Wisconsin vs. Washington State - Saturday 9/10/22

[OldHeidelberg]

Badgers finished 7th in BCS rankings in 99 so its not like they had some great computer ranking, I must be remembering some other year. I think an early season loss to Northwestern cost them in the end a lot more than we thought it would at the time.

 

Edit: I think it was that Gopher loss in 93 that cost us a natty?

[homer]

9 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I know that was a sore point for a lot of fans last season. I think it should have more to do with the yardage needed to pick up the 1st down & the game situation than anything else. There were times last year they probably should've been more aggressive but if you don't make it you give a team a spark. Today we gave one to an opponent that had very little going for it, and you could make a strong case it cost us the game. Chryst leaned on a defense last season that was clearly the strong point of the team. I guess whether he makes similar calls depends on how the D looks--I think it's looked good so far, but maybe not at the level of last season--and how the O-line & Mertz grow moving forward.

Today was a day to make WSU go 85-90 yards cuz I doubt they could.

I guess that assumes your punter can pin them deep and your coverage team can stop him if he catches it inside the 10. Odds are just as good he kicks it in the end zone in which case you've only netted 25 yards. To me, playing to prevent your opponent from getting a spark is playing scared. 

[homer]

16 hours ago, nate82 said:

Offense once again is the problem.  Play calling is still horrible.  Offensively this team is an absolute mess.

The offensive line can’t pass block.  Holding penalties galore on pass and run plays.  Bad coaching from top to bottom on the offensive.  Defensively this team is not as talented as last years.

How many games like this do we have to live through with PC before he is fired?  He should of been fired after last season but nope Mertz and others were scapegoated for PC’s failures.  He needs to go.

I didn't think the playcalling was as bas as years past. Yeah, some drives were typical UW but there seemed to be more motion, more three step drops, and more passing on 1st down - but not enough. To me, the big issue was the play of the offensive line and the penalties (and obviously the turnovers). They had some really nice gains brought back due to holding or hands to the face. And a few plays the O Line just simply whiffed on blocks in space or tripped while pulling. Just a bad game overall for them.

[GAME05]

14 hours ago, OldHeidelberg said:

Ha, I can't remember all the details but I think there is an argument that Cincinatti loss cost the Badgers a national championship.

Well it certainly doesn't help when your coach at the time intentionally throws games now and again.

[Jim French Stepstool]

59 minutes ago, homer said:

I guess that assumes your punter can pin them deep and your coverage team can stop him if he catches it inside the 10. Odds are just as good he kicks it in the end zone in which case you've only netted 25 yards. To me, playing to prevent your opponent from getting a spark is playing scared. 

Fair enough. Like I said it depends on the situation. They had a terrific defense last season. To me netting 35-40 yards......or even 25..........with the group Leonhard had last year was playing to your strength. There were times PC probably should've been more proactive in trying to go. Yesterday they hadn't shown any consistency on the offensive end to that point. Neither had the Coogs. I say use that.

I think preventing an opponent from getting a spark when they had shown none so far is playing smart, not scared. Definitely cost them yesterday.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, homer said:

I didn't think the playcalling was as bas as years past. Yeah, some drives were typical UW but there seemed to be more motion, more three step drops, and more passing on 1st down - but not enough. To me, the big issue was the play of the offensive line and the penalties (and obviously the turnovers). They had some really nice gains brought back due to holding or hands to the face. And a few plays the O Line just simply whiffed on blocks in space or tripped while pulling. Just a bad game overall for them.

Calvaruso has to be a concern as well. Not only two misses on FG attempts, but neither had a chance, almost the type of mis-hits you see in a HS game. There are a couple other options, but unless someone sees practice every day you have no idea if anyone else is ready to step in.

I agree with the playcalling. In hindsight, sure it looks like some more 1st down throws early on would've been a good idea. But that's just what it is, hindsight. They tried early on to establish their #1 offensive threat. Hard to argue with that. Once they get further into the schedule things will probably get a little more diverse but they'll never look like what some fans pine for after watching NFL highlights. Nor should they. Like you said the O-line has a lot of cleaning up to do.