The Wisconsin defense showed Saturday that while it has great ability to make a big stop when it counts, there are plenty of kinks that need to be worked out before this Saturday's contest at Illinois.
With Michigan State knocking on the door to tie or take the lead in a 37-34 ballgame, the Badger defense made a critical stand. The Spartans needed only two yards for a first down on the UW 38-yard line, but the Badgers held strong on two consecutive plays to preserve the victory.
On third and two, senior cornerback Ben Strickland deflected Spartans quarterback Brian Hoyer's pass on a slant route intended for freshman Mark Dell. On the following play, Hoyer, hurried by freshman defensive end Kirk DeCremer, threw an incomplete pass to tailback Javon Ringer on great coverage by sophomore linebacker Elijah Hodge.
I think as a team we have great character,"" co-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren said. ""That's one thing our team knows how to do. We know how to win. The offense, they help us out, and when they need (the defense) to get a stop, we stop them.""
Despite the win Saturday, the defense knows they must improve their execution. On 73 plays from scrimmage, the Badgers surrendered 564 yards of offense to the Spartans for an average of 7.7 yards per play.
Taking a closer look, it is worth mention that on five plays, UW coughed up 235 yards, including three pass plays and two running plays. The Spartans averaged 47 yards per play on those five plays alone.
Junior linebacker DeAndre Levy knows the Badgers must limit these big plays.
""It just comes down to execution - every play, everyone has to do their job,"" Levy said. ""That's the thing about football, if 10 guys are accounting for their job and one guy misses, you can get hurt on it.""
Doeren echoed Levy's response.
""It's a combination of things,"" Doeren said. ""Guys just have to get off blocks a little bit better. We have to pursue the ball at better angles and just finish the plays we're capable of making.""
One play in particular, an 80-yard touchdown catch and run by junior Spartan wide receiver Devin Thomas, may have summed up the execution of the Badger defense on the day.
Thomas caught the ball near the right flat as a screen play, cut back inside and was able to avoid several tackle attempts by UW defenders, running straight up the seam of the field untouched to the end zone.
""You've got to get in the right spot,"" Doeren said. ""Those guys are good football players. If you don't get off the block, they're going to block you. If you don't tackle right, they're going to run you over. You've got to finish.""
Despite its struggles on the whole, the defense showed signs of improvement in the second half, giving up 13 points and 239 yards, as opposed to 21 points and 325 yards in the opening half.
""We waited to get backed up into a corner a little bit to come out swinging,"" Levy said. ""We looked at a lot of the stats in the second half of the game, and we played respectable defense, but not quality defense. We have to work on putting together a full game right now.""
