MADISON, Wis. — Early week interview sessions with Wisconsin’s football players during the season generally provide the best opportunity for reporters to understand the pulse and mood of the team. They have had a couple of days to digest what transpired during the previous game, time to process and discuss with coaches and teammates how the result occurred and what needs to be done differently.
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That’s why I was so interested in hearing from the Badgers this week in the wake of their first loss this season — and the first of the Luke Fickell era. It had been a very long weekend. Wisconsin lost 31-22 on the road to Washington State, arrived home around 4:30 a.m. Sunday and reconvened in the football building by roughly 12:30 p.m. As running back Braelon Allen said: “It was brutal.”
I wanted to see whether there would be any sense of dejection or unease given the outcome during a season that arrived with so much excitement and such high expectations. What I witnessed was a group of players who remain upbeat and possess a firm determination for what is possible this season.
“We’ve played two games together,” Allen said. “I wouldn’t say people play their best ball in the first two games. We’re still growing. As we keep on playing, we’ll just get better.”
That may not soothe the ache of Badgers fans following a disappointing performance, but it is still noteworthy. The mood at this time a year ago in the aftermath of a Week 2 loss to Washington State felt substantially different and served as a precursor to a season about to go off the rails.
Nose guard Keeanu Benton, then a senior co-captain, was fuming about what he believed was a lack of energy in a 17-14 loss, even after he lit into members of the offense as the fourth quarter arrived. He decried the team’s attitude and then said this: “In all the years I’ve been playing here, I’ve never seen something like that. At a point, it was like we’d given up.”
Wisconsin certainly didn’t give up on Saturday despite trailing 24-6 during the second quarter. The Badgers entered halftime down 24-9 and cut the deficit to 24-22 before the Cougars pulled away with the backbreaking touchdown. But something inside linebacker Jake Chaney said after the game caught my attention when he was asked about Fickell’s halftime message and the team’s response.
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“I love our past coaches,” he said. “They’re great guys, die-hard Wisconsin guys and I love them to death. I’ll put my life on the line for them and their families. But there’s something about coach Fick. He’s a G. He’s a man. He’s the head coach you want to be behind.
“There’s no panic out of him. That surprised me a lot. He’s a high-intensity dude in practice, high intensity in offseason workouts. But when it comes down to it, he doesn’t panic. Once a team understands that, we’ll be stepping toward the right direction.”
The resolve is there. Now comes the execution part. Something to keep in mind as the season unfolds.
When will the offense click?
Speaking of resolve, I came away impressed with quarterback Tanner Mordecai’s mentality this week. I asked Fickell and the players how close they believed the offense was to playing at the level they think is possible. Here’s what Mordecai said:
“I think we’re right there. It’s like we can feel it, we can smell it. So I think it just goes back to our preparation, what we do during the week, trusting our plan and just going to execute it. It’s going to happen at some point. I think if we have a great week this week at practice, it could definitely happen this weekend.”
I wouldn’t expect a player to say the offense has no chance. But Mordecai’s demeanor suggested he can see this coming together soon.
One of the intriguing factors to monitor about Wisconsin’s Air Raid system under offensive coordinator Phil Longo this season is how the Badgers strike a balance between their run and pass games. The Badgers ran for 312 yards in a season-opening victory against Buffalo, which was the most for the team in two years. But the passing game featured few big plays, with Mordecai tossing two interceptions.
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Against Washington State, Mordecai generally was steady. He lost two fumbles because left tackle Jack Nelson was beaten off the edge by outside linebacker Ron Stone Jr. But then Mordecai helped lead a pair of third-quarter touchdown drives, which included a remarkable scramble away from Stone that resulted in a 16-yard touchdown pass to receiver Skyler Bell.
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“Did you see that play with Skyler Bell?” Badgers receiver Chimere Dike asked this week. “It was pretty damn good. … That was a beautiful play. Just being able to do that and extend plays, that’s tough to guard as a defense. So he’s definitely special in that area.”
The problem is that Wisconsin’s running game was virtually nonexistent. Allen and Chez Mellusi carried a combined 19 times for 69 yards with a touchdown one week after combining on 30 carries for 298 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think we showed aspects, especially in the run game in the first game of where we wanted to be,” Dike said. “And I think the passing game was closer to where we wanted to be last game. So kind of just combining both of those. I feel like whenever we can combine both those threats, we’re going to be really dangerous.”
Mordecai said one area he wanted the offense to improve was starting faster. Wisconsin has 23 first-half points and 37 second-half points. The Badgers punted four times in the first half against Buffalo and threw an interception. Even though Wisconsin moved the ball reasonably well against Washington State in the first half, the Badgers came away with three field goals after reaching the Cougars’ 25-, 16- and 11-yard lines on separate drives.
“I believe we’re close,” Fickell said. “But it’s not just going to happen. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. I could sit up here every week and say, ‘Oh, we’re close, we’re close.’ The reality is that just like (forcing) turnovers and things like that, they don’t just happen. You’ve got to make them happen. And I think that’s where we’ve got to get ourselves back to understanding that there’s a lot of things we have to do to make this happen.”
Mordecai continues to make the bulk of his throws either behind the line of scrimmage or for 0-9 yards. According to Pro Football Focus, he has completed 21-of-22 passes for 86 yards on throws behind the line of scrimmage. He has completed 18-of-22 passes for 147 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions on short throws from 0-9 yards. Both of his touchdown passes have come on medium or deep shots. He is 6-of-12 for 92 yards and a touchdown on throws of 10-19 yards and 4-of-12 for 138 yards with one touchdown on throws of 20-plus yards.
Mordecai recognizes he can be just a touch better on some of his deep throws. One play from the Washington State game that stands out came during the fourth quarter when wide receiver Bryson Green had cornerback Cam Lampkin beaten on a third-and-7 from the Wisconsin 48-yard line, and there was no safety help over the middle. Mordecai threw the ball slightly behind Green instead of leading him, and the pass fell incomplete to force a Wisconsin punt. Mordecai jumped up and down four times in frustration before he jogged off the field.
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Another area to watch will be how Longo chooses to utilize Allen. He carried seven times for 20 yards and caught six passes for 11 yards against Washington State. Although Allen leads the team with 13 receptions, they have gone for a total of 37 yards, or 2.8 yards per catch.
“I’m leading the team in receptions, but it’s all just been checkdowns and swings,” Allen said. “Coach Longo knows I can do a lot more than that, and I’m sure that’ll come as the season progresses and we kind of get into more conference play. I’ve gotten a lot of deep balls throughout camp and stuff over the middle. So I think that’ll be kind of the way I get some more yards behind my name in that category. It’s definitely coming.”
Prediction
Wisconsin’s passing game hasn’t been immediately dominant as some might have hoped, but there have been enough flashes to believe that Mordecai can put it all together in Week 3 against Georgia Southern. Most teams are likely to try to stop the running attack. Still, this is one of those games in which Longo ought to be able to figure out a way to succeed in both areas.
The defense does have to contend with quarterback Davis Brin, a two-year starter previously at Tulsa who has completed 78 percent of his passes this season while averaging 281 yards passing per game. I think the Badgers are able to force their first takeaway in what should be an easy home victory before the Big Ten opener on the road against Purdue next Friday night.
The Badgers are 0-2 against the spread to open the season. Wisconsin didn’t cover as a 28-point favorite against Buffalo in the first game and then lost as a 6.5-point favorite against Washington State. Wisconsin is a 20-point favorite against Georgia Southern. Do the Badgers finally cover? I say yes.
Wisconsin 42, Georgia Southern 17
(Photo of Tanner Mordecai and Phil Longo: John Fisher / Getty Images)
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