A game filled with mistakes brought the Wisconsin Badgers to demise against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa last Saturday. Their 38-14 loss was largely a result of sophomore quarterback Danny O’Neil’s interceptions and a surge of costly penalties that extinguished any hope of an upset.
This was the first time since 1928 that Alabama hosted the Badgers. It was, however, a disappointing road trip for Wisconsin as the game slipped away early due in large part to self-inflicted mistakes against one of college football’s best programs.
Interceptions Destroyed Momentum
O’Neil faced the 100,077 Alabama fans at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday. Before that, the most-attended away game he played in in his career was a crowd of 36,838 against Boise State. Despite this challenge, O’Neil showed some early fight before Alabama’s relentless pass rush and down field coverage proved to be too much.
O’Neil’s two interceptions occurred in especially crucial periods in the game for the Badgers, killing momentum.. One came deep in the Crimson Tide’s own 39-yard line, setting Alabama up with a short dash to the endzone.
“I saw what coverage they were in. Their safety did a good job re-routing the tight end and just undercut the curl. I’ve got to be better at manipulating him and not letting him play in between,” O’Neil said after the game.
His second interception came within Alabama’s 20-yard line — ending a promising drive that could have added some points for Wisconsin. A couple misdirected passes was all it took to put unnecessary pressure on Wisconsin’s defense.
O’Neil finished with a 64% pass completion rate but only 117 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Penalties stall momentum
Throughout the game, whenever Wisconsin seemed to gain footing, repeated penalties took them steps back. Roughing the passer, hands to the face and pass interference — all unnecessary and backbreaking penalties — forced the Badgers into increasingly undesirable situations.
It was disappointing to see the Badgers, previously with just four penalties against Miami (OH) and zero in their win against Middle Tennessee, give away 65 yards in six penalties in their first road game of the season.
“It really does start with me. I’ve got to be better at leading practices, keeping up intensity, so that we can come out and play four quarters," O’Neil said. “We dug ourselves a hole in the first half. Being able to play four full quarters is something we’ve got to figure out.”
Defense kept fighting, but to no avail
Wisconsin’s defense stayed consistent through Alabama’s onslaught of touchdowns and stood tough against Alabama’s rushing attempts for much of the first half, but a similar story of repeated discipline issues proved to be costly.
Ranging from offsides to late hits, these penalties extended Crimson Tide drives that otherwise may have ended in punts or far-fetched field goal attempts. By the fourth quarter, Alabama’s offensive attack took advantage of the mistakes, sealing the game with repeated scoring drives.
A game of what-ifs
The stat sheet remains to be a frustrating one for the Badgers. Wisconsin had around half the total yards Alabama did and less half the average yards per play. The turnovers and penalty yardage kept piling up and created too many missed opportunities to pull off any kind of win. Against a team as efficient as Alabama, these kinds of miscues are extremely unforgiving.
Fickell did not mince words postgame, saying, “That was a much better team than we are right now. They did everything they needed to do. We knew we had to come out poised and confident, but that’s the exact opposite of what we did.”
He added the coaching staff and players both have to get better, saying there’s “not a whole lot of bright spots” at the moment.
Wisconsin lost in part due to Alabama’s talent, but also because of their own mistakes. The dream for the Badgers remains to compete on the bigger stage, but limiting turnovers, cleaning up penalties and capitalizing on opportunities is a crucial first step.
“We've gotta make people earn things, and those are the ones that stand out right there,” Fickell said, reflecting on his team’s turnover and penalty woes. “You're not gonna go on the road and beat a team like this making those types of mistakes.”
Big Ten conference play will begin next week when Wisconsin hosts Maryland. After their first loss of the season, the Badgers must focus on playing a cleaner, more disciplined style of football.
