Wisconsin vs Northwestern game thread

[MrTPlush]

He's punting on 4th and 4 down 10 with 6 minutes left. That's embarrassing and fireable.

 

Pathetic honestly...essentially quitting.

 

Then again he wasn’t trying much the drive before running out the clock.

[PeaveyFury]

He's punting on 4th and 4 down 10 with 6 minutes left. That's embarrassing and fireable.

 

Pathetic honestly...essentially quitting.

 

Then again he wasn’t trying much the drive before running out the clock.

 

Though I very much agree about punting, it’s worth noting that Rudolph is calling the plays this year.

[PeaveyFury]

I hope they take the game film from this one and burn it. Then bury it in a backyard along Breeze Terrace....

[yourout]

Apparently the anointing of Mertz as our quarterback savior was a bit premature.

 

He’s had some bad throws, but also working with 1 legitimate weapon in the passing game and that’s a true freshman.

 

I’m a big Badger apologist, but let’s call a spade a spade. He’s been absolutely miserable today.

 

There’s obviously a ton of potential, and undoubtedly significant future success. But we all thought after one game that he was fantastic. And clearly there’s still a lot of work to be done.

 

The offense really ran one down their leg today.

[trwi7]

Even if they managed to convert that the play before they run on 3rd and 2, get stuffed and then waste 30 seconds in the next play. Just no concept of time management.

[yourout]

Have to say the better team definitely won.

[OldHeidelberg]

oof. Ugly. Oh well hard to get too upset in a maybe 6 game season. Maybe good for Mertz to get knocked down a peg

[LouisEly]

Well, at least we're not Penn State.

 

Or Michigan.

 

Or Michigan State.

 

Or Nebraska.

 

Or I could have been watching this disaster in-person at Wrigley Field.

[homer]

That dude has to be fourth string TE

[yourout]

That dude has to be fourth string TE

I think he doubles as one of the equipment managers.

[homer]

This was going to be a tough game at full strength. Sucks to lose your top two wideouts against arguably the best defense you'll face all year.

[young guns]

Refs screwed us in the first half and not having our top receivers screwed us in the second half. Mertz definitely looked like a freshman today, but still excited for his future and berger looks like he has stolen the lead back role

[AKCheesehead]

This is about what I expect any time they have to go to chicago. It is a house of horrors. Remember 2000 amid the shoebox ordeal? Holy crap. Totally ruined the season with that high of goals and roster and soiling the bed in the big ten opener.

 

Heck there’s been some doozies in Madison too. 96 Alvarez not having the sense to have Samuel kneel, I could tell an incredible story about that day.

 

My Dad was just telling me they’ve been favored vs NW 26x in a row, are 14-12 in that span.

 

I’m not a gambler but I think I should start taking out curse bets on nw vs Wisconsin.

[JosephC]

They talk about Mertz's confidence but, wow, he was rolling and then completely fell apart after the first tipped-ball interception. Then came interception #2 and he was completely worthless after that. Maybe that's why Wisconsin coaches tend to love guys like Coan and Stave who are definitely several steps down in terms of raw talent. If something bad happens those guys just shake it right off, the entire offense just shakes it right off, but that obviously didn't happen yesterday.

 

Really disappointing because I thought the defense came out and played the third quarter with more intensity than I've seen out of a Badger defense in a long time. It's like they knew they had to take their game up a couple of notches to get the win and they did exactly that, but you could see the life kind of getting sucked out of them too once it got into the fourth quarter.

 

Oh well, I was worried that the Badgers would be excluded from the Big 10 championship game if another game needs to be cancelled and they wouldn't have the necessary 6 games played. Don't really have to think about that anymore.

 

And I would agree with anyone who states that the Big 10 should be ashamed with the officiating in the first half of that game.

[pacopete4]

Mertz was asked to throw the ball 42 times as he had no WR's and his only TE was hurt. He did not play well but he also missed 3 weeks of practice and played an excellent defense last night. I question the coaching staff and what the actual game plan was because whatever it was, it should be tossed in the garbage can. Our defense could have given this team a chance to win last night if injuries and a decent game plan was in place. It's too bad. Chryst is a great coach for Wisconsin but we always seem to pee down our legs at least once a season under his regime.

