The Wisconsin football team has not won at Northwestern in 15 years and will have to wait at least two more years to put an end to that drought.
The UW offense led by both Tanner McEvoy and Joel Stave could not cash in on numerous opportunities, and despite a career day from Melvin Gordon, the No. 17 Badgers (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) fell to the Wildcats (3-2, 2-0 Big Ten) 20-14 at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, Saturday.
Although the offense sputtered through three quarters, and Stave struggled in his return to the field, the redshirt junior quarterback pulled the Badgers to within six points at 20-14 after a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kenzel Doe with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter. But after the Wildcats got the ball back, they converted a key first down and put to rest any comeback efforts from UW.
“It was a hard-fought game and [Northwestern] made more plays than we did,” Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen said. “Our opportunities were there and we didn’t take advantage of them.”
The opportunities were certainly there for the taking for UW, but throwing three interceptions and converting only two times out of five tries in the red zone won’t win teams many games. The Badgers threatened to pull within six points of the Wildcats earlier in the fourth quarter with first and goal from the three-yard line, but Stave threw the second of his three interceptions right to Godwin Igwebuike in the end zone.
“The turnover in the red zone, that can’t happen, that’s on me,” Stave said. “I was trying to do too much. I was trying to force it. First [down] and three from the three-yard line, you just have to throw the ball away.”
After starting the first four games of the season, McEvoy found himself on the bench for the final drive of the first half and the rest of the game, as the Badger coaching staff went to Stave in hopes of providing a spark to the dismal Wisconsin offense. McEvoy finished just 4-for-10 for 24 yards with an interception before he sat out in favor of Stave.
“I just felt like we needed to find a spark on offense,” Andersen said. “Again, in quick review, this was the first week where I really felt that when I looked at Joel, and I asked Joel is he ready to go. This was the week he felt like he was ready to go, and I believed it. And so I felt like we needed to find a spark and looking for a spark is why we made the change.”
Under McEvoy, once again the Wisconsin offense struggled in the first half but for the first time this season, entered the break with no points on the scoreboard. After a field goal from Jack Mitchell in the first quarter, Northwestern’s Trevor Siemian found Dan Vitale for a five-yard touchdown pass that put the Wildcats up 10-0 in the second quarter, which is where the score would remain going into halftime.
As if they were following a script, the Wisconsin offense came out and scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to fall behind just 10-7. The Badgers have now scored on their opening possession of the second half in all five games this season. The seven-play, 76-yard drive was aided by a Gordon 61-yard run, who would also cap off the drive with a two-yard touchdown. Gordon was the lone bright spot for UW Saturday and ran for a career-high 259 yards on 27 attempts, an average of 9.6 per carry.
Gordon, who is now averaging 42.8 yards on his first carry of the second half, also went over the 200-yard mark for the third time in his career and the second time in the last three weeks.
Despite his strong performance, Gordon admitted it was frustrating for the offense to only come away with 14 points and not convert close to the end zone.
“It’s tough just trying to come out here and do your best,” Gordon said. “You’re trying and trying and you break some long runs and you’re still trying and you get right by the goal line and come up short and get no points. It’s tough.”
Coming into Saturday’s game the Wisconsin defense ranked in the top 25 in most major defensive categories, but was gashed by the Wildcats’ offense, especially by freshman running back Justin Jackson. Jackson had just 234 yards on the season before Saturday, but ran for 162 yards on 33 carries to pace the Northwestern offense. Siemian did just enough on offense for the Wildcats and went 15-for-29 with 182 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Miles Shuler scored the final touchdown for Northwestern in the fourth quarter on a reverse from 16 yards out that put them up 20-7 over UW.
The Wisconsin defense had to deal with the loss of one of their best players in inside linebacker Marcus Trotter who left in the first half because of a groin injury and defensive back Devin Gaulden who exited in the first quarter with an arm injury. The injuries to the defense and numerous missed tackles allowed Jackson and the Wildcat offense to put up enough points to get past the Badgers and pick up their second win of the Big Ten season.
“We did not tackle well,” Andersen said. “It appeared to me, without seeing the tape, that was the worst tackling game we’ve had this season.
“Losing Marcus [Trotter] was a huge blow. He’s in every one of those packages and he’s been playing very, very well.”
Heading into the sixth week of the season, the Badgers have plenty of questions to answer on both sides of the football after their performance Saturday. Going forward, Andersen said both McEvoy and Stave could see time on the field beginning next week against Illinois. But regardless of where they’re at now, the Badgers have some work to do as they sit in last place in the Big Ten West standings – although it’s still early.
“The Big Ten Championship; it’s still there,” Gordon said. “We have to hope some things fall in line for us now. But it’s going to be tough in the long run. I feel like we can still be a good team and we can do what we want to do.”
