After a slow start, Wisconsin finally found its footing against Middle Tennessee and came away with a 42-10 victory. The Badgers rolled in the second half and outscored the Blue Raiders 28-0. Despite the big win, one pesky problem from Week 1 followed the Badgers again into Saturday's matchup.
After struggling against Miami (OH) last week, the Badger offensive line once again had issues on Saturday. With starting center Jake Renfro out due to injury, Luke Fickell employed a new lineup that saw limited success against one of the weaker teams in college football. This is unacceptable for the Big Ten side.
In this game, Kerry Kodanko got the start at center, but had a couple of errant snaps. Guard Emerson Mandell popped out to right tackle and Riley Mahlman slid over to left tackle, while Colin Cubberly moved up into the last starting guard spot alongside Joe Brunner. Fickell had said last week he planned to try a few different offensive line combinations this season, but this unit didn't show up today. Fans are disappointed by the effort and rightfully so.
Badger offensive line once again looks like the weak link
Taking away the Trech Kekahuna 61-yard reverse, the Wisconsin run game was non-existent. The Badgers averaged just 3.1 yards per carry without Kekahuna's explosion, while Middle Tennessee lived in the Wisconsin backfield. The Blue Raiders stacked up 7 tackles for loss on the day and held starting running back Dilin Jones to just 36 yards rushing.
Despite the injury to Renfro, it's a troubling sign for Wisconsin that now in back-to-back weeks the offensive line has looked like a sieve. Fickell will have another week to find the right group he thinks can best handle Alabama on Sept. 13. If things don't improve, though, it could prove to be a long day against the Tide.