Every week Herald Sports will take a look back at the Wisconsin football game and grade the position groups on a scale of zero to five.
Here is how they fared in Week 2 against Fresno State:
Quarterback — 3.5 of 5
Junior Scott Tolzien was solid behind center for the second consecutive week while managing to play more consistently and avoid turning the ball over. He finished with 225 yards on 17-of-28 passing after taking every snap for the Badgers, adding one touchdown and zero interceptions.
Tolzien’s best play came on his only pass attempt in overtime. On third-and-six from the seven-yard line, Tolzien fired a strong pass over the middle to receiver Nick Toon, giving the Badgers the lead in the first overtime.
Running backs — 3.5 of 5
After starting slowly, sophomore John Clay made up for the Badgers’ lack of rushing yards in a big way. Clay took a first-down handoff from Tolzien for 72 yards late in the fourth quarter, more than doubling the team’s total rushing yards for the game.
Clay continued strong through overtime, picking up an additional 43 yards on 10 carries to finish the game with 143 yards on 21 carries. Zach Brown, on the other hand, took the ball just nine times for 40 yards and a score.
So while Wisconsin’s overall stats at running back look above average for the week, it was really a story of Clay taking over the last six minutes of regulation and overtime, a period in which he picked up 115 of the Badgers’ 188 rushing yards on the day.
Redshirt freshman Erik Smith also saw his first action of the season, rushing once for a negative gain of four yards.
Wide receivers — 3 of 5
There were no 80-yard bombs on the first play from scrimmage to pad the stats this week. Receivers Isaac Anderson and Nick Toon recorded four catches apiece for a combined 119 yards. Their accomplishments paled in comparison, however, to those of Fresno State receivers Devon Wylie and Seyi Ajirotutu, who combined for 193 yards on the day.
Toon and Anderson each did come up big once in the game, leading to key UW scores. Anderson had his moment late in the first half, hauling in a 44-yard grab to set up a 57-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-17. Toon had the catch of the game (on the offensive side) in the first overtime when he grabbed a third down pass over the middle for a touchdown.
David Gilreath and Kyle Jefferson also chipped in with two and one catches, respectively, for a total of 37 yards.
Tight Ends — 3.5 of 5
Garrett Graham was co-offensive MVP this week for Wisconsin, but it was not for his impact on the stat sheet. Graham grabbed just three balls for 49 yards Saturday, with his longest being a 26-yard reception. His true impact in the game, however, was felt in his blocking ability, especially in overtime.
Mickey Turner also got in the mix against the Bulldogs, pulling in one pass for 13 yards.
Offensive line — 3.5 of 5
It’s hard to imagine a more beat-up offensive line than Wisconsin’s. And yet, it would be hard to find one with more depth. With John Moffitt out and Travis Frederick going down, the Badgers were forced to go with Pete Konz at center for most of Saturday’s game.
Anyone who turned on the game late probably had no idea.
The biggest play of the game for the O-Line was the 72-yard Clay touchdown. Every man on the line held strong on his block, including Konz, who had perhaps his best block of the game.
Defensive line — 3 of 5
They rotated several players in throughout the game, but none was more impressive than O’Brien Schofield. He gave Badger fans a scare when he was slow to get up at one point, but finished the game with 11 tackles, four for loss, and one sack.
Yet despite Schofield’s strong game, the Badgers struggled to stop Bulldog running back Ryan Mathews, allowing him to pick up 107 yards on 19 carries.
J.J. Watt, who impressed in his first start for Wisconsin last week, recorded just two tackles in the game against Fresno State after going down with flu-like symptoms during the week.
Linebackers — 3.5 of 5
If Schofield did not make the tackle, more often than not it was Jaevery McFadden, Mike Taylor or Culmer St. Jean bringing down Fresno State ball carriers.
Their high numbers in tackles — 10 for McFadden, six for Taylor and five for St. Jean — may have been inflated by the sheer number of slant routes run by the Bulldogs, but the UW linebackers were effective in bringing runners down and stopping them from reaching the secondary.
Secondary — 2 of 5
Take away three interceptions and this group was beyond awful against Fresno State. Of course, the loss of an ill Aaron Henry did not help, but Niles Brinkley, Antonio Fenelus and Devin Smith were overmatched and consistently outplayed by Ajirotutu and Wylie.
Fortunately for the Badgers, senior captain Chris Maragos picked up the slack for the second straight week, intercepting a pass in overtime to all but seal the victory.
Specialists — 3.5 of 5
Inconsistency was the name of the game on special teams, as the Badgers had impressive plays in all facets, but also looked bad several times. Punter Brad Nortman had a ball downed at the Fresno State one-yard line, but could only manage 47 yards late in the fourth quarter, giving the Bulldogs good field position, which led to the game-tying field goal.
Philip Welch missed a 47-yarder early in the second quarter, but came back with a 57-yarder as time expired in the half and a 22-yard game winner in overtime. Gilreath was strong on two kick returns, picking up an average of 38 yards.
