Talking to players after the Badgers’ disappointing 17-7 loss in Pasadena, Wisconsin feels like it beat itself against UCLA.
It was very similar to what the team expressed after the Penn State game. That was obviously a different, more favorable outcome for the Badgers, but the theme was the same; the hole Wisconsin was in wasn’t due to anything UCLA was doing. Rather, it was a cacophony of self-inflicted wounds. A comedy of errors.
That checks out. That’s not to say Wisconsin should’ve won the game, because there’s no world in which it played well enough to emerge victorious. But what makes the result all the more frustrating is that it could’ve won the game had it not repeatedly shot itself in the foot.
Below, I’ve got a handful of assorted takes and reactions as we continue to unpack the UCLA loss and look ahead to the Bruins’ crosstown rival, No. 16 USC.
Self inflicted wounds doom Wisconsin
Again, players were clearly peeved after the loss. Not defeated, not stunned — they were clearly mad that they let such a winnable game slip through their fingers. The now infamous Kevin Heywood quote is probably the best example:
“What it felt like, O-line specifically, four guys doing the right thing, one guy doing the wrong thing. We talk about that all the time. It seems like it hurt us today. I need to get a chance to watch it, but just being out there, that’s what it felt like,” he said.
“Honestly, we just beat ourselves,” wideout Chris Brooks Jr added. “I just think we got into these situations where, honestly, the entire season we see little things we need to get better at, and we just haven’t yet. We’re gonna continue working on it, but we gotta keep pushing because it’s only gonna get harder from here.”
Whether it was a penalty here, a drop there, a mental lapse here, Wisconsin appeared determined to make life extremely hard for itself against UCLA. Again, the same was true in Happy Valley, and the Badgers found a way to pull themselves out of the hole they dug before the clock hit zeros. They didn’t do that in Pasadena, but they need to prove that they can take a rough outing like that and flush it with No. 16 USC coming to town next week.
Colton Joseph's Struggles
Joseph had his worst game in a Badgers uniform against the Bruins. He completed 6-of-16 passes (38% completion) for 66 yards. Though he added 71 yards and a touchdown on the ground, the gunslinger couldn’t facilitate a consistent, productive offense.
Wisconsin’s offensive ineptitude wasn’t entirely on him, of course. The offensive line surrendered three sacks — as many as it had in the previous five games combined — and the receivers struggled to get open against UCLA’s secondary.
“Really just too many penalties, going backwards too many times,” he said. “We were just shooting ourselves in the foot. We were behind the chains too many times in too many situations.”
Joseph didn’t say “I have to play better,” which, while again that’s not the only issue, is certainly true. Only so much blame can be deflected with that stat-line.
Still, I’m not nearly ready to question Joseph’s leadership after one bad game and some frustrated comments.
“Come in Saturday, watch the game, get better from it, learn from it, start a new week of preparation. Leaders gotta lead and be there for the team and help lift everyone up and come out next week and play even harder,” he added.
Curious decisions on the offensive line
The Badgers had a bye week to figure out how to handle the absence of starting center Austin Kawecki, who head coach Luke Fickell revealed after the game has a broken hand.
What they decided was…interesting, to say the least. After Kawecki’s backup, Ryan Cory, played well in the second half against Michigan State, Wisconsin elected to instead play Stylz Blackmon at center, moving the struggling PJ Wilkins to right guard. After it tried him at both tackle spots, third time is surely the charm, no?
Not quite. He had another tough outing in pass protection, leading the team in pressures allowed with three per Pro Football Focus. And again, the offensive line as a whole surrendered three sacks; it was the most forgettable performance of the Eric Mateos era in Madison yet.
“Ryan Cory did a good job in the Michigan State game when he came in, it felt like we had two guys that could go there (at center) and felt like we were gonna go with Stylz and put PJ at guard. Felt like that was gonna be the best combination,” Fickell said.
Wisconsin’s offensive line needs to settle on a starting five lest it fall into even more disarray.
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