Maybe it was the two weeks off before the game, or the soft pre-season schedule that didn't feature a single ranked team or the pressure of being a 5-0 team. Whatever the reason the Badgers defense looked soft and confused in Wisconsin's 34-31 loss to Penn State on Saturday.
The shell-shocked Badger defense gave up 287 yards passing, and 149 yards rushing. Penn State also did not punt until one minute remaining in the third quarter. When the defense did make a stand its efforts were often negated by penalties.
The defining moment came early in Penn State's first drive. Wisconsin's defense was surprised with a quick 15-yard pass from Penn State's sophomore quarterback Zack Mills on the first play of the possession, but then quickly stuffed a short run by senior tailback Larry Johnson. Badger senior defensive lineman Jake Sprague got pressure on Mills on second down, forcing an incomplete pass and after another incompletion on third down, it appeared the Badgers were on their way. But an offsides penalty negated the stop and shifted the momentum back towards Penn State, which promptly marched down the field for a field goal.
\I didn't feel as though we played particularly well on either side of the ball,"" Wisconsin's Head Coach Barry Alvarez said in his post-game interview. ""[We] made a lot of mistakes. When you make mistakes, it's hard to win. Their first drive was indicative of how we played in the game. We had them stopped in a third-down conversion and we lined up offsides. We allowed them to have the ball back.""
Wisconsin defensive back Scott Starks epitomized the team's tentative attitude, often starting 10 to 15 yards off Penn State junior wide reciever Tony Johnson. In the end, Johnson finished with five catches for 62 yards. In fact it was the trio of Johnsons'wide receivers Tony and senior Bryant and tailback Larry'that picked the Badgers to pieces. Both receivers broke the 50-yard mark, while Larry Johnson won the ground game with 111 rushing yards and added 41 receiving yards on five catches.
""We missed a lot of tackles,"" Alvarez said. ""We were very soft because of our alignment in the first half. We made that adjustment and it gave us a better chance in the second half, but I don't think we played well at all.""
The Badgers admitted they took some chances and were surprised by Penn State's offensive choice on first downs. Penn State passed on 14 of their 29 first down plays.
""We came in thinking they were going to run on first downs and they passed more than we thought,"" senior cornerback B.J. Tucker said. Tucker also had the Badgers' only interception with 4:33 left in the second quarter, which he ran back for 65 yards for the first Badger touchdown off a pick since 2000.
Once the Badger defense did settle down midway through the second half, the offense failed to come up with crucial third-down conversions, perhaps missing the service of their primary back running back Anthony Davis, whose ankle was re-aggravated in a late third quarter drive and senior wide receiver Lee Evans, who did not suit up in his expected return game due to continued swelling and soreness in his knee, though freshman running back Dwayne Smith filled in valiantly, rushing for 42 yards on just six trys. True freshman wide receiver Jonathon Orr and sophomore Darrin Charles both dropped crucial passes in the fourth quarter, with the Badgers down 28-23 and on Penn State's 47 yard line. The incomplete passes ended any chance the Badgers had of rallying.
The game should serve as a wake-up call for the Badgers as they enter the Big Ten season. Gone are the days of playing teams like West Virginia and Northern Illinois, ahead are the likes of the always formidable University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich., a rejuvenated University of Iowa at Iowa City, Iowa, and an imposing Ohio State University at Camp Randall in two weeks.
To win the Big Ten crown, the Badgers will have to be cleaner and crisper than they were on Saturday, Alvarez said during his Monday press conference.
""The coaches take it up a notch in their tempo of practice. The players recognize that the coaches are doing things at a little different pace,"" Alvarez said. ""There is more of a sense of urgency. We put more emphasis on it. This is the part of the season that counts and they recognize the other things. All of that together, I think, puts more emphasis and more importance on the game.\
