Despite big dreams, it’s unraveling for Badgers
twice Saturday, marking 10 career fumbles and four this season.
The nation’s leading rusher (158.4 yards per game) carried it 11 times for a season-low 46 yards.
“Whoever it is running backwise, quarterback-wise, that’s the goal: Stop the run,” Fisher said. “We did that today.”
On the flip side, Northwestern gained a season-high 182 yards on the ground. Freshman Isaiah Bowser (117 yards on 34 carries) led the way.
“He’ll be sore tomorrow,” Fitzgerald said.
Clayton Thorson made some good throws — namely a 24-yard strike to Kyric McGowan in the back of the end zone.
He also threw three interceptions. One was an up-for-grabs fling at the end of the first half but the other two were concerning — linebacker Ryan Connelly made a great break on one, and Thorson fired another to linebacker Zack Baun.
That pick came at a mystifying time — on first-and-10 after Northwestern had taken a three-touchdown lead.
Fitzgerald said there was a miscommunication because it actually was supposed to be a running play.
“I would prefer,” he said tongue-in-cheek, “that we don’t do that in the future.”
Thorson finished just 17-for-30 for 167 yards but he did have a terrific scrambling touchdown, juking Connelly on a 5-yard score.
“I have negative rushing yards on the year,” Thorson noted, cleverly adding, “trying to put a dent into that.”
Wisconsin players wove through a smattering of Northwestern fans who rushed onto Ryan Field as the Badgers tried to make their way to the locker room.
Disbelief wasn’t the right word for their emotions after a 31-17 loss to Northwestern knocked them off the Big Ten West leader board. Maybe confusion was.
“We have a good team,” fullback Alec Ingold said. “It’s tough not playing good ball. You have all the talent there and all the guys are working hard and you’re doing all the right things. There’s really no answer right now. You click on one cylinder one game and not on the next and you don’t really know why.”
The “whys” will haunt No. 20 Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) this season.
The Badgers started ranked No. 4 in the AP preseason poll. They were discussed as contenders for a Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoffs. Running back Jonathan Taylor was a potential winner of the Doak Walker award or Heisman Trophy.
After winning the Big Ten West every year but once (2015) and having played in the Big Ten title game all but two seasons since 2011, this year it nothing is meant to be for the Badgers.
And now, strangely enough, Northwestern (5-3, 5-1) sits atop the West after its most decisive victory of the season.
Wisconsin foretold it would have a day of disjointed offense and inexplicable errors before its first snap. Coach Paul Chryst called a timeout as the clock wound down with backup quarterback Jack Coan still in the huddle, preferring to burn a timeout rather than incur a quick penalty.
Coan, a sophomore, connected on 20 of 31 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown while filling in for concussed starter Alex Hornibrook. But fans can’t blame Coan.
“What hurt us more was not being efficient on third down (4 of 12),” Chryst said, “Or getting a rhythm going offensively. That affected our running game. We thought coming in that was a heck of a defense. We didn’t think it would be easy by any means. I thought those affected us more than who the quarterback was.”
Taylor, a sophomore, had rushed for at least 100 yards in every game this season, but he gained just 46 yards on 11 carries with two costly lost fumbled. He now has four of his career 10 fumbles this season.
“He was dealing with us not being consistent enough,” Chryst said of Taylor’s low amount of carries.
After dreaming about championships in the preseason, the team was talking about the meager goal of bowl eligibility after Saturday’s setback.
“We’re going to be our biggest critics,” Ingold said. “We wanted everything and more anyone predicted for us. It’s tough to see a loss like this hamper those chances. For our sake, we need to focus on being the best team we can.”