No one ever said winning in the Big Ten was easy. Just ask the Wisconsin Badgers (0-2 Big Ten, 5-2 overall). Starting off the season with a 5-0 record, the Badgers lost at home to Penn State Oct. 5 and followed it up with a disheartening loss at unranked Indiana this past Saturday.
The Badgers boasted a 16-10 halftime lead against the Indiana Hoosiers (1-1 Big Ten, 3-3 overall) and exploded in the third quarter to take a 29-10 advantage only to see Indiana shut them down for the final 25 minutes and win 32-29.
The Badgers' loss can directly be attributed to losing momentum in the game and failing to stop the Hoosiers' offense during the fourth quarter.
With 4:14 left in the second quarter, Mike Allen kicked a 44-yard field goal to cut the Hoosiers lead to one and the Badgers clearly had momentum on their side, offensively and defensively. Over the course of the next 15 minutes, the Badgers defense held the Hoosiers' offense to zero first downs and also picked off a pass from senior quarterback Gibran Hamdan.
In addition, the Badgers' offense accumulated 156 yards and scored three times. But then all went wrong.
\We had the momentum and a 19-point lead in the third quarter,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez said. ""And then all of a sudden, we lost them both, the lead and the momentum. We let them off the hook too many times on defense and could not maintain anything at all on offense.""
The offense throughout the last 25 minutes of the game was most definitely a huge buzz-kill for the Badger fans in attendance at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The combinations of penalties, horrible protection for senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger and also the inability to pick up yards consistently all led to the downfall of the team.
Although much can be said about Alvarez's play calling used during the Badgers' debacle over the final period and a half, the players just could not seem to make any plays. Even though, sophomore running back Anthony Davis attained over 100 yards rushing, he was a non-factor down the stretch rushing for only nine yards over the last 25 minutes.
The combination of the lack of a running game as well as Bollinger's inability to consistently complete passes to open receivers in the second half all play important roles in the loss. However, offense was not the only problem, because the defense did not help in the fourth quarter.
""Defensively, we just could not make a play in that fourth quarter,"" Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. ""Our defensive line gave us great pressure at times and helped us to second and long and third and long. We just did not make the fundamental defensive plays. We did not set ourselves up, adjust and tackle.""
To credit the Indiana Hoosiers, they never gave up and continued to strike away on offense, especially in the second half. Their offense was jump-started and helped snatch the momentum from the Badgers. Led by Hamdan's 254 passing yards in the final 25 minutes, the Hoosiers' continued to pass the ball down the throats of the Badgers' secondary.
Indiana's dynamic duo of sophomore wideout Courtney Roby and junior wideout Glenn Johnson totaled up 11 receptions, 189 yards and two touchdowns, but, more importantly, made the big plays at the most opportune times for Hoosiers. They got the first downs and all the little extra yards when they needed it, most especially on fourth downs and third and longs.
Momentum dictated this game. When the Badgers had it, they could not be stopped. When they lost it, they could not do anything right. Whether UW has the momentum on Saturday afternoon or not, fourth ranked Ohio State will be in town and ready to play.
