The Wisconsin Badgers brutally fell to the Maryland Terrapins (4-0) 27-10 at Camp Randall in their Big Ten opener, falling to 2-2 on the season. With Wisconsin’s difficult schedule, what lies ahead may be even worse.
After a bye next week, Wisconsin will enter a brutal October stretch against Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State and Oregon, three of whom are ranked.
All game, Wisconsin’s offense and special teams filled the brim with mistakes that handed Maryland at least 14 of their 27 points.
Wisconsin’s first half was such a disaster that Wisconsin fans booed their own team off the field at halftime, while chanting “Fire Fickell”.
“I feel what their pain is, but I don’t get upset or lose my mind about the way they feel,” Fickell said on the fans’ halftime comments. “We have to play better, and they're passionate about what they want to see, and that’s what I signed up for when I came here. They’re passionate, they’ve got history and they expect more — just like I do.”
Wisconsin did not come into the season with high expectations. But beating Maryland at home should be a given.
“We knew this was going to be a mountain. Everybody says you got to have confidence but it’s not something you can just possess. It’s something that has to be built,” Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell said.
An initial attempt by Wisconsin to switch between quarterbacks Danny O’Neil and Billy Edwards Jr. in the first few possessions did not go well. Maryland’s defensive line penetrated through the Badgers’ offensive line with ease, forcing O’Neil into bad decisions.
Edwards Jr. — who had missed the last 2 games after exiting the season opener with a non-contact knee injury — looked out of sorts on Wisconsin’s first drive, and later exited the game with an injury.
The Maryland defense applied pressure all game. A 7-yard sack from Terrapins linebacker Sidney Stewart in the first quarter put Wisconsin in 3rd & 16.
Adding to the pressure, Maryland’s defense forced O’Neil to throw a long pass that resulted in an interception by defensive back Jalen Huskey, which he returned for 46 yards. This put the Terrapins at the 4-yard line in Wisconsin territory, leading to an easy 3-yard run followed by a 1-yard touchdown run for Maryland quarterback Malik Washington.
Later on into the half, Wisconsin rushed three different players to get the ball down the field — running backs Dilon Jones and Darion Dupree and wide receiver Dekel Crowdus. Wisconsin’s ball was at Maryland’s 57-yard line when a bad snap sent the ball back a whopping 23 yards, until it was recovered by Jones at the 34-yard line for a 3rd & 30.
Despite a 13-yard gain from O’Neil’s pass to wide receiver Trech Kekahuna, the special teams were brought out to take the punt on 4th & 17. A good punt could have saved some trouble for the Badger defense, but instead punter Atticus Bertrams’ attempt was blocked and recovered by the Terrapins at the Wisconsin 27-yard line.
“I felt like there were a few times where defense or offense would do something good, and then special teams would mess up their moment, so we got to figure out a way to keep the momentum going,” Badger inside linebacker Tackett Curtis said.
The field position advantage eventually resulted in a 9-yard receiving touchdown for Maryland wide receiver Shaleak Knotts, putting the score up to 14-0. Two late second quarter field goals, including a 49-yarder by Terrapins kicker Sean O’Haire, put them up 20-0 at the end of the first half.
It seemed as though every time the offense made crucial strides forward, penalties or incompletions kept the Badgers from sustaining drives.
O’Neil was the main quarterback for Wisconsin today, and although he improvised several times for solid rushing gains, the passing game was not good enough to overcome the Terrapins’ defense. He finished throwing 14/22 with one interception and zero touchdowns. After a slight hit on the field late into the fourth quarter, O’Neil was taken off the field to give way to the Badgers’ third string quarterback Hunter Simmons, who was the only one of the three to score a touchdown today.
As Simmons pushed forward with clean and accurate passes, he ended the drive with a 13-yard receiving touchdown to tight end Lance Mason — the first and last Wisconsin touchdown of the game. The score came with 2 minutes and 44 seconds left in the 4th when almost all the Badger fans had left with their heads down.
Wisconsin’s next game will be Saturday Oct. 4 in Ann Arbor against the No. 21 ranked Michigan Wolverines, who won their Big Ten opener against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Badgers will have two weeks to figure out not only their quarterback situation, but the direction of their entire season moving forward.
