Wisconsin has teetered on the edge of an embarrassing defeat a couple times already this season. And on Saturday, the Badgers finally fell in a game many felt they should not have lost.
Northwestern upset No. 17 Wisconsin 20-14 at Ryan Field, and the Badgers came away reeling with injuries and a quarterback controversy. Linebacker Marcus Trotter and cornerbacks Devin Gaulden and Derrick Tindal all sustained injuries that forced them to miss the end of the game. And neither Joel Stave nor Tanner McEvoy proved especially effective in the passing game.
Add it all up, and the grades in this week's report card were pretty ugly. Take a look (if you dare):
Wisconsin is saved from a failing grade essentially because of one Joel Stave touchdown drive that showed what this offense can achieve. In two plays, Stave found tight end Sam Arneson for a 24-yard pass over the middle and then hit receiver Kenzel Doe for a 19-yard touchdown in the front left corner of the end zone. The score trimmed Wisconsin's deficit to 20-14 with 4:16 left in the game.
OK, that's about all there is positive to say about the passing game. If we're being honest, it stunk something fierce. Consider that Stave and Tanner McEvoy combined to complete 12 of 29 passes (41.3 percent) for 138 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. McEvoy completed only 4 of 10 pass attempts with an interception before he was pulled in favor of Stave late in the first half.
Stave's touchdown, meanwhile, was sandwiched around three interceptions -- one of which was especially crushing. Stave had moved Wisconsin into a first-and-goal situation from the 3-yard line but threw an ill-advised pass into the end zone that was picked off. To be fair, Stave spent the week of practice splitting second-team offense reps with Bart Houston, so you can't say he was exactly ready for everything put in his way.
We all know the story of Stave's unusual throwing troubles by now. After experiencing a mental block for nearly a month because of losing out on the starting quarterback job, he feels like his old self. But because neither quarterback was particularly good against Northwestern, the Badgers find themselves with a quarterback controversy on their hands.
"We're going to adjust and adapt the offense with the ability to know that we have two quarterbacks with a little bit different skill set," Badgers coach Gary Andersen said. "It would appear to me that for our offense to move in the direction that we want it to move this year with the kids we have, we may be in a position to use both those quarterbacks because we are a different football team than we were a year ago and you have to adjust."
The Melvin Gordon show continued in spectacular fashion on Saturday. Gordon carried the ball 27 times, set a new career high with 259 rushing yards and added a touchdown. He was tremendous from start to finish, opening the game with a 58-yard run and the third quarter with a 61-yard burst. He is now averaging an astounding 42.8 yards per carry on his first attempt of the second half. And Wisconsin's rushing offense still ranks third in the country (331.4 yards per game).
So, why doesn't Wisconsin earn a straight A? In some respects, the passing game is at fault here. How in the world can Gordon gain 259 yards and score just one touchdown? McEvoy and Stave both threw interceptions in the red zone, when Gordon clearly was in the process of a dominant game.
"You're still trying and you get right by the goal line and come up short and get no points," Gordon said. "It's tough, man. It's tough."
Outside of Gordon, who averaged 9.6 yards per carry, there wasn't much of a running game to speak of. Corey Clement carried six times for 22 yards, though he did make a nice 15-yard catch off a check down from Stave. But McEvoy, who was supposed to be a difference maker on the ground, carried just once for eight yards. If a quarterback truly possesses the type of ability McEvoy has, then coaches need to utilize that skill set.
Northwestern quarterback Trevor Siemian didn't put together tremendous numbers on Saturday. But it seemed as though he consistently managed to move the chains and beat Wisconsin's secondary. The Wildcats tallied 11 first downs passing compared to the Badgers' six passing first downs.
Siemian completed 15 of 29 passes for 182 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He found Dan Vitale for a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave Northwestern a 10-0 lead. He also hit six different receivers for passes of at least 15 yards.
Badgers cornerback Sojourn Shelton was the victim of several Siemian targets. Shelton said earlier in the week that he thought he'd hit a wall for the first time in his football career, and he acknowledged he hadn't played up to his standards. Saturday's game certainly didn't help matters. Shelton and cornerback Devin Gaulden each missed an interception opportunity in the first quarter.
"We didn't get the turnovers and they did," Andersen said. "That was a big part of it. Our opportunities to be able to get balls, pick the ball off, they get two balls in the end zone, pick them both off. We get one in the end zone, we drop it. It's not pointing fingers at kids. It's just, they made plays and we didn't."
One other play of note: Northwestern faced a third-and-3 from its own 41 with 3:29 remaining after Wisconsin used its final timeout. The Badgers absolutely needed to have a stop and loaded the box. Instead, Vitale leaked out on the right side and caught a 16-yard pass that basically sealed the game.
Andersen said it was "the worst tackling game" Wisconsin had put together all season, and you'd be hard pressed to disagree.
Northwestern gained 203 yards rushing on 46 carries -- an average of 4.4 yards per attempt. But the Wildcats wore down the Badgers behind tailback Justin Jackson, who carried 33 times for 162 yards.
Wisconsin was fooled on a critical reverse play in which receiver Miles Shuler scored on a 16-yard touchdown run around the left side. The play gave the Wildcats a 17-7 lead.
"We still are on our way to eliminating big plays," Badgers safety Michael Caputo said. "Tackling was a big thing. You've got to tackle at the point of attack. You've got to make plays. Even on my part, there were a lot of plays that I missed tackles. You've got to have 11 hats flying to the ball. That's the two things that are key there if you want to be a great defense:. You've got to tackle. Eleven hats to fly to the ball all the time. Today, a couple plays we were lacking."
Wisconsin dropped out of top 20 nationally in rushing defense after Saturday's game. The Badgers now rank No. 22, allowing 109.6 yards per game.
The only notable development from Saturday's game was when freshman kicker Rafael Gaglianone missed a 50-yard field goal attempt well left and short. Kicking conditions were far from ideal -- temperatures in the 40s with wind and rain -- so Gaglianone was certainly up against the elements on Saturday. But the kick would have trimmed Wisconsin's deficit to 17-10 when every possession mattered for the Badgers.
"It's not even close," Andersen said of the kick. "It was a long field goal. I get it. But we expect to make it."
Drew Meyer handled four punts and averaged 39.5 yards per kick. Kenzel Doe was just fine on kick and punt returns as well. But it's worth pointing out the average field position of each team for the game.
Wisconsin's average start was its own 21-yard line. Northwestern's average start was its own 33-yard line. Those 12 yards make a big difference, and special teams plays a role in that area. Four times, Northwestern punter Chris Gradone pinned Wisconsin inside the 20, while Meyer did so just once. Some of that has to do with the offense's ability to move the ball, of course. But Northwestern outplayed Wisconsin on special teams, too.
Wisconsin's worst overall performance of the season came at a time when the Badgers could least afford it. Losing to Northwestern, even on the road, isn't supposed to happen for a top-20 football team with visions of winning the Big Ten West division. Now, the Badgers are out of the national top-25 polls, two games behind Northwestern in the win column without the benefit of holding a tiebreaker.
Andersen said that, if Wisconsin takes care of its business the rest of the way, good things will happen -- what else is he supposed to say? But after Saturday's performance, it seems difficult to believe good things will indeed happen for Wisconsin in all seven remaining conference games.
Wisconsin has a lot of work to do if it hopes to be a respectable Big Ten team. The defense was exposed in certain areas, and the passing game is a mess. Not a good look five games into the season.
Follow Jesse Temple on Twitter
