The Wisconsin Badgers shut out the Miami (OH) Redhawks 17-0 to start the season on Thursday night, getting to 1-0 in an ugly, but effective victory.
The Badgers faced adversity when quarterback Billy Edwards went down with a non-contact injury on the team’s third drive of the game, but were able to rally behind a strong defensive performance to pitch a shutout in the season opener.
Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 17-0 win over Miami (OH).
While the final score was pretty convincing, the first half wasn’t as dominant for the Badgers, who were up only 14-10 at halftime.
There seemed to be several phases of this half, including at the beginning, where Wisconsin seemed to be churning downfield until a bad snap from center Kerry Kodanko led them to a 2nd & 14. Still, they faced a 3rd & 9 at the Middle Tennessee 40-yard line with the chance to at least get in field goal range and score some points.
However, the Badgers went with a screen pass on the play, losing a yard and punting in plus territory. Middle Tennessee followed that up with a 12-play, 68-yard field goal drive, converting multiple first downs, including a massive 37-yard completion to Nahzae Cox 1-on-1 against Ricardo Hallman.
Wisconsin had a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, with the game seeming a little fast for Danny O’Neil on back-to-back plays. Then, the defense gave up another big play, with Cox beating D’Yoni Hill for a big 31-yard catch up the sideline. An intentional grounding penalty at the Wisconsin 35-yard line killed the drive for Middle Tennessee. Then, the Badgers finally got on the board with a long 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capping the drive with a three-yard score to Tyrell Henry on a well-designed 4th down play.
Things seemed to be shifting in Wisconsin’s favor after another touchdown drive, with them getting the ball up 14-3 with 1:22 left in the half. However, the conservativeness came back, as offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes dialed up a screen pass, which was botched, leading to an interception off a tip deep in Wisconsin territory.
Middle Tennessee quickly capitalized with a touchdown, but the Badgers still had a minute in the half to respond and increase their lead heading into the half. But, there came another screen pass, which was thwarted, and Wisconsin elected to run the clock out, even after a big Dilin Jones run, leading to boos from the fans.
That last 90-second sequence was confusing in its own right, but not many would’ve guessed that Middle Tennessee would be trailing by only four at halftime and getting the ball to start the second half.
Wisconsin clearly responded well in the second half, but these types of slower starts with inconsistencies on both sides of the ball can’t happen regularly.
The Badgers made some major changes to their offensive line for Week 2, both out of necessity and by choice.
After a rough Week 1, left tackle Davis Heinzen was benched. Instead, the Badgers moved Riley Mahlman from right tackle to left tackle, and kicked out Emerson Mandell from right guard to right tackle.
However, center Jake Renfro was also ruled out, so Wisconsin needed two more changes instead of one. As a result, they put Kerry Kodanko at center and Colin Cubberly at right guard.
Throughout the first half and even into the third quarter, it was a shaky day in the run game for the group. Wisconsin just could not get any rhythm going from its run game, with Dilin Jones having only one carry over five yards in the opening half.
Darrion Dupree also had three carries in the first half, but totaled only five yards, as the Badgers finished the half with just 17 total rushing yards.
In addition, Kodanko struggled with high snaps, which had been an issue during the offseason as well. There were two that sailed over Danny O’Neil’s head, resulting in losses of four and 19 yards, respectively.
In pass protection, though, the unit was quite stout. Of course, you take the opponent into consideration, but O’Neil wasn’t pressured often and was able to execute the quick game well, especially as the game went along.
There were some highlight plays, as Emerson Mandell threw a lead block for Trech Kekahuna on his 61-yard end-around for a touchdown. Similarly, Vinny Anthony got a lead blocker on his end-around touchdown rush.
Wisconsin will have to figure some things out when Jake Renfro returns, but they seem to be experimenting up front to see who their best five are.
It was a disappointing first half for the Badgers, as it felt that offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes didn’t trust Danny O’Neil at times, while the run game wasn’t effective.
However, things really started to open up on a few drives in the first half and really in the second half.
On Wisconsin’s first touchdown drive, the Badgers executed play-action nicely, with Danny O’Neil faking and finding Lance Mason for a 34-yard explosive up the sidelines, leading to 1st & Goal at the 3-yard line. Then, after O’Neil missed an open Mason on 3rd & Goal, Grimes dialed up a sweet play off motion to free up Tyrell Henry for a touchdown on 4th down.
On the following drive, Trech Kekahuna had an amazing catch on 3rd & 9 with a defender closing on the ball, and nearly had a crazy touchdown catch on a slot fade in the end zone that was slightly overthrown from O’Neil. Nonetheless, Wisconsin still got a touchdown on that drive with a 1-yard Dilin Jones score, getting them a 14-3 lead.
In the second half, though, things really started to open up.
On Wisconsin’s first drive, Grimes dialed up an end-around off a fake quarterback sneak, and Trech Kekahuna took it 61 yards to the house behind a block from Emerson Mandell.
After that, Grimes opened up the quick passing game, bypassing the screens, which Middle Tennessee began to sniff out, with slants and quick throws for O’Neil, who connected with Lance Mason and Jayden Ballard for big first downs.
Another end-around resulted in a touchdown after that, with Vinny Anthony being the ball-carrier this time, getting another lead block for a 14-yard rushing score.
Play-action led the way on the following drive as O’Neil found Mason for a 13-yard gain before hitting Jayden Ballard on a 58-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown, both coming after run fakes. That extended Wisconsin’s lead to 35-10, putting the game away for good.
But, the Badgers weren’t done just yet. Wisconsin had a 15-yard play-action pass to Jackson McGohan to kick off the drive. Then, O’Neil hit Mason on back-to-back throws of eight and 17 yards, respectively, with the latter play scoring a touchdown, finishing the game off.
Albeit against an opponent that went 3-9 in the C-USA last season, the Badgers started to unravel their offense as Grimes trusted O’Neil in the pocket, giving him easier throws to execute. As a result, chunk plays started to come, and Wisconsin had a big-time offensive performance through the air.
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