North Carolina easily could have pulled out a victory this past weekend with the arm of their gutsy senior quarterback Matt Baker if they simply had not made so many mistakes. When it seemed like the Tar Heels were just about to get into the flow, a yellow flag was thrown and a play was called back.
While the Badgers did commit eight penalties for 74 yards, North Carolina piled up 12 for 115. Two of the infractions were called after Wisconsin punted on their first possession. The referees called both a block in the back and unsportsmanlike conduct on the Tar Heels, forcing them to start their drive on their own five-yard line. The unsportsmanlike conduct call seemed to be on head coach John Bunting from the sidelines.
The second notable foul on the Tar Heels was early in the second quarter, when sophomore kicker Connor Barth drilled a 52-yard field goal that appeared to cut the Badgers' lead to 7-3. However, the kick was called back due to a delay of game penalty.
The Tar Heels also committed an offensive pass interference that took away what seemed to be a 24-yard gain. As was the case all evening for the Tar Heels, whatever spark they could momentarily generate quickly disappeared.
Rushing made easy
The Badgers added to their impressive total of rushing yards this season, rushing for 166 yards, and bringing the year's total to 817 through three games.
Brian Calhoun rushed for 171 yards on 38 carries for two touchdowns. Though an early fumble by Booker Stanley seemed to put a damper on the rushing game, an eight-yard and a four- yard touchdown run by Calhoun put the Badgers in control.
On the other side of the ball, Wisconsin controlled the run for the second week in a row. The entire Tar Heel offense totaled 57 yards on only 2.3 yards per carry. Sophomore running back Barrington Edwards ran for 37 yards on 11 carries.
Three and out
It seemed that every time the Tar Heels got something going, a drive stalled.
On 16 opportunities, North Carolina was only able to convert on three third downs the entire day, while the Badgers converted on six of 17. The Tar Heels also were 0-2 on the day on fourth-down opportunities.
Depleted line
When sophomore defensive lineman Jamal Cooper went down in the second quarter with what many believe to be a torn ACL, the future looked bleak for the Badgers. Although they were able to silence the Tar Heel offense, the Badgers have to be worried about their current situation on their defensive front.
Sophomore lineman Kurt Ware was kept off the field, suffering from chicken pox, while knee problems continued to plague sophomore Justin Ostrowski.
Expect to see much more from freshman Jason Chapman and Matthew Shaughnessy as the Badgers look ahead to a tough Big Ten schedule.
