Three takeaways from Wisconsin's 38-17 win over Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE - In the first conference game of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers took care of the Purdue Boilermakers, 38-17.
After three inconsistent games against non-conference opponents, Wisconsin traveled to West Lafayette to play a Purdue team led by first-year coach Ryan Walters. Wisconsin jumped out to a 21-3 first half lead and eventually won by three touchdowns, but the scoreboard spelled a greater disparity than what we saw, as the Boilermakers still exploited some major Badgers flaws.
Here are my three biggest takeaways from today’s victory.
1. The offense finally starts hot
The Badgers finally began the game with energy and creativity after looking stagnant in their prior first halves. They came out with a clear purpose, going no-huddle for much of the first quarter, leading to their first opening-drive touchdown of the season.
Wisconsin came in averaging 10 points in the first half, then scored 14 in the first nine minutes. Punter Atticus Bertrams didn’t make an appearance until there was 2:15 left in the first half. They also started 7/7 on third down conversions.
The offense simply looked more creative and aggressive than we’ve seen up until this point, at least so early into the game. They incorporated Tanner Mordecai into the running game, which allowed the back duo of Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi to rush for 94 rushing yards and a touchdown on 7.2 yards per carry in the first half. More importantly, Allen saw early involvement after getting ignored early against Georgia Southern, and ignored completely against Washington State.
“We had been slow,” Luke Fickell said after the game. “And there’s not one thing we’d say we did differently to come out the first half and play a lot better.”
Nothing looked too different, apart from the faster tempo and designed quarterback runs, but they played with a whole new level of initiative.
The Badgers even felt confident enough to run a trick play, in which receiver Will Pauling Jr. passed it to Mordecai for a 19-yard completion. Phil Longo's offense is starting to look comfortable.
2. Wisconsin can't defend the run
I was interested to see how defensive coordinator Mike Tressel’s secondary-heavy defense would adapt to the rush-heavy offenses of the Big Ten. Purdue isn’t even really a rushing team, but it looked like one against Wisconsin.
The defense’s inability to limit mobile quarterbacks once again emerged, bringing back Cameron Ward flashbacks. Hudson Card ran 13 times for 50 yards and a touchdown, and had open space whenever he stepped up in the pocket.
The Boilermakers trailed 14-3 by the end of the first quarter, but still ran for 62 yards on 8.9 yards per carry. This doesn’t even include runs of 15 and 24 yards on their second drive that were both negated due to penalties. They never abandoned the run despite the deficit and finished with 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry.
Some of Purdue’s second half rushing success could be attributed to Wisconsin softening up on the defensive front and trying to limit big plays. Fickell described this attitude as a “pass rush mentality,” which is why they were able to pull off some major runs on third down. Regardless of how the approach shifted, Wisconsin defenders consistently missed tackles and left running lanes wide open.
These flaws ultimately didn’t hurt the Badgers, but this isn’t the best problem to deal with in a conference like the Big Ten.
3. Mordecai played his best game of the season
It wasn’t his most productive or eventful outing, but Mordecai finally played a mostly consistent, mistake-free game from start to finish.
He finished 17 for 27 with 174 yards and an interception. It was his third interception of the season, but came as a result of Botros Alisandro ripping it out of Chimere Dike’s hands after a reception.
Mordecai's most substantial contributions came in the running game. Longo drew up a litany of designed runs for Mordecai in the first half, which helped Wisconsin build such an insurmountable lead. He led all Badgers rushers in the first half with nine runs for 49 rushing yards and two touchdowns. They evidently took notes on Purdue’s most recent matchup, against Syracuse when quarterback Garrett Shrader ran all over their defense for 195 yards and four touchdowns.
His best outing prior to tonight was against Washington State, when he completed 25 of 40 passes for 277 yards, and single handedly gave the Badgers a chance to win. However, it did take him a few quarters to get going, which has been a theme for the offense all year.
Friday’s performance felt like Mordcai's most complete. He played at nearly the same level all night, even though he didn’t have to do nearly as much in the second half.
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