Wisconsin Football: Three superlatives from week three performance

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MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 15: Chris Wilcox #32 and Isaiah Kaufusi #53 of the BYU Cougars make a tackle against Danny Davis III #6 of the Wisconsin Badgers in the first quarter of the game at Camp Randall Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. BYU won 24-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Wisconsin football lost to BYU 24-21. Here are some of the silver linings from the game.

Wow, how the pendulum of expectation swings. Wisconsin football played an absolute stinker on Saturday, falling to BYU in a game they were favored to win by over 20 points. To be fair to the Cougars, BYU outplayed the Badgers across all three fronts, especially in the trenches.

It’s shocking to see a Wisconsin defense get gashed in the run game repeatedly; it’s borderline unheard of that this disciplined team would fall for a pretty run-of-the-mill trick play that turned out to be a backbreaker for an offense that couldn’t establish itself.

While large margins of victory in their first two weeks helped gloss over some of the rough edges in this team, Saturday’s performance laid bare to the world that the Badgers have a lot of work to do if they even want to salvage a Big Ten West Title, let alone a Big Ten Championship.

light. Related Story. Wisconsin suffers loss to BYU with lackluster performance

Many Badgers are still coping with the loss. On the stages of grief, I’ve since moved from the depression stage to the upward turn portion, as the Badgers still control their own destiny. Eliminating silly penalties – like the end zone pass interference on 3rd down late in the game – and costly turnovers – cough Hornibrook cough – is the easiest way to get this team back to playing top-level football.

The talent is there. You can see it on both sides of ball, which makes this result that much more maddening. That said, a solid performance against Iowa next week will help get this team back on track. However, a night game at Kinnick Stadium is always a tall task. Just ask Ohio State.

This post is supposed to be about the positives, the hyperbolic hype, the eternal optimists who only viewed this game through Badger-red tinted glasses.

So, every week from now until the end of the Wisconsin Football season, we’re going to assess the three best player highlights from the game that was. Some might be tongue-in-cheek, others may be more serious, but all will showcase some reason for optimism. Without further ado, here’s a look at the week three superlatives from the Badgers’ shocking loss against BYU.