UW should move up in playoff rankings
MADISON – As he met with reporters last week, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard gave his blunt take on the College Football Playoff picture and UW’s best path to be one of the four teams left standing in the first week of December.
What did Leonhard think of unbeaten UW opening at No. 9?
“The biggest thing is it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “You have to continue to take care of your business. That is what we push to these guys every week.
“Having success, the beauty about that is it makes every game bigger. You’ve just got to handle business and in the end, see where everything plays out.”
UW (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) took care of business Saturday by dominating the final 40-plus minutes in a 45-17 victory over Indiana.
Although turnovers and penalties have hampered the offense too often and the Badgers struggled to put away Purdue and Illinois, Paul Chryst’s team has played well enough to avoid being upset.
Ohio State and Penn State, who entered the weekend No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, in the College Football Playoff rankings, weren’t good enough to do the same.
Ohio State, a 21-point favorite over host Iowa, turned the ball over four times and
surrendered 243 rushing yards and 487 total yards in a 55-24 loss.
Penn State, a 10-point favorite at Michigan State, surrendered 400 passing yards and a last-second field goal in a 27-24 loss.
As a result, UW could jump both the Buckeyes (7-2, 5-1) and Nittany Lions (7-2, 4-1) in the rankings.
Already on Sunday, two days ahead of the next playoff rankings, the Badgers moved ahead of both teams in the media and coaches top 25 polls. UW moved up one spot to No. 3 in the Amway coaches poll, but dropped to No. 6 in the AP media poll. Ohio State dropped from No. 3 to No. 11 in both polls. Penn State, Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa also filled slots below the Badgers in the polls.
“College football is crazy,” Leonard said. “Things happen every week. Somebody’s getting beat. You’ve just got to focus your guys so you’re not one of those teams.”
So how will the losses by the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions affect UW’s chances to finish in the top four and qualify for the playoff?
First remember that Tuesday will mark only the second of six rankings, with the final release set for Dec. 3.
One argument is that the losses, particularly Ohio State’s, will hurt UW’s chances. The logic is that UW needed to finish the regular season unbeaten and then beat a highly ranked Ohio State team in the Big Ten title game Dec. 3.
Michigan State (7-2, 5-1), No. 24 in the first rankings, now is in control of the Big Ten East race.
The counter-argument is that a victory over Iowa (6-3, 3-3), which just demolished Ohio State, would be impressive.
Michigan (7-2, 4-2) isn’t going to win the Big Ten East but a victory over the Wolverines, too, would still carry some weight with the committee. And what if the Wolverines knock off Ohio State in the teams’ regular-season finale?
Remember that the 2015 Iowa team opened at No. 9 in the rankings but entered the Big Ten title game No. 4. Only a loss to No. 5 Michigan State kept the Hawkeyes out of the playoff.
Leonhard was asked about the possibility that an unbeaten UW team could finish outside of the top four.
“The biggest thing is we can’t change that,” he said.
“They’re going to hash that out. As a team, you win. Go undefeated and let them fight about it” MADISON – Jeff Potrykus reviews Wisconsin’s 45-17 victory over Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
OFFENSE (B)
The opening series was a thing of beauty as UW ran the ball eight times to move from its 22 to the Indiana 6. The drive ended when quarterback Alex Hornibrook was hit from his blind side, 2.9 seconds after the snap, and the ball sailed off the mark and into the arms of linebacker Tegray Scales. Hornibrook was going to put the ball up high to Quintez Cephus in the back of the end zone. Indiana used a stunt to send a defender looping around right tackle David Edwards. Had Edwards been able to push his man up the field, Hornibrook might have hit Cephus for an early touchdown.
The interception was the first thrown in the red zone this season by Hornibrook. Freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor left some yards on the field but his performance (29 carries, 183 yards and one TD) served as a reminder of his enormous value to the offense. Hornibrook was 3 for 5 for 52 yards on third down, with all three completions resulting in first downs. The best throw was the 14-yarder to Kendric Pryor for a first down at the Indiana 32 with UW holding a 17-10 lead. Hornibrook bought time by sliding to his right and then fired a laser to the right sideline. The ball was high and to the outside, away from the Indiana defender, and Pryor went high to catch the ball with two hands and got his left foot down before going out of bounds. This UW team has found ways to overcome injuries to key players. Can the wide receivers come together and overcome the loss of Cephus, who probably is out for at least the rest of the regular season after suffering a right-leg injury?
Kudos to fullback Alec Ingold (two rushing TDs, one receiving TD). Playing behind senior Austin Ramesh his playing time was limited. Ramesh, who suffered a head injury at Illinois, was in the midst of his best season. But Ingold has shown in the last two games he was ready to fill the void.
DEFENSE (B+)
Remember this: UW lost inside linebacker Jack Cichy before the opener. Defensive end Chikwe Obasih missed six games. Defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk is out with a knee injury. UW lost inside linebacker Chris Orr on Saturday and safety D’Cota Dixon played sparingly.
Yet reserve outside linebacker Tyler Johnson forced a fumble to set up one touchdown and his hurry led to an interception that set up another touchdown. Reserve safety Joe Ferguson recovered the fumble and had both of UW’s interceptions. Cornerback Nick Nelson is a stud and the NFL is in his future, likely after this season. Yet he uses his hands a lot and some officials aren’t willing to let that go.
SPECIAL TEAMS (B)
Punter Connor Allen performed well in his first action. His ability to pin the Hoosiers at their 10 early in the fourth quarter led to an interception, which led to a UW touchdown.
Derrick Tindal provided a spark on kickoff returns and probably will get the chance to do so again this week. Zach Hintze has been outstanding on kickoffs since replacing injured starter P.J. Rosowski but his kick out of bounds in the third quarter gave the Hoosiers excellent field position and contributed to a touchdown drive.
COACHING (B+)
UW is 30-6 in two-plus seasons under Paul Chryst and the current staff. That record includes one Big Ten West Division title and two bowl victories. The coaches know what they’re doing. That said, Taylor needed to be on the field after UW moved to a first and goal at the 6 on its first series, which ended with a third-down interception.
The design of the pass rush that led to Ferguson’s second interception was noteworthy.
UW had six defenders at the line of scrimmage, including all four linebackers. Garret Dooley lined up over the left tackle. T.J. Edwards lined up over the center, Johnson and Ryan Connelly lined up on the left side of the UW formation.
At the snap, Connelly dropped into coverage and Edwards rushed up the middle. Johnson then looped around to the right and came free up the middle to hit quarterback Richard Lagow. This has been written before but the staff has to be given at least partial credit for assembling a team that keeps grinding and making plays regardless of the circumstances.