Lucas: Win against Michigan answers questions, silences doubters
September 22, 2019 | Football, Mike Lucas
Trust and confidence in Badgers’ play seals key victory to open Big Ten season
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Linebackers, present and past, tend to gravitate towards each other regardless of generation. So, it was not surprising to see one of the leaders of a relentless defense, Chris Orr, still in his No. 54 jersey, exchanging pleasantries with Barry Alvarez, the old Cornhusker 'backer from the '60s.
Standing outside the Badger locker room following Saturday's 35-14 rout of Michigan, they were joined by Alvarez's deputy athletic director Chris McIntosh, a 1999 consensus All-American left tackle. You never leave home without one — an offensive lineman — at least not in Alvarez's program.
The always-animated Orr, Alvarez and McIntosh were all smiles. Rightly so. Wisconsin has now won five straight games over the Wolverines in Madison, dating back to 2005, Alvarez's last season on the sidelines as the UW head coach, and none was more convincing than this one.
After the Badgers upped their 2019 record to 3-0, Alvarez said, "I saw a group today that I saw the last two games. Regardless of the opponent, they play the same. They have consistency. They play clean. They know what they're doing. They're really a smart team.
"I had some of my former players come up and talk to me about how smart the defense was and how they communicate. On top of that, they're efficient on offense and not afraid to throw it around a little bit as you saw when they (the Wolverines) stacked the box and played man-to-man.
"There were questions, but I think they were answered today."
Primarily the question was, "How good is Wisconsin?" That was in response to blowout wins against South Florida (49-0) and Central Michigan (61-0). The outcomes were so one-sided, and the level of competition was so iffy, the national pundits were unsure what to make of them.
"I would agree with that," Alvarez said. "I wanted to see how we'd play today, too."
He liked everything that he saw, too. Especially after the Badgers held the ball for 41 minutes and seven seconds while holding the Wolverines without a first down rushing (40 total yards) and without a third down conversion (0-for-10). Late in the third quarter, Wisconsin led 35-0.
"It was an impressive game," said Alvarez. "I think we opened a lot of eyes."
For the record, the last and only other time that the Badgers whipped the Wolverines by a margin larger than Saturday's 21 points, Alvarez was playing linebacker and offensive guard for the Burgettstown (Pennsylvania) High School Blue Devils. That was 1962.
"When you can run it the way we can run it," said Alvarez after the Badgers rushed for 359 yards (6.3 per carry) and five touchdowns. "And when you can throw it and be efficient as we have been — we're not turning it over — we're going to be hard to beat."
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Tyler Biadasz sat in front of his locker, peeling tape off his hands and wrists. When asked if he felt like the Badgers needed to make a statement against Michigan to prove something to the skeptics who questioned their non-conference strength of schedule, he demurred to any such suggestion.
"We're playing in the Big Ten Conference and we came out with an edge — but we're always coming out with an edge," said Biadasz, the preseason All-American center. "We didn't do anything different today. We came out and kicked them in the mouth."
It felt more like a butt-kicking to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
"We were outplayed," he said afterwards. "Outplayed and outcoached ... it was thorough. We knew it about their team. They've got the ability. They're good enough and if they play good enough, they can be good enough to beat you thoroughly and that's what happened today."
The tone was set on the first possession of the game. Facing a fourth-and-1 from the UW 34-yard line, Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst left his offense on the field and unveiled the "Hippo" formation which featured 328-pound Jason Erdmann and 307-pound David Moorman in the backfield.
Technically, it was a "14" personnel grouping with Erdmann and Moorman masquerading as two of the four tight ends in the huddle along with Jake Ferguson and Cormac Sampson, a high school tight end who was transitioning to the O-line before morphing into a pseudo tight end because of injuries.
Lining up behind all that beef, Jonathan Taylor picked up the first down on a 3-yard run.
What was the impact of executing on that fourth-down gamble so early in the game?
"It shows that he (Chryst) has confidence in us," said Biadasz. "In all reality, I wasn't as shocked as maybe people were. We knew that we were bringing physicality to this game. We knew we could pick up that one yard."
Fundamental football, 101. It was as simple as that.
"They blocked better," Harbaugh said. "They tackled better. They had a better plan …"
On that opening series, the Badgers drove 75 yards for a touchdown on 12 plays, 11 runs.
Was the plan to run it down their throats?
"We had a bunch of plays that we thought were going to be good versus them," said quarterback Jack Coan, who completed the only pass that he attempted on that first possession for 5 yards to Danny Davis. "We were running the ball really well, so we kept at it."
As for the fourth-down conversion, Coan said, "He (Chryst) came out with an aggressive mindset right away. The crowd loved it. The players loved it. We all bought in."
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The Badgers went 3-for-3 on fourth downs.
"It means that Coach trusts us," said Moorman, doubling down on a reoccurring theme in the locker room. "As a player, you love to have that in a coach who gives you that responsibility. It's a great feeling and it gives you juice going forward."
Moorman is representative of the depth on the offensive line. He has appeared in more games (44) than any position player on the roster and made his first career start for the injured Logan Bruss against Central Michigan. Beating the Wolverines was sweet for Moorman, who's from Northville, Michigan.
"Growing up 25 minutes outside of Ann Arbor, I actually grew up hating Michigan; I wasn't a fan," admitted Moorman, a fifth-year senior. "So, getting this win was pretty special … and I was glad that I was able to chip in (as a Hippo back) in that role. Hey, it was awesome being in the backfield."
The Badgers are four-deep at tackle (Cole Van Lanen, Bruss, Moorman and Tyler Beach) and three-deep at guard (Erdmann, Josh Seltzner, Kayden Lyles). Biadasz is the anchor. During timeouts throughout the first half, he was in the face of his linemates and encouraging them to keep their edge.
"You can't ever relax, you've always got to be upbeat," Biadasz explained. "It's a game where if you're not twitched-up, they're going to hit you first in the mouth, and we've got to beat them to the punch. I'm just out there leading my team and I thought that was a good way to do it."
Michigan's defensive front was totally overmatched. That was never more evident than in the second quarter when the Badgers were forced to play without Taylor, who was getting treated in the medical tent on the home sideline for cramping. Without him, they scored on two TD drives.
"Obviously, JT is the best running back in college football," Biadasz stated. "But we're going to come out and block the same that we would with JT. We're not going to stop whether it's Garrett (Groshek) or Nakia (Watson). JT has confidence in them and so do we."
On one series, the Badgers went 80 yards on 15 plays with Coan scoring on a plunge from the 1 yard line. On the other series, they went 43 yards on two plays. Coan hooked up with Groshek for 18 yards on a pass completion and Coan took it to the house on a 25-yard touchdown run.
Watching Coan take off for the end zone, Biadasz thought to himself, "Where are you going?"
Laughing, he added, "It was awesome. I knew what he saw. They had a big game (defensive stunt) and all of a sudden, the middle opened up and he took it. I'm proud of him. I'm really proud of the way he's leading this team. It's really impressive to see."
After sidestepping Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Coan knew that he had clear sailing through the Wolverines secondary. "It was man coverage, so everyone had their backs turned to me," he said. "I didn't know if I would have the wheels to make it, but I did."
In the end, did Coan feel like the Badgers made a statement by dominating one of the brand programs in college football? "I don't know," he said. "I'm sure fans are going to think that stuff. We just try to focus on ourselves and play as well as we possibly can."
In this context, then, did they address some questions that may have gone unanswered through the first two games? "I'm not really sure and, honestly, we don't really care," Coan said softly. "We know who we are as a team, and we believe in each other and that's all that matters."
Their play spoke loudly Saturday.
