Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell says Badgers were ‘whooped’ by Alabama
After Wisconsin lost to Alabama, coach Luke Fickell said the Badgers were “whooped” in every phase of the game.
University of Wisconsin
MADISON – A recap of Wisconsin’s 42-10 loss to No. 4 Alabama on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
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Not only was the Badgers’ pride hurt by this one, but so was their quarterback. Senior Tyler Van Dyke went down during the first series and didn’t return. He could be seen standing on the sideline during the second half with the aid of crutches and his right leg in a brace. The consolation is that this was a non-conference game, so there is the prospect of starting fresh in two weeks at USC.
Turning point: Late first half TD spells doom for Badgers
Even though the Badgers had lost their quarterback and had lost a fumble inside the Crimson Tide 30 that led to a touchdown, they were only down, 14-3, with the ball in the final minute of the first half.
But nothing went right from there.
Junior Nathanial Vakos, who hit a 53-yard field goal in the first quarter, missed a 44-yard attempt. Alabama took over at its 27 with 36 seconds left. Seventeen seconds later the Crimson Tide was in the end zone thanks to a 47-yard pass down the Badgers sideline from Jalen Milroe to Ryan Williams that was followed by a 26-yard TD pass from Milroe to Germie Bernard. Add a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the second half and UW went from being down 11 points to trailing by 25 in the span of about 3 minutes game time.
Game over.
MORE: Box score | Wisconsin schedule | Big Ten scores
Thumbs up: Pauling comes close to career-high; Walker returns
Junior Will Pauling finished with nine catches, one short of his career-high, and led the team with 83 receiving yards.
Senior Tawee Walker returned to action after sitting out last week (right leg) and was a go-to player in short-yardage situations. He moved the chains in a couple of third-and-1 or fourth-and 1 situations in the first half.
More: JJ Watt and many former Wisconsin football players sound off on Badgers’ blowout loss to Alabama; fans frustrated with Luke Fickell
More: Braelon Allen has an amazing tweet about Ryan Williams’ age during the Wisconsin-Alabama game
Thumbs down: Running back fumbles, lack of turnover hurt UW’s chances
* With Van Dyke out, the Badgers needed to rely on their run game more, and it was especially tough to have their top two runs, Chez Mellusi and Cade Yacamelli, lose fumbles that led to Alabama touchdowns.
* The Badgers defense failed to produce a turnover for the second straight game.
* The UW pass rush failed to help its secondary. The until registered one sack and no quarterback hurries.
* The Badgers defense allowed a 57% (8 for 14) success rate on third down. Three of those conversions were touchdown plays.
More: Have a question about the Wisconsin Badgers football team after its loss to Alabama? Ask Mark Stewart.
More: Jump Around, Ron Dayne, Melvin Gordon, Offset have Wisconsin fans hyped during Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff
Wisconsin football schedule: The Badgers head to USC for the Big Ten opener, but first they get a bye week
The Trojans opened the season with a 27-20 victory over LSU and defeated Utah State, 48-0, last week. This week they had a bye and will open the season at Michigan next weekend. The Badgers are 1-6 against the Trojans, though UW won the last meeting, 23-21, in 2015.
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Publish date : 2024-09-14 11:43:00
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