In the first, third and fourth quarters Saturday, the Badgers looked like a football team starting to find its rhythm at just the right time. It is quarters like the second, however, that Wisconsin cannot afford against Ohio State and Iowa the next two weeks.
UW rolled up 473 total yards of offense against the Gophers, but only managed 57 in the second quarter—of which 36 came on a long pass play from senior quarterback Scott Tolzien to senior wide receiver David Gilreath. The difference in production came down to two factors that head coach Bret Bielema said the team emphasized this week in practice: ball control and efficiency on third down.
For the game, the Badger offense converted on seven of nine third down attempts. Both unsuccessful tries came in the second quarter, as Wisconsin went three-and-out on back-to-back possessions. On defense, the Badgers held Minnesota to just three conversions on 13 attempts, but two of those conversions came on Minnesota's 12-play touchdown drive in the second quarter. The Gophers also converted on two fourth down attempts in the second.
""We got off the field a little bit better on third down today,"" junior defensive end J.J. Watt said, who recorded six tackles and tallied his second sack of the season. ""Our team responded well to the situations we were put in.""
For as good as Wisconsin was at converting third downs Saturday, the offense has been even better at not giving the ball away via turnovers. For the fourth consecutive game, the Badgers managed not to commit a turnover.
The combination of ball security and third down conversions allowed Wisconsin to hold an advantage of 8:02 in time of possession. Take away the second quarter—when Minnesota held the ball for a total of 12:17—and the results are even more impressive. For the day, five of Wisconsin's six scoring drives lasted eight plays or longer.
""It's great to have a long drive,"" senior left guard John Moffitt said. ""It eats time off the clock and burns down the defense, but at the end of the day you have to score points.""
That job fell to Wisconsin's two top running backs—junior John Clay and freshman James White—and they capitalized. The two, who combined to rush for 229 yards on 40 carries, found the end zone five times (Clay scored three times and White scored twice).
""Whenever we touch the ball, we're trying to get positive gains and trying to score touchdowns,"" White said.
The running lanes stayed open for the vast majority of the day for Clay and White as Wisconsin's offensive line controlled the Minnesota defensive front from start to finish.
The Badgers opened the game in a jumbo package that includes senior Bill Nagy, a guard by trade, lining up at tight end. Add in the occasiona appearance at full back from the 307-pound redshirt freshman Ryan Groy and the bone-crushing blocking that has become a staple of senior tight end Lance Kendrick's game, and it is easy to see the toll that long drives can have on opponents.
""At other schools, people put five wide in the game because they've got five wide receivers,"" Bielema said. ""At Wisconsin, we put seven offensive linemen in there.""
