 |
|
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. - Sudden change warrants swift action, authoritative reaction.
That is the mindset of everyone on Wisconsin's defense when thrust into a vulnerable predicament because of an offensive turnover that has tilted the field position.
"That's the kind of stuff that this defense lives for," said fifth-year senior safety Michael Caputo. "We like it when our backs are against the wall. We feel like it brings the best out of us."
The Badgers have had ample opportunity to work on their sudden change defense in their only two Big Ten losses, both at Camp Randall, both against quality foes, 11-0 Iowa and 9-2 Northwestern.
In their conference opener, they were guilty of four turnovers. In their home finale, they turned it over five times.
Yet, they gave up only 10 points to Iowa and 13 to Northwestern.
It's one of the reasons why Wisconsin still has the No. 1 scoring defense in college football.
Why have the Badgers been so efficient in sudden change situations?
"That's a phenomenal question because every defense reacts differently," said junior outside linebacker Vince Biegel, who had a career-high 14 tackles in Saturday's 13-7 loss to the Wildcats.
"Our defense has been put in those situations enough this year that we know how to react to them. I kind of put up a little fist to our defense ...."
Biegel demonstrated by making a fist and waving it in the air.
"Hey, we have to stop them boys,'" he's telling them. "We have to hold them right here."
Or, he's encouraging them, "They're not going to get another yard on us."
Everybody has been on the same wavelength all season, according to Biegel.
"We have guys who have that mindset," he said, "and it shows on the field when it happens."
It happened on UW's second offensive possession against Northwestern when quarterback Joel Stave's arm was hit and the ball deflected off a helmet into the hands of Nick VanHoose.
The Wildcats took over on the Wisconsin 19. And the defense couldn't get a hold. Sophomore tailback Justin Jackson had runs of 7, 4 and 8 yards and Northwestern had a 7-0 lead.
On the UW's subsequent offensive possession, cornerback Matthew Harris knocked the ball loose from Tanner McEvoy after a pass completion and Dean Lowry recovered the fumble on the UW 43.
Despite giving up one big play, a 20-yard strike from quarterback Clayton Thorson to Garrett Dickerson, the Badgers limited Northwestern running attack to gains of 2, 7, 4, 2, minus-3 and 1 yard.
On fourth-and goal, Jack Mitchell's 27-yard attempt missed wide right.
"We try to hold them to as little points as possible, preferably no points," said senior outside linebacker Joe Schobert, who matched his career high with 13 tackles, including 3.0 TFLs.
"I'm proud of how our defense played, especially in those situations today. They didn't get a lot of points off those short fields."
Northwestern's only sustained march of the game came at the end of the first half.
Jackson got it started by exploding for 32 yards on a first down play from the NU 20.
"Where he (Jackson) has improved the most from last year to this year is with his patience," Biegel said. "He busted that long run on the backside. We came inside and he popped us on the edge.
"You have to give Jackson a lot of credit. He made the yards when he was given them."
With the help of a late hit out of bounds, the Wildcats drove to the UW 17 where the offense stalled and Mitchell nailed a 35-yard field goal to culminate an eight-play, 63-yard drive.
Jackson had 14 carries for 87 yards at halftime.
In the second half, the UW defense held Jackson to 52 yards on 21 rushes.
"Last year, they used a lot of pin and pull, trying to create extra gaps and get people out of position," Schobert said of Northwestern's running scheme. "He (Jackson) does a great job of being patient and finding those holes and using his eyes to get into the next level (linebackers).
"This year, we did a good job knowing what they were trying to do. We were playing more base (defense), straight-up, and, then, just making plays off blocks - beating blocks one-on-one."
Northwestern ended up with just 209 total yards on 70 offensive plays, a 3-yard average.
"We took the physicality to their offense," Schobert said.
Thorson, who had rushed for 126 yards against Nebraska, was bottled up by the Badgers. He completed just 9 of 20 passes for 60 yards and he was stifled as a runner, held to a net-7 yards.
"On the edge, with me and Vince, we had to make sure that the quarterback didn't have the ball," Schobert said, "before we could pursue on the backside.
"That kind of slows you down for a split-second in diagnosing the play. But I thought we did a good job overall."
