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Allan Evridge couldn’t get the job done. Dustin Sherer fared better, but not by much. It just wasn’t a good night to be a Badger quarterback.

Wisconsin was unable to establish a passing game Saturday as the offense mustered just seven points in its crushing defeat by Penn State.

A week after throwing an interception against Ohio State to end the game, Evridge once again struggled to move the football this weekend.

The senior finally got the hook in the third quarter after being picked off by Lydell Sargeant.

“It’s obviously very frustrating to get taken out of a game,” Evridge said. “It wasn’t the way I wanted to play. The pick was obviously very frustrating. That wasn’t a good way to go out.”

It was the interception that convinced head coach Bret Bielema that it was finally time to make a change.

“Just because of the mode of the game, we really felt we needed to make a change,” Bielema said.

Evridge never settled into a rhythm against the Nittany Lions. It was midway through the second quarter before the quarterback completed his first pass, a short throw over the middle that Travis Beckum took for 42 yards. Though Evridge finished that drive by rushing for a touchdown, he lost a fumble on the Badgers’ next possession and was unable to build on the momentum.

The quarterback finished the game passing 2-for-10 for 50 yards with the interception and lost fumble.

Evridge hadn’t played well in the Badgers’ last few games, and there had been speculation that the quarterback had been on a short leash in the week leading up to the game.

“We went into the game, and I had basically told [Sherer] that he needed to be ready,” Bielema said.

Sherer, a junior, came into the game with the Badgers trailing 41-7 and was able to complete the first two passes that he threw.

“It was kind of funny — coach calls a pass play the first play I’m in there,” Sherer said. “Hopefully, that’s just confidence he has in me. … It’s nice to go out and move the ball a little bit.”

Sherer’s first drive ended when he was picked off as he tried to hit Garret Graham for a long completion.

“At times he got in trouble trying to force some things in there,” Bielema said.

Still, Sherer’s mere entrance into the game was a big step for the player who entered the contest with just five career pass attempts.

Sherer finished the game 9-for-17 for 115 yards and an interception.

“I didn’t play very well. I haven’t played really since 2004,” Sherer said. “I can’t force things.”

Now the question is who the Badgers’ quarterback will be going forward.

“We’ll take everything into consideration,” Bielema said. “I do know this: I thought Dustin came in and played well.

“I really liked the energy he showed in the huddle.”

Whoever gets the starting nod will have to step up their play if the Badgers are going to snap their three-game losing streak, according to Bielema.

“I think the quarterback has to play a lot better in a lot of situations,” Bielema said. “Whoever that’s going to be will be determined by what the coaches see in the film and how they handle the week.”

If it is indeed Sherer who gets the start next week, the junior said he’d be ready to go.

“I’ll just try to go in there and manage the football game and not make mistakes,” Sherer said.

“I’m ready for the opportunity, and if that opportunity comes, then I have to run with it,” he added.