Wisconsin’s tale of 2 halves against USC proved the Badgers are stuck in old ways

LOS ANGELES — Members of Wisconsin’s football team walked off the LA Memorial Coliseum field at halftime with a brief sense of satisfaction. For two quarters, they had played as well as could be hoped to establish an 11-point lead that surprised a heavily favored USC crew and offered a glimmer of needed optimism for the program.

It was the team Wisconsin aspires to be under Luke Fickell — one that was aggressive, opportunistic and executing at a high level. Until it wasn’t.

The Badgers went from looking like they were ready to turn a corner to one that couldn’t fight their way out when backed into one. No. 13 USC hammered Wisconsin with four unanswered second-half touchdowns to secure a 38-21 victory on Saturday.

In the process, the Badgers looked like the team they have too often been — erratic and mediocre. And for as much potential positivity as the first half offered, it was hard not to come away feeling like this was a lot of the same old, same old.

“We play every game like we played that first half, we’ll be really good,” Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler said. “And we have it in us. We showed it today. We have it in us. We just have to find a way to play four quarters.”

Achieving that ambition has proven problematic for an offense and defense that haven’t answered key questions about how to consistently raise the bar. Wisconsin trailed Western Michigan by a point in the fourth quarter of its season opener before escaping with a victory, led FCS South Dakota by just four points late in the third quarter and lost by 32 points at home to Alabama two weeks ago. Now this.

In his first start of the season, Wisconsin QB Braedyn Locke completed 50 percent of his passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

Wisconsin is 9-8 since the start of last season and 5-5 in Big Ten games under Fickell. The Badgers are 2-2 this season and 0-1 in league play. And with a schedule that still includes ranked foes Penn State and Oregon, as well as undefeated Rutgers, a one-loss Iowa on the road and a pesky Nebraska team, there’s no telling where they might end up. Fickell continues to stress the importance of ensuring everybody is motivated and on the same page.

“I told them in the locker room, they chose to come here,” Fickell said. “We all chose to put ourselves in this situation, knowing that the Big Ten is something that’s completely different now. So this is what we wanted. This is what we asked for and now we got it. Sometimes you’ve got to be a man and you’ve got to stand up. We’re all going to find out how we can handle adversity and how we can handle ourselves and what we can do to grow.”

Wisconsin deserves credit for its first-half performance against USC. Quarterback Braedyn Locke, who took over against Alabama after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee, delivered a pair of impressive deep balls to set an early tone. He threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to receiver Vinny Anthony II and a 35-yard pass to receiver Bryson Green to set up another score. But the explosive plays stopped there.

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Locke has an uncanny ability to complete 50 percent of his passes, which he has done for the entirety of his Wisconsin career. He completed 13 of 26 passes for a second consecutive game. And a quarterback who completes only half his passes figures to struggle to consistently win games in this league — particularly in an offense under coordinator Phil Longo that strives for run-pass balance. Wisconsin closed the game with four punts, a turnover on downs and a Locke pass that was intercepted by USC linebacker Mason Cobb and returned 55 yards for a touchdown.

The run game didn’t give Locke much relief. The biggest backbreaker occurred during the third quarter with Wisconsin leading 21-17 and facing a fourth-and-half-a-yard at the USC 33-yard line. The Badgers lined up in a shotgun and didn’t block the back side of the play, which allowed safety Kamari Ramsey to stuff Walker for no gain and a turnover on downs. USC scored on the next possession to take a 24-21 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

It marked the second straight game in which Wisconsin failed to convert a fourth-and-1 running play from the shotgun. Fickell has taken heat from former players about the decision to use a shotgun in short-yardage situations, as Wisconsin’s entire offense has moved away from the under-center system established under previous staffs. He said it didn’t matter whether the play was called from the shotgun or under center because Wisconsin’s inability to block was more important.

“I’ve got to get it,” Walker said. “It’s fourth-and-1. It doesn’t matter how many people are in that box. I’ve got to get it.”

Wisconsin’s defense was equally uneven. Safety Preston Zachman made a diving interception of USC quarterback Miller Moss across midfield during the first half. And safety Austin Brown came off the edge to sack Moss and force a fumble that defensive lineman Ben Barten recovered. Then, the defense played in a manner that Zachman said was “the complete opposite in the second half.” It simply could not earn stops at critical junctures, as USC’s playmaking receivers devastated Wisconsin. The Badgers finished with three second-half first downs to the Trojans’ 13.

Moss converted passes on third-and-7 and third-and-15 before throwing a 6-yard touchdown to receiver Ja’Kobi Lane on third-and-goal to take the lead. USC finished 11-of-17 on third downs. It didn’t help that Wisconsin punt returner Tyrell Henry muffed a punt that led to a USC touchdown, returning the favor from a Trojans first-half muff that the Badgers converted into a score.

“We’ve got to find a way to be able to get the momentum back when things are going against us,” Fickell said. “That’s probably as big of an issue right now as there is. When it comes down to it, it’s not some magical thing you can say. It’s not like call timeout and call them all together and give them some speech. It’s like, ‘OK, men. Somebody’s got to step up. Somebody’s got to make a play. They’re not going to hand it to us.’”

How much is one half of good football worth when it comes on the road against a top-15 opponent? Wisconsin’s players attempted to find a silver lining in addressing that question afterward. Wohler said that while back-to-back losses look bad, he believed the Badgers were “trending upwards.” Anthony said, “We have plenty of film to show that we can hang with anybody,” while Zachman insisted “We’re right there.”

Sure, Wisconsin showed flashes of its potential Saturday. But it will take a heck of a lot more than that for the Badgers to become the team they want to be. Whether they can actually get over that hump is anybody’s guess.

(Top photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)