Upon Further Review: Badgers dominate Michigan after long absence
No one would have batted an eye if Wisconsin, having not played in three weeks and missing a few key players, looked a little rusty in its return to the field at Michigan.
Certainly, things weren’t perfectly smooth, but after the Badgers’ 49-11 thumping over the Wolverines no one is complaining.
It was a true team effort from Wisconsin. There was no 100-yard rusher, 100-yard receiver, 200-yard passer or defensive or special teams touchdown – and the Badgers still scored 49 points.
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The defense kept its foot on Michigan, forcing five three-and-outs, coming up with two interceptions and making one stop at the goal line on fourth down. The Wolverines finished with just 219 yards, their fewest in a game since 2016.
Quarterback Graham Mertz, who had little practice time, finished 12-for-22 passing for 127 yards with two touchdowns. He completed passes to six different receivers with tight end Jake Ferguson leading the way with four grabs for 51 yards and a touchdown.
Nine different Badgers carried the ball and four had more than Michigan’s final rushing total of 47 yards, including fullback John Chenal, who had 71 yards on six rushes. Freshman Jalen Berger led Wisconsin with 87 yards on 15 carries with a TD in his first collegiate game.
Like we said, a total team effort. And really, this one wasn’t even as close as the final score.
Here’s a recap of Saturday’s game:
PLAYER OF THE GAME
There’s plenty of credit to go around but we’re going to give this one to someone who had just 12 yards on five touches. Fullback Mason Stokke tallied two of Wisconsin’s first three scores, both from one-yard out – one on a rush and another on a pass. His blocking was also on point, especially upfield on a Danny Davis 18-yard run. This being such a team effort, giving this award to a fullback seems like the right – and Wisconsin – thing to do.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME
Michigan gained one yard combined on its first four possessions (on 10 plays). Wisconsin had five tackles for loss in the game. Freshman linebacker Nick Herbig had three of those. He also tied for the team lead in tackles with five – and all were solo stops.
THAT MOMENT
Nothing helps an offense that has had little practice than getting the ball in the other team’s territory. After punting on its first possession, Wisconsin quickly got the ball back. Eric Burrell deflected an Eric Milton pass – Michigan’s first play of the game – with Scott Nelson picking it off at the 33. Four plays later, the Badgers scored. On the Wolverines’ next drive, Milton threw the ball right to Leo Chenal for another interception, with the UW linebacker returning it to the 14. Again, four plays later, the Badgers scored. And just like that Wisconsin was up 14-0, had all the momentum and the rust was shaken off.
THIS NUMBER
The 38-point winning margin is easily the highest over Michigan in Badgers history. The previous high was 22 (34-12) in 1962. The 49 points were also the most Wisconsin has ever scored against the Wolverines, breaking the mark of 48 set in 2010 – also a game played in Ann Arbor.
THEY SAID IT
“We knew coming into the week both would be significant and I thought obviously both came up big in a number of different ways.” — head coach Paul Chryst on the play of freshmen Berger and Chimere Dike
“I saw it working.”– Chryst when asked what he saw with UW’s continued use of jet sweeps
“Everybody says the Big Ten protocol is too long, but I think they do a great job of organizing it and taking care of the players. And going through it really showed me that.” – Mertz
“I was not expecting that, it came right to my chest. As soon as I caught that I’m like, wow, what just happened. I just started running. All my teammates gave me a hard time for not scoring a touchdown.” – linebacker Leo Chenal on his interception
“That was a good defense. They started out strong. We had to just kill the will, pretty much. That’s what we told the offense — kill the will.” – running back Nakia Watson
WHAT’S NEXT
It will be a battle of unbeatens next Saturday when 2-0 Wisconsin travels to 4-0 Northwestern. The Wildcats have been one of the biggest surprises of 2020, after finishing 3-9 in 2019. Northwestern allowed its first second-half points against Purdue, which recorded 10. Ryan Field has been a trouble spot for the Badgers over the years. Wisconsin has just one win this century there, coming in 2016, going 1-5 in that span.
