After suffering its first loss of the season to No. 7 Ohio State, the Wisconsin football team will take the week of practice to learn from its mistakes in preparation for No.11 Iowa at home Saturday.
The Badgers (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) put up a decent fight against the Buckeyes, doubling their total yards, but after too many mistakes they failed to put enough points on the board. Head coach Bret Bielema noted that Saturday was a game the players needed to experience at some point.
“We really tried to explain to [the players] that what happened Saturday were some of the things they had to go through personally,” Bielema said. “It was very painful film to watch. The guys had big ears and big eyes; they took it all in.”
Amid giving up 21 points without the defense even on the field, six sacks and a few special teams mistakes, the Badgers still showed a strong amount of effort. Registering two sacks against OSU, senior defensive end O’Brien Schofield leads the nation in tackles for loss, and the defense held the Buckeyes to six three-and-out’s out of a total of nine drives. Bielema is confident the team will be able to bounce back this week and be ready for Iowa.
“We didn’t have success in this game, we didn’t get a win,” Bielema said, “But there were plenty of positives out there … just the overall demeanor of this team shows me they’re going to be able to bounce back and play a great game on Saturday.”
Offensively, quarterback Scott Tolzien distributed the ball around in the passing game, with catches made by 10 different players. According to Bielema, sophomore running back John Clay took a huge step forward although he did not put up the statistics he had against Minnesota. Freshman running back Montee Ball also showed how comfortable he is on the field.
“He’s more comfortable, just because he’s been there, done that,” Bielema said of Ball. “He’s a strong runner, he’s efficient and we know he’s got the ability to catch the football.”
Overall, Bielema noted “the great thing about Saturday’s game is everybody can take it and learn from it big time.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, the Badgers know they have another challenging Big Ten contest against Iowa. Along with it being homecoming, the players already have a lot on their plates just preparing to face a highly-ranked, undefeated team. Like Ohio State, Iowa will challenge the Badgers with its talented, physical defensive line.
“This is going to be a tough, physical four quarters of football this coming Saturday,” Bielema said.
More physicality and consistency is something Bielema is still trying to get out of his team. After a rough, inconsistent game against Ohio State, Bielema is just looking for the players to keep learning.
“They believe they’re physical and always try to play a physical game, but I’m always going to want more,” Bielema said. “As physical as one guy is, I believe you can always be more physical especially at certain positions. A lot of it is just a mentality thing.”
With a loss now on their record the Badgers are preparing more than ever to bounce back against another tough team.
“Every season itself is like a game, every game could be compared to a series, an opportunity to go out and show your worth,” Bielema said. “Offensively or defensively, if we don’t have success on one series, you’ve got to expect the next series we are going to. That means what’s going to happen Saturday will be determined on Saturday.”