[homer]

Mertz was asked to throw the ball 42 times as he had no WR's and his only TE was hurt. He did not play well but he also missed 3 weeks of practice and played an excellent defense last night. I question the coaching staff and what the actual game plan was because whatever it was, it should be tossed in the garbage can. Our defense could have given this team a chance to win last night if injuries and a decent game plan was in place. It's too bad. Chryst is a great coach for Wisconsin but we always seem to pee down our legs at least once a season under his regime.

 

Talent matters. Their best playmakers were two true freshmen and a redshirt freshman QB. They haven't had a ton of practice reps so the playbook is probably limited. If you're counting on Groshek and Krumholtz and some guy named Eschenbacher to make plays in a newly creative offense you are going to be disappointed.

[PeaveyFury]

With the Badgers' season now effectively guaranteed to end following their three remaining games and pending whatever bowl season may look like below the big ones, you still have the opportunity to focus on winning your last three, which include two rivalry games and a big one vs. a good Indiana team. Use it as a learning experience for the young players, get this weird season behind you, and build for a strong 2021.

 

Regarding the 'one of these each year' narrative I keep seeing, I think that's a huge mistake to lump this in with a game like Illinois last year. NW was undefeated and ranked in the top 20 coming into the game, and the game was on the road in a place where the Badgers play terribly every single time they're down there. Based on the remaining NW schedule, they're very likely to still be undefeated and a Top 10 team playing OSU for a Big Ten Championship. That's not the equivalent to losing to Illinois at all.

[homer]

You know who they could have used yesterday? Cruickshank. Hope he's having fun with his buddies while losing every game at Rutgers.

[Jimbo]

Was that the ref telling the punter to watch the end line?

 

Most likely was. Preventive officiating is not a bad thing.

[RobDeer 45]

Ugly game and had a strong suspicion it would be that way. NW defense is tough and doesn't make too many mistakes. Bringing zero explosiveness to the skilled positions played right in to their type of football. I wasn't expecting a bunch of turnovers, and thought it would be a close tough game. That killed us. I do agree, a lack of reps was tough on them. There are going to be some ups and downs with Mertz while he's young, but even in the bad games you can see how talented he is. I think he'll learn from this and it will help him to work harder.

[stoutdude04]

Another positive from the game was Jalen Berger. Hard not to be excited about him.

[CheezWizHed]

Another positive from the game was Jalen Berger. Hard not to be excited about him.

 

Agreed. Mertz, Berger, our OL (including many incoming huge recruits), Dike, plus some incoming 4 star WRs could make our offense pretty potent for a number of years. Too bad Ferguson wasn't aligned fully with this group.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm as big a fan of coach chryst as there can be but punting with 6 minutes left when you're down 10 is just horribly inexcusable. That's not just waving the white flag on the game, but essentially the season. You're waving the flag on the difference between a shot at a playoff spot and literally anything else. He had to know that at that moment in time. You either have the stones to go for it or you don't, and he didn't. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Super disappointed.

[PeaveyFury]

I'm as big a fan of coach chryst as there can be but punting with 6 minutes left when you're down 10 is just horribly inexcusable. That's not just waving the white flag on the game, but essentially the season. You're waving the flag on the difference between a shot at a playoff spot and literally anything else. He had to know that at that moment in time. You either have the stones to go for it or you don't, and he didn't. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Super disappointed.

 

I think this is a fair criticism. I think he's very conservative through most of the games because he knows he can largely rely on his defense to get stops and win field position. But in a game like Saturday's, you have to recognize that when trailing, you have a finite number of possessions left to score, especially with a sputtering offense.

 

I'd make the same argument about punting inside the opponent's 40, which he does at least once a game. At least this year it seems like you have a punter that can actually down the ball inside the 20 instead of kicking a touchback and netting a whopping 15 yards, but still.

[stoutdude04]

It is interesting too because I feel like we have seen them go for it on 4th and 1 or 2 more often, but once its 4th and 3 that seems like a no go for certain.