Four-Down Territory with Mike Lucas: Minnesota
November 29, 2014 | Football
Nov. 29, 2014
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com
After turning off the microphone from his work with the Badger Sports Network, UWBadgers.com Insider Mike Lucas offers his take on the Badgers' 34-24 win over Minnesota.
FIRST DOWN: You don’t want to ever suggest that falling behind can be habit forming. It’s a habit that you want to break. Nonetheless, if you are trailing, you can’t let those circumstances break you or your spirit. Once again the Badgers were down 17-3 in the second quarter, just like they had been against Nebraska. And once again they showed their toughness and resiliency by rallying. This time it wasn’t a 62-yard touchdown run, the ice-breaker against the Cornhuskers. This time, it was a 70-yard pass play between Joel Stave and Alex Erickson that began wrestling the momentum away from Minnesota. Stave punctuated the drive with a touchdown pass to Melvin Gordon, a pass that was targeted for Erickson in the back of the end zone but Gordon “intercepted’’ the throw and it pulled the Badgers within, 17-10. The turning point of the first half was a Gophers turnover, quite the irony given that they have been among the leaders in turnover margin all season. Minnesota was in position to extend its lead to 10 points with a field goal when quarterback Mitch Leidner and David Cobb mishandled an exchange and Michael Caputo recovered the loose ball. Stave followed up with back-to-back completions of 35 and 14 yards to Erickson setting up a Rafael Gaglianone field goal. So instead of being down potentially 20-10 at halftime, the Badgers trailed 17-13. That was a huge swing.
SECOND DOWN: Opposing defenses, namely safeties, have been punishing Melvin Gordon the last two weeks. But there’s no flinch in Gordon. No matter what Minnesota attempted to do, including torqueing his ankle when presented with the opportunity, Gordon handled it and dealt out his own punishment. On this day, Corey Clement spelled relief. Battling a shoulder injury, Clement was on the equivalent of a pitch count. But when needed, he delivered with some timely runs behind an offensive line that asserted itself in the second half. The run-pass balance was never more evident than in the final statistics, it was the difference between these two offenses.
THIRD DOWN: Despite playing on short fields throughout the first half, the defense didn’t lose sight of its game plan and battled through some of its own adversity. When some big plays were needed, they came up with them. When some big stops needed, they obliged. The beauty of the defensive effort Saturday was that everybody had a hand in the success of the unit, the ultimate goal.
FOURTH DOWN: Few people gave Wisconsin a chance of winning the West after the loss at Northwestern. Few people gave this group of players and coaches enough credited for its character. There were a lot of tough guys celebrating with the Axe in the locker room afterward. But there was also one loud voice heard over every other reminding everyone that the job now begins in earnest with a slot opposite Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. The message: it’s not enough to just get to Indy, it’s time to finish the right way. The Buckeyes will have their own incentive to show their mettle without quarterback J.T. Barrett. But this is exactly what you want, a couple of survivors, drawing a line in the sand and fighting for a title. This was a memorable renewal of the rivalry in many respects. Great crowd, great atmosphere, great senior salute. But there’s still a lot more out there.
