Badger FB vs Buffalo Thread

Wisconsin (1-0) leaned on its tried-and-true method of wearing down an opponent and forcing it to break. Buffalo (0-1) looked like it might play spoiler to Badgers coach Luke Fickell’s home debut, knotting the game at 7 in the first quarter and pulling within 14-10 at halftime on the strength of a 53-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half. But the Bulls’ defense simply didn’t have enough answers for the tandem of Allen and Mellusi.

Mellusi’s long touchdown run saw him weave through the secondary with a cut to the left side of the field before breaking back to the right and finding the south end zone. It was his second touchdown carry of the day, and Allen punched in two scores in the second half to match Mellusi. They combined for 319 total scrimmage yards — a career-high 157 rushing from Mellusi, while Allen had 141 on the ground and 25 receiving — and four scores. Mellusi became the first Wisconsin player to have at least 150 rushing yards and two scores in an opener since P.J. Hill in 2008.
Mellusi said a challenge came from running backs coach Devon Spalding at halftime.

“Going into halftime, (Spalding) told us you guys have to make a play,” Mellusi said. “We were running the ball fairly well, and me and Braelon knew that we had to make a play. So that’s what we did.”

Allen’s 37-yard carry in the third quarter set up his first touchdown, and then he had ran the ball on all three plays of a scoring drive midway through the fourth, capped by a 22-yard score.

Fickell has maintained since he was hired that he was dedicated to running the ball, regardless of the offensive system he installed.

“If there's anything I knew going into Game 1, I knew we could run the football,” Fickell said. “I knew that that could be a spark and an energy for us. And I'm not saying that just because of Braelon and Chez, because I think those are the two guys that are hardest to see in fall camp because you don't go live and let them break tackles — but the combination of those two guys and the guys up front.
“So whether we wanted to do some other things and have a great balance, we also can ID where our strengths are and where the energy and momentum can be created, because every week there's going to be different ways to create energy and momentum.”
While the results of the Badgers' offense was similar to what fans have known, the method they took to achieve them was much different. Wisconsin’s system under offensive coordinator Phil Longo saw quarterback Tanner Mordecai in shotgun on all but one play, a kneel-down to end the first half, and the team using 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) on almost every play between the 20-yard lines.
Wisconsin’s passing game didn’t make the explosive plays that fans were fantasizing about. Mordecai was OK, throwing for 189 yards while completing 24 of 31 passes, but he had two interceptions to go with one touchdown. His stats would've been boosted had Skyler Bell not dropped a would-be 60-yard touchdown pass.
Fickell and half a dozen of Mordecai’s teammates complimented his composure and his ability to remain steady even as things weren’t going his way, recognizing his role in winning the game this week was more about keeping the defense honest than creating the big plays.
“The throws down the field, maybe there weren't as many,” Fickell said, “but I think he probably had a lot of poise in not throwing some of those ones when (Buffalo defensive backs) were bailing out of there.”
Wisconsin’s offensive line has long prided itself on its ability to beat an opponent physically, but the new system requires a different way of thinking about how that will occur. The Badgers’ use of spread-out formations makes the defense thin between the tackles, and the speed with which Wisconsin is playing means very few substitutions for either side.
Junior center Tanor Bortolini said during training camp the belief is the defense will tire before the Badgers will, and he saw the Bulls reach their breaking point in the second half.
“It’s a lot more speed wear-out,” Bortolini said. “I think it’s a lot less of a, ‘We’re going to beat you, beat you, beat you (mindset) to wear you out,’ compared to a, ‘We’re going to go as fast as we can until your conditioning runs out, and we’re in better shape than you.’
“I think we still brought the physicality today and did a good job running the tempo we want to go at.”
That change of pace and look from the defense are welcome for the line. Junior left tackle Jack Nelson said running against loaded boxes like the Badgers did in years past “started to feel like beating your head against the wall.”
Growth should come in terms of getting more production from the passing game, but the Badgers know their backbone is still Nos. 0 (Allen) and 1 (Mellusi) out of the backfield. Having an established identity — different though it may look — from which to build upon is an important first step for a team that preaches playing its best in November and December.
“This is our first game,” Mellusi said, “so I think sky’s the limit for us.”
Click to expand...
 
So unlike a lot of folks I liked the changes I saw offensively, They only ran some air raid principles mostly it was a power spread game with a ton of 11 personnel but more 2 TE stuff than anyone thought. The passing game issues were mostly WR not getting open just as in the past, with one massive drop by Bell and one awful pass by Tanner. It was also better than PC offense based on our tempo alone.

Defensively they didn't run the 3-3-5 as much as advertised, a lot of the old 34 system is still there, poor tackling and miscues in the first half but replacing 2 DB and a half time butt chewing seemed to have cured it, second half D was about what I expected.

( Note* had this been a PC team not sure we win this game)

I think as time goes on and we adjust this team is going to be okay, Luke needs a year like most coaches to transition his system in. You don't basically come in and replace 30 years of philosophy overnight and look like UGA, Heck it took Kirby Smart 3 plus years to get UGA to where they are now...Relax Badger faithful, good things are coming.
 
Lucky the Badgers have some non-conference games to try to figure out this offense before the Big Ten play starts.
 
Patience. They are learning on the fly, and will build confidence as they go.

Anyone who believed this team was on it's way to a national championship was pretty much kidding themselves.

Like Mark said; "It took Kirby Smart 5 years to turn Georgia into a juggernaut." Give Luke time.

I agree that the Badgers may have well lost this game if Chryst was still at the helm.
 
GBP4EVER said:
Lucky the Badgers have some non-conference games to try to figure out this offense before the Big Ten play starts.
Click to expand...
I don't think there is much to "figure out" 503 yards total offense, 314 on the ground only 3 team penalties 1 of which was BS. WI put up 38, Michigan only scored 30 and Ohio state 23, Purdon't lost at home and Illinois barely beat Toledo. I don't think the Badgers need anything but reps and time to become a very stout team this year.
 
i admit it - i was expecting more against a patsy team. but the second half was very encouraging. it wasn't impressive on the same level as colorado beating tcu (who was favored by 21), but it was much more along the lines of what i expected.
 
The big issue around Madison today is the changes in the game day at the stadium, they piped in LOUD music between plays and cut the band out of the mix most of the time. People are beyond ticked off about it too.

As to the game most of it's been covered, my big concerns would be the poor punting and kick offs, you can't give away field position like that.

I thought overall the offense is good enough for us to win ballgames, defensively Tressal was a bit vanilla and needs to bring more pressure. tc(
 
44blitz said:
The big issue around Madison today is the changes in the game day at the stadium, they piped in LOUD music between plays and cut the band out of the mix most of the time. People are beyond ticked off about it too.

As to the game most of it's been covered, my big concerns would be the poor punting and kick offs, you can't give away field position like that.

I thought overall the offense is good enough for us to win ballgames, defensively Tressal was a bit vanilla and needs to bring more pressure. tc(
Click to expand...
I was at the game too. It was awful at times as they played music over the refs mic. Way over the top.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top