The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Illinois Edition
It wasn't pretty, but we learned a lot about the Badgers from their hard fought victory in Champaign on Saturday. With a redshirt freshman quarterback leading the charge, they displayed the kind of true grit that has been missing from the program for a long time. The Illini came out physical and helped by the wind and Badger misfires were able to build a 21-7 lead. But through gusty playcalling and big time players showing up when it mattered most they were able to seal the deal with 27 seconds left on the clock. All that matters is the score when the clock hits 00:00 and with the win the Badgers now control their own destiny in the B1G West. Not what we were thinking going into the 4th Quarter. So let's find out how we got there was we take a look at this week's the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The Good
In a tough and messy game, the Badgers passing game showed signs of life. Braedyn Locke took center stage and displayed impressive moxie given the circumstances. Imagine trying to throw a football accurately in gusty winds while your own teammates are dropping passes left and right. It's not an easy task, even for experienced quarterbacks.
Locke's final statline won't blow your socks off. He completed 21 out of 41 pass attempts for a total of 240 yards. But given the drops, and the relentless pressure from the Illini front 7 he more than made up for it with two touchdown passes that were a true indicator of his composure. Nine different Badgers caught his passes, and hints at an offense that if it can keep distributing the ball so well will be very difficult to stop.
The Bad
For much of the game, the Illini defense exploited the lack of athleticism on the Badgers offensive line, and one could argue that it really didn't get better until the caugh a lucky break with the ejection of Jer'Zhan Newton. His aggressive and effective play had posed a significant challenge for the Badgers throughout the game, necessitating double-teams and still managing to create problems. Newton's ejection altered the dynamics of the game.
The problems on the offensive line needs to be addressed. Snaps were not as much of an issue as previous weeks, but if they thought blocking Newton was going to be an issue then they will be in for a rude awakening next week against Ohio State.
The Ugly
The mental errors are becoming an lingering issue without much hope of finding a resolution. Whether it was the mental errors, false starts, or mishandled snaps on field-goal attempts, these issues need to be addressed to avoid sabotaging future games. For a coaching staff that preaches so much about discipline and accountability it's almost unbelievable to have a team that lacks so much discipline. With at roster as top heavy as the Badgers have the solution to just take the offending player out of the game only hurts the team as a whole so the coaching point will continue to be, "stop doing that". It might not be what you want to hear, but it's literally the only option. They need to grow up and grow up fast.
PLAY OF THE DAY - Big Red 64 X Post F Angle
note: terminology is my own and not an accurate representation of how Phil Longo calls plays.
13 pass to Braelon Allen
Situation- 8:51 left in the 4th Quarter. 3rd and 6 from Illinois' 43 yard line.
Personnel- 11 personnel (Z Green, Y Pauling, H Nowakowski, X Williams, F Allen)
Concept- Y Cross with an angle route from the RB
Progression - Presnap looking for 2 high safeties to hit the post quick. Otherwise reading H to Y to F
Defense- 3-3 nickel with press Cover 1