There aren’t many highlights from the Wisconsin Badger’s four consecutive losses, particularly their brutal 37-0 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday.
Even with recent offensive struggles, Wisconsin’s defense, especially their defensive line, has looked solid. That changed in Wisconsin's most recent lackluster performance, contributing to the dumpster fire that was Saturday.
What went wrong?
This failure was threefold: Iowa’s offense combatted Wisconsin’s defensive schemes, the Badgers didn’t adapt and Wisconsin's offense proved a major detriment to their own defense.
Simply put, Iowa’s offensive coordinator Tim Lester outplayed Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Tressel and employed difficult offensive looks for the Badgers defense to adjust to.
Wisconsin’s 3-3-5 nickel base defense plays three down linemen at all times, often walking up a linebacker. They also are mostly in zone coverage and typically in Cover 3.
Against Iowa’s overloaded offensive line, plus a tight end or two, having three man fronts is a recipe for disaster. With facing less lineman, offenses can better run gap schemes, which Iowa did seamlessly.
The Hawkeyes attempted 36 rush plays and 25 pass plays. They completed 18 of those passes, with an average yards per pass of only 4.4.
In other words, Iowa almost exclusively ran the ball or threw short passes. In fact, the longest completion Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski threw all night was only 16 yards. Scoring 37 points despite not completing a deep pass is unorthodox, yet it obviously worked because of Wisconsin’s Cover 3 scheme, which benefits this style of play.
The Hawkeyes ran iso gap schemes that were easy to employ with the sheer lack of men up front for Wisconsin. Iowa also made use of tight ends to crowd the line on bunch plays and even frequently sprung offensive lineman to the second and third level, blocking defensive backs.
Iowa was able to do this because of the amount of men they already had in the box. Let’s be clear: 6’3”, 302 pound Iowa graduate offensive lineman, Logan Jones, moving downfield and blocking 5’11”, 185 pound Wisconsin redshirt freshman cornerback, Omillo Agard, was not a pretty sight.
To further complicate things for Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes motioned pre-snap on nearly every play. This simple tactic gave a hint as to whether the defense was in man or zone coverage and made running zone coverage more difficult, as the Badgers were abruptly tasked with shifting and communicating changes in zone responsibilities on each of these plays.
What Wisconsin did wrong is obvious: they didn’t adapt.
As mentioned before, the Badgers mostly play a 3-3-5 scheme with three down linemen and five defensive backs, typically in Cover 3 zone coverage.
Against tight bunch trips sets, they kept their Cover 3 look. After being exposed by gap running schemes, they stuck to only three down lineman and a six-man box.
They didn’t change any of this.
Beyond the problematic scheme, Wisconsin’s offense turned a disheartening game into a hopeless situation.
Wisconsin's defense was abruptly put on the field twice: once having to start in the redzone and again starting at the goal-line due the offense’s carelessness. Quarterback Hunter Simmons threw two interceptions and was responsible for a fumble on an overthrown, backwards pass. The Badgers’ longest offensive drive was just 40 yards.
Deep in their own field, Wisconsin’s defense helplessly faltered, allowing 14 points and falling behind 17-0. The Badger defense was put in less than ideal situations because of their offense and were understandably exhausted.
All night the Badger’s defense was forced to pick up after their offense’s sloppiness. Unsurprisingly, the results were not pretty.
