After being stunned 32-29 by Indiana for the second-straight season, Wisconsin (5-2, 0-2 Big Ten) is moving on, while reassessing its goals to ensure a meltdown does not persist.
The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0, 2-0 Big Ten) come into Camp Randall to take on the Badgers for their Homecoming. With the Badgers still aiming for a bowl game, nothing would be sweeter than turning around the season by knocking off the Big Ten’s top team.
The dismal start to the Big Ten season is drawing comparisons to the 2000 season, when the Badgers began with an undefeated non-conference schedule but dropped the first three games in the Big Ten. The Badgers were able to salvage that season and finish with a 21-20 Sun Bowl victory over UCLA.
“Our old players are good leaders; most have been through seasons like this, and our young players are willing souls,” Alvarez said. “When you have a difficult defeat, you have to cut it loose, let go of it and move forward and get on the next game and give full concentration to the next game as soon as you possibly can.”
Quarterback Brooks Bollinger said he is disappointed that the great start has not continued into the Big Ten season.
“Certainly it’s disappointing this year with the start that we did have in the non-conference, and then we lost two close football games, and definitely we make some plays down the stretch [that] could go either way, and it’s frustrating,” Bollinger said.
Bollinger said the team must not dwell on the past if it intends to knock off one of the best teams in the nation, adding that the team must recover from two-straight letdowns and restore confidence.
“There is nothing you can do to change [the losses] now,” Bollinger said. “Look forward, stay positive and keep working, and things will work out eventually, and we’ll get back on track.”
The Badgers have plenty of past experience spoiling the Buckeyes’ season, most recently rallying behind Bollinger last season for a fourth-quarter comeback at Ohio State to win 20-17.
In order to pull off an upset this season, the Badgers will need to make a few adjustments. A staple of its offense Wisconsin has not displayed this season is its ability to make the big play. The Badgers’ longest offensive play of the season is a 43-yard pass from Bollinger to Jonathan Orr.
“Offensively, we haven’t gotten the big plays like we did a year ago,” Alvarez said. “We need to find a way to get big plays.”
This season, the Badgers have only 16 plays for more than 25 yards, with only three resulting in touchdowns. Even worse, only three long plays came in the running game, with two coming on Bollinger scrambles. For an offense that relies heavily on the running game, that is certainly not stellar productivity.
“In past games, we have, but for whatever reason, we haven’t been able to bust those long runs or hook up the long passes, so it’s not like we have totally different game plans or play calls,” Bollinger said.
Against Indiana, the Badgers had their chances, but Bollinger said the offense sorely missed out on those opportunities.
“It’s just not going to happen like that all the time, but I think that we just really didn’t make plays when we needed to,” Bollinger said. “That’s what caused us to lose the game, and obviously we need to have some big-play capability.”
Last season, big plays came in a charitable abundance, both in the running game and the passing attack. In limited action last season, backup quarterback Jim Sorgi alone hit Lee Evans for 10 passes over 30 yards.
Evans has not played in a game this season, and there is still a chance he might not see action this year. Alvarez said redshirting would have to be Evans’ choice but added there has been no discussion of it.
The Badgers have sorely missed the playmaking ability of Lee Evans. If he returns this week, it could certainly spark the Badgers to an exhilarating Homecoming upset.
