Indiana
Wisconsin football insider: Underdog Badgers land a few shots on No. 2 Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, IND. – A look back at Wisconsin’s 31-7 loss to No. 2 Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Memorial Stadium.
Big picture
The loss assures the Badgers (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten) a second straight losing season, but most understood this was a game where they faced long odds to win. Wisconsin is like most struggling teams. It gives you glimpses of good play but sometimes can’t sustain it enough to win. They were able to sustain it last week against Washington, but Indiana is a much better team with a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback (Fernando Mendoza).
The big takeaway is that Wisconsin, with a freshman quarterback and another injury (Gideon Ituka) managed to land a few punches against a team headed for a high seed in the College Football Playoff.
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Turning point: Opportunity missed late in the first half
Wisconsin was set to head into the half on a high after Carter Smith connected with tight end Lance Mason for a 45-yard touchdown with 3 minutes 42 seconds to go in the second quarter. The extra point tied the game, 7-7.
The Badgers, who were 29½-point underdogs, needed one final stop to go into halftime. They couldn’t get it. Boosted by a 37-yard pass play from Mendoza to former Badgers tight end Riley Nowaowski, Indiana scored a field goal with 55 seconds to play.
And when Indiana added a touchdown on its first possession of the second half, you knew the Badgers would face an uphill battle getting back into the game.
Thumbs up: Peterson and Perkins have solid performances, Posa delivers again
- Darryl Peterson finished with six tackles and a career-high 2 ½ sacks. The sacks led to two punts and a stalled Hoosiers drive that forced a field goal.
- Defensive tackle Charles Perkins, who has missed time due to injury, finished with four tackles and two tackles for a loss, both season highs.
- The Badgers remained aggressive in short-yardage situations, going for it twice on fourth down and converting each time.
- Linebacker Mason Posa led the Badgers with 12 tackles and one sack. It was his third straight game of double-digit tackles.
- D’Yoni Hill admitted to getting beat on a deep ball early in the third quarter that led to Indiana’s second touchdown, but he is an aggressive and sure tackler. He finished with nine tackles, one shy of his career high.
Thumbs down: Missed FG, turnovers hamper Badgers
- Freshman QB Carter Smith lost a fumble and had a pass intercepted in the second half. Both turnovers led to IU touchdowns.
- Nathanial Vakos missed a field goal for the second straight week. His 42-yard attempt would have given UW a lead after the first possession.
- UW held the ball 17 minutes 12 seconds in the first half but less than 9 minutes in the second half.
Wisconsin football schedule: Badgers host Illinois in final home game of the season
The Illini (7-3, 4-3) bounced back from back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Washington last month with wins over Rutgers on Nov. 1 and Maryland on Nov. 15. The Badgers are 2-1 against Illinois since Bret Bielema took over in 2021, but that loss was at home in 2022 in what turned out to be Paul Chryst’s final game as head coach.