Recap: Wisconsin Badgers edge past South Dakota 27-13 for 2-0 start to the season

The Wisconsin Badgers were able to come up with a close win against the South Dakota Coyotes with a final score of 27 -13.

A well fought game from both sides, Wisconsin was able to slip away, despite struggling at times, thanks to a strong start and finish.

1st Half

Wisconsin’s offense started the game on fire, taking the ball downfield and scoring in on a seven-play, 75 yard touchdown drive that lasted just 2:46 of game time.

A huge play to Vinny Anthony for 32 yards off a play action bootleg and a 22 yard catch-and-run from Bryson Green put Wisconsin in place for a Chez Mellusi touchdown run.

With Tawee Walker out for the game, Cade Yacamelli took the role of RB2 and really showed out. Yacamelli had seven carries for 59 yards, including a huge 29-yard gain where he broke off multiple tackles and nearly edged past the defense for a score. Yacamelli was also effective in the pass game taking in two catches for 13 yards.

The defense showed out and started off much stronger than last week, however mishaps were definitely present. Safety Hunter Wohler and inside linebacker Jaheim Thomas led the team tackles in the first half and were both making plays all over the field.

The defensive line continued to have issues when trying to create pressure and win at the line of scrimmage, with defensive coordinator Mike Tressel relying on blitz packages to really cause quarterback pressure. Creating pressure with the front four is going to be pivotal for the Badgers moving forward and even to finish this game.

After a questionable performance last week, Van Dyke looked much more comfortable in the pocket in the first half, going 9-11 for 147 yards with a 50-yard bomb to C.J Williams for a score. The rhythm for Van Dyke is slowly settling in as offensive coordinator Phil Longo dialed up more of his RPO actions as the first half progressed.

The big question with Van Dyke was his progressions. He started the game off well going through his reads well and fast, however; as the game progressed, his rhythm was getting more and more off. One major misthrow was when Van Dyke underthrew an open C.J Williams deep down the hashes, which should have been a touchdown.

Getting Van Dyke in rhythm with the rest of the offense is going to be very important to do well with a tough schedule, as the Big Ten teams are not going to give him the time he currently has to go through his reads.

2nd Half

The Coyotes received the ball to start the second and took it all the way to the house. South Dako opened the half with four consecutive run plays, of which three resulted in gains of over 10 yards. The defensive line struggled in the first possession, restricting the flow of the linebackers and leading to these huge gains.

Coyotes running back Keyondray Logan-James ended the drive with a 35-yard touchdown run off a one-cut zone run, cutting the lead to a single touchdown. Missed tackles from Jaheim Thomas really hurt the Badgers on this drive as did the poor flowing of the linebackers.

The Badgers offense also struggled, starting the half off with a short possession, giving the ball right back to the Coyotes. This time around, the defense was able to hold after an initial push from the Coyotes offense, but a muffed punt by Vinny Anthony gave South Dakota the ball at the Wisconsin 8 yard line.

From that point on, the defense and especially the defensive line played lights out, getting a tipped pass as well as a sack by transfer Elijah Hills to force the Coyotes to kick a field goal, despite starting with favorable field position. They even survived a targeting call against linebacker Jake Chaney, which kept him out of the game and will force him to miss the first half next week against Alabama.

The Coyotes would go on to get shut out the rest of the way, as they were limited to only seven yards in the whole fourth quarter.

Defensive tackle Curt Neal and backup linebacker Tackett Curtis, who replaced ejected linebacker Jake Chaney, especially shined in the second half, coming up with huge tackle for losses, and playing their gaps properly, limiting the Coyotes’ explosive run game.

Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke took a step down in the second half, only completing half of his 16 second-half passes, but the Badgers run game was able to get them into the end zone and run the clock down.

Running backs Chez Mellusi and Cade Yacamelli really helped take the pressure off of Van Dyke and create a sort of rhythm that was missing from this team in the early part of the second half. True freshman backs Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones also saw the field during the Badgers last offensive possession as they bullied their way through the South Dakota defense to run out the clock.

The comeback of the Badgers defense and the methodical play calling of Phil Longo allowed the Badgers to escape with this win. However, as the season goes on, it is going to be very important for Van Dyke to get used to the RPO reads and the overall offense in order to compete with stacked Big Ten teams. The Badgers can not rely solely on their plethora of running backs to win them games.

Personal Thoughts

The Badgers struggling against both their preseason FCS matchups is not a good sign for this season.

The team definitely has the talent and coaching to be competitive in the Big Ten, but mental errors are really hurting this team. They need to get their offense on the same page in order to get the rhythm and timing necessary for Phil Longo’s offense.

On the other side of the ball, the defensive line needs to do a much better job of creating quarterback pressure and winning the line of scrimmage battles. Without a strong line push, it becomes difficult for linebackers to flow and make tackles, which is why the Coyotes were able to get the ball going on the ground.

While there were signs of good defensive play and offensive play that we know this team is capable of, the consistency has to be improved before the big game against Alabama next week.

Another key point is the emergence of Cade Yacamelli and his ability to really change the game. Yacamelli went for 73 yards on eight rushes, breaking out a huge run of 29 yards. His downhill running ability combined with great vision can be really helpful for the Badgers when they need a spark plug. Look to see him get integrated more and more into the game plan as the season progresses, even with the backs at hand.

Lastly, Fickell’s experimentation with the defensive backs looks to be working well. True freshman Xavier Lucas had another great game, and the rotation at nickel with Austin Brown, Max Lofy, and even Nyzier Fourqurean is really helping defensive coordinator Mike Tressel open up his defensive playbook.

With a big game against Alabama coming up next week, it is pivotal for the Badgers to get on the same page offensively and consistently drive the ball downfield. The defensive line has to be faster off the ball and better at maintaining their gaps to allow the second and third lines to flow and make tackles.

These small improvements will take this team to a different level and could even put them in the conversation for a possible top 25 ranking, should Wisconsin show out next weekend.