“It’s always going to be frustrating when you want the ball and you don’t get it,” junior wide out Brandon Williams said after Saturday’s game.

“Everybody on the offense is frustrated right now,” sophomore quarterback John Stocco added.

“Frustrating” seemingly is becoming something of a key word when discussing the Badger passing game these days. Williams and Stocco have valid reason to be frustrated.

Completing just 12 passes against an average Penn State secondary after completing just 12 passes against Arizona after completing just 14 passes against UNLV after completing just eight passes against Central Florida will do that.

Say what you will about Jim Sorgi — starting for the Badgers last season, the Michigan native certainly had his share of ups (Michigan State and Minnesota) and downs (UNLV and North Carolina). But the plain fact is that Sorgi at least gave UW some semblance of a passing game. Right now Barry Alvarez’s squad doesn’t have any.

“I’m disappointed in how our offense played … we just didn’t protect the football.” Alvarez said — referring to the two interceptions that his starting quarterback threw and the one fumble that his starting tailback coughed up. “We’re going to find some much more potent [opposing] offenses down the road and we’re going to have to get straightened out.”

In 13 games in 2003, Williams caught 49 passes — playing behind Lee Evans. If he plays in 13 games again in 2004, he’s on pace to catch about 16 — and he’s the leading UW wideout in that category.

No one’s mentioning the word “controversy” quite yet and Wisconsin offensive coordinator Brian White seems to be sticking to his young gun, but if Stocco can’t figure this offense out soon, looking at other options may quickly become a necessity.

“It’s execution and decision making. I think both the picks were bad decisions,” Stocco said of his performance Saturday. “That last [interception] should have been a touchdown. I just waited too long. That’s probably seven points right there. If I don’t make those mistakes, who knows what happens.”

Illinois shouldn’t be a problem next Saturday, but playing without a passing offense at Ohio State Oct. 9 will be. The Buckeyes have allowed their opponents an average of just over 130 yards per game in the air so far in 2004 against three passing offenses that dwarf the Badgers.

It seems that the problem is largely that Stocco’s chemistry with his corps of receivers isn’t progressing as expected.

“He’s a young quarterback. He needs to be looking at all of his options and not just me,” Williams said. “I’m not going to be open every play.”

“We haven’t really worked together that much,” he added. “You always want to get that chemistry going. We just haven’t really gotten it yet.”

For a quarterback who’s strength is in his arm, not his legs, this is a major problem. Considering that Stocco has been most effective when he’s run the ball in the past two games (two excellent bootlegs to his credit), at this point, there’s really no reason that the Badgers shouldn’t consider trying out one of their other options.

Marcus Randle El and Tyler Donovan probably aren’t going to be upgrades for the passing game, but they both would give Wisconsin a serious running threat under center. Donovan attempted just two passes (and completed just one) when he came in late against UCF, but he ran for 64 yards. Randle El is an unquestionable playmaker with his legs; his lone punt return and various scrambling reverses have established that much.

And if the Badgers aren’t going to pass the ball effectively, they at least need to not make mistakes. Moving to a running quarterback will keep interceptions from piling up in games where opponents will actually take advantage of them.

For his part, Stocco said after the game that he is still confident that his season can turn around.

“I felt like I didn’t play very well at all,” he said. “I know I’m nowhere near playing as well as I can. I’ve got to play a lot better; and I will.”

He has one game to prove it. If he doesn’t look better against the Illini, it won’t be worth letting him try to prove it against the Buckeyes.