For the first four games of the 2009 season, Wisconsin quarterback Scott Tolzien looked like a bona-fide Big Ten star quarterback. For the last three, however, Tolzien has looked the part of a first-year starting quarterback facing elite competition for the first time in his college career.
Head coach Bret Bielema said as much after the Badgers' 20-10 loss to Iowa, in which Tolzien threw three interceptions in the second half.
""The second-half turnovers were a big factor in the game. Scotty has been a pretty steady guy for us, but we can't have those unforced errors,"" Bielema said. ""We just can't have giveaways in critical games.""
While breakdowns in protection were an issue in last week's 31-13 loss to Ohio State, Tolzien often hesitated and brought on additional pressure by holding onto the ball too long, leading to four Hawkeye sacks.
Credit is due to the Iowa defense, ranked first in the conference and 21st in the nation in pass defense heading into the game, for shutting down the Wisconsin offense in the second half. But Tolzien's interceptions are becoming far too similar, resulting from either overthrowing a receiver or missing a linebacker or safety in his progression and essentially handing the ball to the defense.
Eventually, Tolzien needs to start learning from his mistakes in reading defenses to cut down on the plethora of interceptions he has been throwing.
""I don't see pressure as any factor in those interceptions. Those were clearly on me—bad decisions, bad reads,"" Tolzien said. ""Look at the turnovers today and they can be easily fixed, its just working through my progressions, but my confidence won't be shaken from this.""
Luckily for Tolzien, his coaches' and teammates' confidence in him has not been shaken either.
""Scotty is our quarterback, he's our general. We go as he goes,"" sophomore running back John Clay said. ""We've just got to be there to help him out when he messes up.""
Sophomore tackle Josh Oglesby echoed Clay and dispelled any notions that the offensive line might be growing impatient with Tolzien.
""There's definitely no frustration from us toward Scott. He's our quarterback, and I have all the faith in the world in him, and I wouldn't want anyone else leading us right now,"" Oglesby said.
It's clear that the Badgers need mistake-free play from the quarterback position to have success against elite Big Ten opponents, and as shown Saturday with the insertion of Curt Phillips into the offense, there are other options if Tolzien continues to struggle.
""I'm not going to open up for a quarterback controversy, but Scott has got to continue to grow and move forward. My guess is he'll do that, just based off what I've learned over him,"" Bielema said. ""We've got a smaller package for Curt, but every indicator is he's a guy that can win football games, and we'll go with our best option.""
Badger fans should expect to see plenty of Phillips for the remainder of the season, especially given his ability to make plays with his feet and add another dimension to the offense. And while it makes little sense to give up on Tolzien after his first two games against quality competition, the junior quarterback must improve going forward for Wisconsin to be able to finish strong in its last five games.
