-out was Allen, meaning Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli once again took over in his absence. The last time this pair filled in for Allen was underwhelming. The team finished with just 187 rushing yards combined against Indiana and Northwestern.

Monday was different. There weren’t as many eye-popping runs as there were passes, but they were still incredibly efficient.

Yacamelli was running for 6.4 yards per carry before an injury sidelined him, while Acker played his best game of the season, rushing for 86 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

The bowl game was also an opportunity for this pair to prove themselves before the running back room fills up next year.

Monday was also the first time we were able to see freshman receiver Trech Kekahuna, who backed up Pauling in the slot in place of the portal-bound Skyler Bell.

Kekahuna finished with multiple crucial receptions, notably the 24-yarder on 3rd-and-8 in the fourth quarter, to finish with 64 receiving yards on four catches.

More importantly, he was almost always open. I’d expect more future involvement for Kekahuna in a receiver room that struggled to create space this past season.

“That’s what some of these situations are really great for,” Fickell said of Kekahuna. “It’s to see guys who maybe didn’t have some of those opportunities. That’s where we look at ourselves as coaches and say, ‘[We] probably should’ve had him in there a lot earlier in some of those situations.’”

“The reality is that you find guys that when the lights come on, they play at a higher level. And I think he’s one of those guys.”

Up front, tackle Nolan Rucci even stepped up after Jack Nelson went down. Rucci was the second replacement offensive lineman, alongside center Jake Renfro, who was filling in for Tanor Bortolini. The offensive line was mostly able to hold up, then eventually cratered in the fourth quarter.

Still, Monday was a meaningful opportunity to get an early look at some of Wisconsin’s under-utilized pieces.

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