REPORT CARD

INDIANAPOLIS – Jeff Potrykus reviews Wisconsin’s 27-21 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Offense (D)

UW lost the battle at the line of scrimmage. The running game was a nonfactor as the Buckeyes held Jonathan Taylor to a long run of 7 yards and 41 total on 15 carries. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook missed too many opportunities to make plays when they were available, particularly when he failed to set his feet. Overall, the Badgers failed to maximize their scoring chances. UW had the ball inside the Ohio State 40 six times, including one drive that started at the Buckeyes’ 11. The result was an interception, a punt, a punt, a field goal, a field goal and a touchdown.

That lack of efficiency cost UW a chance to win.

Michael Deiter has done a solid job all season filling in at left tackle after spending his first two seasons at center and / or left guard. But he had issues with end Nick Bosa, the defensive lineman of the year in the Big Ten. Hornibrook’s first interception, on UW’s second possession, occurred because he didn’t loft the ball high enough to Troy Fumagalli along the right sideline. That allowed cornerback Denzel Ward to go up and make a play at the Ohio State 4. That play, on first and 10 from the 18, cost UW a chance to steal at least three points.

Defense (C)

Jim Leonhard’s crew was much less forgiving in the second half, when it limited Ohio State to 140 yards and six points on 25 plays. It was the first half, however, and a series of missed plays that killed UW.

The Buckeyes faced third and 7 from their 7 midway through the first quarter when J.T. Barrett looked to pass. Outside linebacker Garret Dooley, lined up on the left side of the UW formation, spun inside and got shoved across the formation and out of the play by the right tackle.

That allowed Barrett room to scramble to the right. End Alec James pursued inside-out and had a chance to make a tackle at the 8 but missed and Barrett gained 9 yards to the 16. Harmless play? Not quite.

On the next play Ohio State had four receivers, including tailback Mike Weber, on the left side of the formation. Weber peeled back at the snap and stayed in the left flat.

Outside linebacker Leon Jacobs stayed in coverage on that side of the formation, but safety Natrell Jamerson also came up the field and appeared to be shadowing Weber.

That left cornerback Nick Nelson oneon-one near the boundary and two receivers running vertical routes against safety Joe Ferguson. Barrett had the two receivers speeding toward Ferguson open and chose Terry McLaurin, who ran a skinny post and quickly got inside UW's safety. McLaurin caught the ball at the Ohio State 47, near the right hash, and was already pulling away from Ferguson, who had no chance to prevent the touchdown as the Buckeyes took a 7-0 lead. The second wide receiver was wide open near midfield along the left hash.

Then after UW tied the game thanks to Andrew Van Ginkel’s interception return for a touchdown, Barrett and Parris Campbell teamed up to burn UW’s secondary.

Facing second and 10 from his 43, Barrett hit Campbell on a bubble screen to the left side. Jamerson had the first shot at Campbell but whiffed at the 45. Nelson came off the block of wide receiver Austin Mack but whiffed at the 47. Campbell stayed on his feet and raced down the left sideline for a 57-yard score. He should have been held to a gain of about 5 yards.

With the Buckeyes holding a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, tailback J.K. Dobbins burned UW on a 77-yard run to the 1.

Right end Conor Sheehy came unblocked into the backfield but missed Dobbins at the Ohio State 22. Left guard Michael Jordan blocked linebacker T.J. Edwards to the inside and left tackle Jamarco Jones walled off Van Ginkel to the outside.

After shaking off Sheehy, Dobbins burst through the gap created by Jordan and Jones and raced to the 1 before being pushed out of bounds by Nelson.

Another missed opportunity for UW; another big play for Ohio State.

Special teams (B)

Anthony Lotti averaged 44.9 yards per punt. Jamerson got down the field quickly and was in position to down a punt at the Ohio State 2, which led to Van Ginkel’s 9-yard interception return for a touchdown. Rafael Gaglianone hit field goals of 28 and 46 yards and is 14 of 16 this season. Nelson gave great effort when he blocked Sean Nuerenberger’s 43-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the first half.

The biggest failure of the special teams has been kickoff returns. Whether A.J. Taylor or Derrick Tindal have handled the returns the blocking hasn’t been good enough. When was the last time the blocking made a crease for the returner to hit and get into the open field?

Coaching (B-)

UW’s offensive staff put together a nice package of screens and misdirection passes in an attempt to take advantage of Ohio State’s speed and pursuit to the ball. Several of the screens were effective. Others failed when Hornibrook didn’t set his feet and the throw was off. One screen to Jonathan Taylor appeared promising until linebacker Chris Worley pursued from the backside and brought down Taylor after a short gain.

Ohio State was the first team that appeared well prepared to handle UW’s twists and stunts because Barrett rarely was pressured early.

The staff did a commendable job last season getting the players to regroup after a loss to Penn State in the Big Ten title game. UW played well against Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl and prevailed to finish 11-3. The staff faces a similar job this season after the loss to the Buckeyes.