The tone-setter in the second half was linebacker T.J. Edwards dumping Jackson for a 1-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 from the Wisconsin 35 on Northwestern's first possession.
At the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, the Badgers had to again call on their sudden-change defense after Alex Erickson fumbled on a punt return.
Taking over on the UW 30, the Wildcats gained only 7 yards on three plays and Mitchell's field goal attempt from 40 yards was wide right.
Still looking to expand on a 10-7 lead, Northwestern took over on the UW 37 after recovering a Stave fumble at 10:39 of the fourth quarter.
But the Wildcats managed only 3 yards on three plays - nose guard Conor Sheehy had tackles on back-to-back Jackson runs - and were forced to punt.
"There were a lot of times where Northwestern would start with a short field after a turnover or a change of possession," Caputo said. "But that's where we have to bow up."
That's what the defense was forced to do again after Stave was intercepted on the series following his lost fumble. This time, the Wildcats got the ball on the UW 20.
Northwestern ran seven plays for zero yards.
Schobert, Biegel, Alec James and Jack Cichy were all credited with tackles on a terrific defensive stand that held the Wildcats to three points; a 37-yard Mitchell field goal with four minutes left.
The defense wasn't done yet. With 2:15 remaining, Northwestern had a chance to seal the victory by picking up a first down and running out the clock.
But the Wildcats got only 7 yards on three plays and punted again.
That set up a bizarre final offensive sequence for the Badgers.
Stave completed passes of 18 yards to Tanner McEvoy, 6 yards to Dare Ogunbowale, 15 yards to Jazz Peavy, 12 yards to McEvoy and 22 yards to Troy Fumagalli, who was downed on the NU 1 yard line.
Rolling right on first down, Stave stood tall and strong in the face of pressure from blitzing linebacker Anthony Walker and delivered a strike to Peavy on a corner route in the end zone.
It was ruled a touchdown on the field. It was overruled in the replay booth.
"That going-to-the-ground catch rule has been controversial for the last couple of years to say the least," said Schobert, one of the most low-key, rational members of the defense.
"I remember watching SportsCenter earlier this week and a guy makes a one-handed catch, comes down for a half-second and gets one foot down in the end zone.
"The defender pops the ball out but it was ruled a catch.
"Our guy (Peavy) takes three steps and gets pushed to the ground. How that can't be a catch is beyond me. And I'm not taking anything away from Northwestern.
"I'm not going to say we deserved to win it more than them. They played their butts off, too, and they had a great defense."
So now the Badgers are left to pick up the pieces before traveling to Minnesota for their regular season finale in the annual Border Battle with the Gophers, who haven't won the Axe since 2003.
"It really looked like we had won that game about three times," Caputo said of Saturday's narrow defeat. "But we went down fighting and that's what makes me so proud of these guys.
"It hurts right now. But that hurt reflects how emotionally invested we are as a team and individuals. It just takes time to heal. This one hurts a lot. Guys will be down tonight, maybe tomorrow.
"But the hurt feeling will pass. We're going to flip the page and develop an edge because of it and we're going to come out Monday full-steam forward."
The fact that it's a trophy game will draw everyone together, Schobert said.
"Obviously, this was an emotional roller coaster today," he admitted. "But we'll bounce back like we always do. We've faced a lot of adversity since we've been here (as a senior class).
"The football is a weird shape. It bounces all these different ways. You just have to keep playing and eventually good things are going to happen to you.
"I'm definitely not saying this feels good. But with all the coaching changes, and with that Arizona State game from a couple of years ago, adversity has hit us before.
"The thing that I know about this group," Schobert stressed, "is that we'll bounce back and we'll be ready to roll next week.
"Every year, Minnesota is the biggest game - besides the Big Ten championship game or the bowl game - so we'll be ready."
That was guaranteed by Caputo, whose emotions ran the gamut in his final home appearance.
"I don't get too wrapped up in that type of stuff," he said of the senior introductions prior to the kickoff. "I felt like I needed to stay emotionally strong for these guys.
"And the seniors needed to be that way and I reminded them of that going into the game. We needed to be there for the rest of the team - we're the seniors, we're the leaders."
And their leadership will be needed more than ever this week.
