For a time, it appeared the Wisconsin running game just wouldn’t get started against the Oregon State Beavers. With the defense locking down the Oregon State offense, it looked like maybe, just maybe, the Badgers might have to work for a low-scoring victory instead of a second-straight offensive explosion. And although Russell Wilson and the Wisconsin offense didn’t steamroll the Beavers like they did the Runnin’ Rebels one week prior, in the end Wilson, Ball and company proved too much to be stopped.
But this time the offense played a distant second fiddle to the Badgers defense, coming off a disappointing (at least superficially) performance against UNLV. The Badgers defense held Oregon State to an incredible 1.2 yards per rush after giving up 4.7 to a typically poor UNLV rushing attack just one week prior. The Beavers’ passing game was moderately successful later in the game (particularly with cornerback Devin Smith out in the second half), but the two deep drives the Beavers mustered in the second half were eventually thwarted, and the Badgers walked away with their first shutout since October 31, 2009 against Purdue.
Let’s go to the charts:
Offensive Summary
Plays: 63
Yards: 397 (6.3 per play)
Points: 35 (0.56 per play)
Success Rate: 44% (28/63)
Once again, both the passing and running games were efficient. Russell Wilson totaled 189 yards on 21 attempts (9.0 per attempt) to go with three touchdowns and no interceptions (11.9 adjusted yards per attempt), another near-perfect performance. The backs were led by Montee Ball and his 118 yard, two touchdown game (6.6 yards per carry), while James White was bottled up (53 yards on 17 carries, 3.1 per rush). Despite starting out slow (three rushing yards in the first quarter, only 3.7 yards per carry in the first half), the Badgers finished strong, totaling 4.8 yards per rushing attempt when all was said and done.
The Badgers had a low success rate (especially when compared to the 61% mark they posted against UNLV), largely due to the high amount of low-gaining running plays, specifically in the first quarter. The offense was able to work around this with a few big plays, great field position (thanks to a -4 yard punt) and most importantly, converting 8-of-15 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourths (which, effectively, means they were 10-of-15 in converting these sets into first downs), something the Badgers should not count on going forward.
Defensive Summary (from the point of view of the Oregon State offense)
Plays: 64
Yards: 284 (4.4 per play)
Points: 0 (0 per play)
Success Rate: 38% (24/64)
The Badgers came into game two having shown only one true weakness in their opening tilt against UNLV: the rushing defense. Nine days can make a huge difference. The Badgers were a cardinal wall on Saturday, allowing only 58 rushing yards on 21 rushing attempts (2.8 yards per carry). The big plays UNLV managed in game one were gone, as the Beavers didn’t manage a single rush over seven yards, and the Badgers made some tremendous plays in short-yardage situations as well, the most outstanding against a counter-pitch on a fourth-and-1 stuffed by the secondary for a turnover on downs.
Oregon State’s passing offense behind freshman quarterback Sean Mannion moved the ball in the second half, but he only finished with 244 yards on 38 attempts, a meager 6.4 yards per attempt. The Badgers also managed three sacks of Mannion for a total of 25 yards, lowering the Beavers’ passing efficiency to 5.3 yards per passing play. Although this effort pales in comparison to the Badgers’ tremendous game against the Oregon State rushing attack, it is an impressive showing nonetheless.
Despite a solid showing on third downs (7-for-15), the Beavers never managed more than three successful plays in a row, and when they did manage to drive to Badger territory they never managed to hold onto the ball, with one fumble and two turnovers on downs.
In his post-game press conference, Bielema noted injured cornerback Devin Smith’s x-rays came back negative. He is considered day-to-day at this point.
Oftentimes, we hear the narrative of the irresistible force against the immovable object when a spectacular offense and a stout defense match up. In this case, the irresistible force and the immovable object were both wearing the same uniforms. Wisconsin met all expectations and exceeded some, and they put up a great performance heading into a neutral-site game against one of the tougher non-BCS teams in the country next week in Northern Illinois.
Photo courtesy Katie Garth.