EVANSTON, ILL.??- Prior to this Saturday, the play of the Wisconsin defense could be described in four simple words: bend but don't break. However, on a chilly and overcast day in Evanston, the floodgates finally opened, and the results were disastrous.
Facing a spread offense spearheaded by dynamic freshman running back Tyrell Sutton and senior quarterback Brett Basanez, Northwestern put up numbers that would be hard to duplicate for even the most skilled video game junkie: 674 yards of total offense, touchdowns on six consecutive possessions and an average gain of 8.3 yards per play.
\I'm extremely disappointed and frustrated from a standpoint that we gave up a lot of points, a lot of yards,"" defensive coordinator Bret Bielema said after the game. ""[The defense] didn't do anything that we practiced on Monday through Friday.""
Initially the defense played relatively well, giving up only 10 points and 216 yards, only 66 of which were running, in the first 30 minutes of play.
""We were OK at the half, they didn't have the ball much,"" said head coach Barry Alvarez. ""I didn't think there was any major things that we had to correct at the half. I would have been pleased to play like we did the first half.""
However, that all changed in the second half when the Wildcats made a concerted effort to establish the run, which subsequently opened up the passing game even more.
""The thing that hurts you with these guys is when they establish the run,"" said Alvarez. ""They just hand it off and it looks like you stop them, and they get four yards. That was a key, the fact that they established the run.""
Northwestern's hard-running Sutton continued to prove he is among the best backs in the conference by rushing for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including a 62-yarder that proved to be the game-winner. He repeatedly dragged Badger defenders for extra yards and rarely went down after the initial hit. This resulted in numerous second or third-and-short situations for the Wildcats.
""The point I made to our guys after the game is we can't have plays that should be second-and-eight turn into second-and-two,"" stressed Bielema. ""We were having first-down runs that we were hitting them, and then the pile would fall forward four or five yards.""
After dealing with Indiana's inexperienced quarterback Blake Powers last week, the Badgers discovered the difficulty of defending a seasoned veteran on Saturday. Basanez torched the Badgers for 361 yards and three touchdowns as he displayed the poise and moxie that come with starting 39 games over the past four years.
""He's a great player,"" Langford said. ""Obviously he proved it today. They have a great offense and obviously they proved it, they put 51 points on the board.""
Much of Basanez's success could be attributed to the complete lack of pressure generated by the depleted Badger defensive line. The Northwestern signal caller had seemingly all day in the pocket to dissect the suspect UW secondary.
""I think the bottom line was we didn't get any pressure on Basanez all day,"" said a frustrated Bielema. ""We weren't able to get anything out of the straight four-man stuff. He was allowed to stand back there and he was able to get the ball down the field vertically.""
Despite the frustration of putting up 48 points and still losing, the loss needs to be put in the proper perspective. With another difficult road contest facing the Badgers in Minnesota, the mistakes of Saturday's loss will need to be corrected quickly.
""Our next goal is to try to keep the Axe,"" said Alvarez. ""We are on track with all of our goals. We haven't lost any of the opportunities to reach all of our goals.
