Going into Saturday’s regular season finale against Minnesota, the Wisconsin football team didn’t have much reason to be optimistic.
They were coming off a loss to Northwestern where they managed to score just seven points and rush for -26 yards. Quarterback Joel Stave had played what looked to be his worst game as a Badger, as he accounted for three turnovers and didn’t throw a single touchdown pass.
But the struggles didn’t stop there for UW’s offense, as various injuries to the offensive line caused yet another personnel switch up front, resulting in the team starting its seventh different combination of linemen in 12 games.
Above all, Wisconsin knew they would be without running back Corey Clement, as the tailback did not travel with the team after receiving two citations of disorderly conduct earlier in the week.
All signs pointed to the Badgers leaning on Stave to throw upwards of 35 times and even more on the defense to keep them in the ball game — something the unit has grown a habit of doing this season.
And on Stave’s first pass following a Wisconsin defensive stop to start the game, all signs pointed to another miserable day for the offense, as before UW’s offense could even get settled, the quarterback threw a touchdown pass — to the wrong team.
The Badgers were in a 7-0 hole not three minutes into the ball game, and the threat of Paul Bunyan’s Axe leaving Madison for the first time in 12 years seemed like a real possibility.
But, all of a sudden, something clicked.
Wisconsin started pounding the ball on the ground. The offensive line started getting a good push on the line of scrimmage and the UW tailbacks were finding and attacking the holes given to them. It was effortless.
Ten plays — nine of them on the ground — and five minutes later, the Badgers were in the end zone and had tied the game. And it didn’t end there.
After Wisconsin’s defense forced another three-and-out, UW set out on another scoring drive, this one consisting of 14 plays — 13 of which were on the ground — and taking up more than seven minutes of playing time.
It was 14-7, and Wisconsin had not only taken control of the scoreboard, but also of the game — winning the time of possession battle 12:24 to 2:39 at that point.
This was a trend through the remainder of UW’s 31-21 victory over the Golden Gophers, and for the first time in Big Ten play, the Badgers leaned heavily on their rushing attack to control the game, and it worked. They didn’t ask Stave to throw more than he was used to, nor did they ask their defense to constantly cover for their poor offensive play. They didn’t have to. All they had to do was play the ground-and-pound style Wisconsin football has been built upon in recent years.
Whether this is what they should have done all season is not as clear, as the game plan was circumstantial given Minnesota’s weak front seven and the backfield’s ongoing development. But this style of play is how Wisconsin found success, especially in the past four seasons, where they have reached three Big Ten Championship games.
Sure, neither Melvin Gordon nor Montee Ball are lining up in the backfield, and Travis Frederick and Rob Havenstein aren’t there blocking on the offensive line, but that doesn’t mean Wisconsin should have to stray away from what their best at: running the ball down their opponent’s throats.
Obviously there are situations like Northwestern, where it looks like nothing is going to get done on the ground, but even so, the Badgers still only ran the ball 26 times to the 36 times they threw it, despite the Wildcats’ lead never exceeding 10 points.
Saturday’s game plan went in a completely different direction and the results showed, with the Badgers rushing the ball 62 times to the 17 times they threw it, resulting in 257 rush yards and 336 total yards — 133 more yards than they managed to accumulate the previous weekend.
When the team needed to make a play through the air, they knew they could rely on their No. 1 wideout Alex Erickson, who caught six of Stave’s nine completions for 66 yards. The game had shades of what the Badgers’ passing attack looked like last season, when the Badgers went to the Big Ten championship and won a bowl game against Auburn.
This year’s Badgers may not have the explosive offensive talent it did last season, but Saturday, for the first time all season, it overcame its weaknesses and played to its strengths.
Now, these Badgers have one more game with Stave taking snaps under center and Erickson lining up out wide, and maybe, for one last time, they should stick to what works.
