BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Hands on hips and a look of anguish on his face, Wisconsin football coach Paul Chryst waited for his players to trudge into the solemn locker room late Saturday night before he spoke.
Once everyone was accounted for, the double doors closed and Chryst began the difficult task of putting agony in perspective.
The eighth-ranked Badgers had just suffered a 30-23 overtime setback to second-rated Ohio State in a cruelly fascinating Big Ten Conference main event at Camp Randall Stadium.
UW (4-2 overall, 1-2 in league play) came into the game as double-digit underdogs and wound up matching the vaunted Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0) in just about every way.
But a familiar refrain came to life for the Badgers. Dating back to 2010, their last 13 regular-season losses in Big Ten play have come by seven points or less.
Chryst spoke in the same even tone, repeating several points for emphasis as his players looked on forlornly.
"I appreciate the hurt because it doesn't hurt if you don't put yourself out there, right?" he said.
Chryst paused to look around the room. He told his players he was conflicted.
"It's a weird feeling for me right now to be quite honest with you because it stings," he said. "It hurts. What could I have done better? And I know there's how many other guys are feeling like that.
"At the same time, I'm truly proud of this group and the way you played and the way you battled. The best part is you do it together."
The Buckeyes came into the contest allowing 10.8 points and 244.6 total yards per game. They were the only Football Bowl Subdivision team that hadn't allowed a rushing touchdown.
But the Badgers rolled up 450 yards of total offense, churned out six explosive plays of 20 yards or more, scored a rushing TD and led Ohio State entering the fourth quarter.
"There are no moral victories," Chryst told his team. "You guys are too damn good for that. I'm not painting that picture one bit." UW has now played three consecutive top-10 opponents. The stretch began with a 30-6 victory at then-eighth-ranked Michigan State on Sept. 24 before a 14-7 setback at fourth-rated Michigan on Oct. 1.
A bye week gave Chryst and his staff time to craft a novel game plan for the Buckeyes. The result was an even-steven stat sheet that suggested Wisconsin is much better than many give it credit.
"It's been two tough ones, right?" Chryst said of the back-to-back losses. "Two tough ones. All you ask as a coach is give us a chance to have a chance."
The setback mangled some prominent trends. The Badgers were 13-0 when leading at the half and 13-0 when having the upper hand in rushing yardage under Chryst.
Senior tailback Corey Clement carried 25 times for a season-high 166 yards, but UW lost for the first time when he topped 100 yards (9-1). Junior inside linebacker Jack Cichy said Chryst's postgame speech reaffirmed what all the players were thinking.
"It hurts," Cichy said after setting a career high with 15 tackles, including 3.5 for loss. "It hurts because we care. That's one of the things that makes this team so great is we pour it all out there and we leave it all out there. That's what makes these games so fun."
Cichy said he listened to Chryst while thinking about plays he didn't make. The Badgers had particular difficulty keeping Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett under control. Barrett rushed for 92 yards, passed for 226 and accounted for three TDs.
"We let a couple details get away from us here and there that we practiced all week," Cichy said. "That's kind of what cost us."
Senior strong safety D'Cota Dixon, who intercepted a pass in the end zone to thwart an Ohio State scoring drive and matched his career high with nine tackles, came to the locker room distraught.
"I'll never forget this loss," he said later. "It's part of the game. It's hard to accept. You can't only thank God for the highs, but the lows as well."
Chryst told his players, many with their heads bowed, to be sure to reach out to their family and friends who came to see them play.
"Tell them you love them," he said.
Chryst told his players to be safe as the headed into the rainy night and to take care of one another.
"It's the best feeling in the world walking on the field with you guys," he said.
Chryst said that when Sunday rolls around everyone should have their focus trained on a critical trip to Iowa, not back-to-back gut punches.
"You talk about something that can bring us together and be THE thing," he said. "It's a choice. We choose right now. This fuels us.
"Own it and move forward."
Before Chryst left for his postgame press conference he hugged several players in the vicinity, including Cichy.
"We're proud of how we played, but it's not enough," Cichy said. "We recognize that and we're not going to rest on our laurels. We know we have to be better."
Any concern that two close, draining losses will have a cumulative effect going forward? Cichy weighed the question carefully.
"It will accumulate to us being stronger, being more resilient down the stretch," he said. "That's what we're working towards."
