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Stats never lie, except for when they do…and as the supposed worst defense in all of FBS football rolled in to Camp Randall Stadium it was supposed to be a cake walk for Bucky.
Instead, it was a four-quarter struggle to put points on the board, as UW escaped its non-conference finale with an unexpectedly close 23-17 victory over a game Panthers.
“I give Georgia State a lot of credit, they came out ready to play, they went out there and gave us a run for our money,” said senior linebacker Vince Biegel. “They’re coached well and are a great team. We saw some things that we didn’t see in their first two games. This is some film we’ll definitely learn from.”
After three-and-a-half quarters of ineffective offense, head coach Paul Chryst made a switch at quarterback and inserted redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook. The move paid immediate dividends, as the Badgers put together its most impressive drive of the game and put the first touchdown of the game on the board.
However, that 13-3 lead only served to wake up the Panthers offense as well and it resulted in back-to-back touchdown drives for Georgia State. Suddenly what looked like a game turning around became a fight to the finish.
It took just three plays for GSU to go 68 yards and score on a go-ahead touchdown with 11:38 to play.
At that point it was a pure quarterback duel, with the Badgers putting Hornibrook front and center. It was a test he would pass with flying colors, going 8-12 for 122 yards, but most importantly leading a game-winning drive capped off by his 2-yard touchdown pass to fellow redshirt freshman Kyle Penniston for a 20-17 lead.
“He (Hornibrook) did what he was supposed to do,” said senior wide receiver Rob Wheelwright following the game. “Coming in, having to step up and make some plays, he did everything we needed him to do to get the victory.”
UW would add a third field goal from junior kicker Rafael Gaglianone from 41 yards out with 3:36 to play to ice away the game. Gaglianone would finish 3 of 4 on the day, missing a 30-yard attempt that woudlv’e give the Badgers a 9-0 lead in the second quarter. However, he would end up hitting from 41, 28 and 41 yards out again.
Wisconsin dominated the stat line in the first quarter, gobbling up 110 total yards (67 on the ground alone) to Georgia State’s 2 total yards. Yet, it didn’t matter on the scoreboard as Georgia State’s defense stiffened up when it counted and held UW out of the end zone.
A pair of Rafael Gaglianone field goals gave the Badgers the 6-0 lead after the first quarter.
Georgia State managed just five offensive plays in the quarter, resulting in Wisconsin dominating time of possession 12:49 to 2:11.
Fortunes appeared to be turning in Wisconsin’s favor as the second quarter opened up, with Georgia State muffing a punt and giving it back to the Badgers on their 23-yard line. Instead, it was redshirt freshman Bradrick Shaw coughing it up on the doorstep of the goal line and Georgia State getting the ball right back.
Georgia State appeared ready to pounce after recovering Shaw’s fumble deep in their own territory. However, the drive stalled out and UW’s special teams helped out a defense that was gauged on the drive.
As the Panthers lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt, defensive end Connor Sheehy knifed through the line and blocked the attempt to keep the score at 6-0.
Wisconsin’s struggles to extend or finish off drives continued all the way to halftime, partially led by quarterback Bart Houston’s inability to hit big plays on third down. He finished the half just 8 of 15 for 81 yards, while rushing for 19 more yards but missed Jazz Peavy on a few potentially huge throws to name a few.
By halftime, Wisconsin had done just about everything it could besides score an offensive touchdown. That included what looked like the game-changing blocked field goal by Sheehy and a missed 30-yard field goal attempt by Gaglianone to end what was a disappointing first half.
“We’ve got to be able to put points on the board,” said center Michael Dieter postgame. “We can’t come out here with just six points like that (in the first half). Fumbles will kill you, it’s nice to drive it down there but you’ve got to come away with touchdowns as much as you can and that’s not what we did today.”
Wisconsin ran 40 plays for 201 total yards in the first half alone, compared to Georgia State’s 27 plays for just 87 yards of total offense.
By the end of the game, things had evened themselves out with Georgia State being able to throw for 269 yards against a stingy Badgers defense. Part of UW’s issues came from an inability to get pressure on the quarterback, with on T.J. Watt’s official sack on an intentional grounding call counting on the stat sheet.
Wisconsin also helped itself by not committing a penalty for the first time since November 15, 1997 at Michigan.
UW’s defense also came up big against the run, allowing just 33 yards on the ground — the lowest total for a Wisconsin opponent since Hawaii had just 15 yards last season.
It is on to Big Ten play and the Michigan State Spartans next week for the Badgers, and they’ll head in with an all-important 3-0 record no matter how ugly Saturday’s victory may have been.
The post Badgers escape Georgia State 23-17 in non-conference finale appeared first on Madtown Badgers.
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