The Wisconsin Badgers came out of the Week 5 bye with a greater sense of focus than many people would have expected, in at least one phase of the game... Mike Tressel's defense came to play. After getting shelled two weeks ago vs. the Maryland Terrapins, they made a point to not let another true freshman quarterback light them up like a Christmas tree as Malik Washington did a fortnight ago.
Bryce Underwood had a rough go of it from the start for Michigan. Outside of a huge Justice Haynes run, the Wolverines' offensive attack was largely neutralized at home for the better part of three quarters. Wisconsin's newfound bend but don't break defense kept this game closer longer than most people could have ever imagined. Not being able to do much on offense may cost them here.
So when push comes to shove, we cannot put any potential loss that were to come from this game on Tressel and his defense, especially with how well that unit performed in the early-to-middle stages of this game. It may not seem like much, but these are the types of team-first tenacious defenses that once made Wisconsin football so special. Frankly, Tressel is getting the best of Sherrone Moore here.
No matter what happens to Fickell the rest of the way, Wisconsin has a good choice in the interim...
Mike Tressel has his Wisconsin defense giving Michigan all it can handle
The talent disparity between what Michigan has to work with and what Wisconsin has no choice but to work with is painfully obvious. Again, there are no morale victories in the game of football, or really in any sport for that matter. However, it is refreshing to see Fickell's side of the ball starting to hold its own vs. a borderline College Football Playoff team in Michigan. The fact this is one the road is huge!
Of course, offensive ineptitude could be the reason for Wisconsin being unable to pull off the monumental upset here. Again, this is about Tressel having all of his guys coming together on defense and playing as one. Any time the Badgers have been consistently good as a program, this has been a calling card for them. We did see glimpses of this during their first two games of the year.
While it remains to be seen if Wisconsin can clip Michigan, or really anybody left on their brutally bad Big Ten schedule, this team is starting to show that it can hold its own in a defensive struggle. As the weather starts to change, this could be even more so in the Badgers' favor. What you have to wonder is how much longer this unit is going to keep giving a maximum effort for a head coach who is awful.
For now, Badgers fans can at least go to bed tonight, knowing the guys are playing hard on defense.