Badgers Hangover: Young secondary rebounded from bad start

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Possessing the Heartland Trophy has been a bellwether for the Big Ten West division title. After a 28-17 victory on Saturday night in Kinnick Stadium, the Badgers have the trophy for the third straight season.

It took a full 60-minute effort and some opportunistic play for it to happen, but the Badgers got the job done in the end.

Quarterback Alex Hornibrook saved his best for last too — leading the Badgers on a 10-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that took the clock down to under a minute and gave the Badgers a 21-17 lead.

Wisconsin salted the game away thanks to a 33-yard TD run by senior fullback Alec Ingold. But, it was Hornibrook’s late game poise that really got the job done, even if it didn’t feel like he played an outstanding game.

The stats tell a different story — he threw for just 205 yards, but was a very efficient 17 of 22 passing and most importantly had three passing touchdowns to no interceptions.

Playing clean football at the quarterback position at UW usually means good things will happen.

But, despite that efficient effort, it all could’ve been for naught thanks to a young secondary that was exposed by a veteran Iowa passing attack.

Iowa’s first scoring drive was largely because of mistakes made by the youthful Badgers secondary. They looked lost at times and it showed up big on the 20-yard touchdown catch by star tight end Noah Fant to tie the game up at 7-7 with 5:15 to play in the first half.

That drive also included Faion Hicks getting nailed for a pair of pass interference calls (only one of which stood due to a 46-yard gain to T.J. Hockenson) and Scott Nelson blowing his coverage to allow Fant to be wide open for his touchdown.

Of course, the good news is that it for all the big plays ripped off and the missed assignments, Iowa didn’t do much with it in the first half. Holding the Hawkeyes to just seven points heading in to halftime was a feat in and of itself.

Wisconsin allowed Nate Stanley to put up 256 yards and two touchdowns, but they also managed to seal the victory with an interception of Stanley with just 38 seconds left to play inn the contest.

Stanley and the Hawkeyes pass game produced most of its damage on a few scattered plays, because he had just 14 completions on 23 attempts for those 256 yards.

But, if there’s ever been a warning sign of what good teams could expose — it’s always been the penchant for the big plays in the pass game. Wisconsin has shown that they are a pass defense that can give up those plays in droves this season.

On the flip side, the coaching staff and players should also be commended for taking those big punches early on and adjusting. Fant, a star heading in to this season, had just two more catches for nine yards following that 20-yard touchdown.

Nick Easley, who was the Hawkeyes best receiving option had just one reception for 14 yards.

So, there was some good to the bad on Saturday night for the Badgers young secondary.

Despite getting exposed at times, the Badgers overall pass defense early on this season has been good. Only four Big Ten teams have allowed fewer TD’s than the Badgers five. UW also ranks fourth in pass defense, giving up just 172.8 yards per game.

Jim Leonhard will have plenty of bad film to work through with his young secondary. With a week off before facing Nebraska and then traveling to Michigan, it’s a perfect time to settle this group down and get them making the right calls in coverage again.

The post Badgers Hangover: Young secondary rebounded from bad start appeared first on talkingBadgers.

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I saw both the offense and defense make statements before the game was over. The defense adjusted on the fly, and the young defenders improved their game as it progressed. It showed signs that they were listening, and doing what they were told. It fairly well shut the Hawkeyes down during the second half. On offense, that last drive was the stuff that makes QBs and everyone on the field look like they've gotten the message. Hornibrook was cool, calm, and calculating. The blocking was solid, the receivers were working the field, and the running game was not abandoned because they bit off nice chunks of yards when used.

This was a growth game for the Badgers. They probably learned that they are good enough to be a real competitor.
 
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