Subscribe
Follow Us
After a strong 38-0 win versus Illinois State, Wisconsin football could not repeat their feat against Washington State. The Badgers lost 17-14 at home, enough to take them out of the college football rankings after being in the top 20 since the preseason.
Now, Wisconsin will try to return to the rankings with a convincing victory over New Mexico State at home on Saturday. Should that happen, there will likely be conversations on whether the Badgers are really back or if it was just a win against a weaker opponent.
But it all depends on how Wisconsin shows up. The team needs to make some adjustments if it wants to show the Badgers are really contenders in the Big Ten Conference.
With that being said, here are three changes that Wisconsin football must make to bounce back versus New Mexico State in Week 3.
*Watch college football games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
3. Kicking needs to improve
It was a rough weekend for kickers in general. In the NFL, teams missed potential game-winning field goals in overtime. In college, it was not different.
Wisconsin kicker Vito Calvaruso missed both of his field goal attempts against Washington State. Although they were from 51 and 43 yards, if he had made at least one of them, things would have been very different. The Badgers lost by only three points, so the poor kicking performance likely cost the game.
Calvaruso handled kickoff duties in his first two years in college. In 2022, head coach Paul Chryst assigned him to field goals and extra-point kicking duties. However, things have not been very sweet early this season. The kicker missed all but one of his five field goal attempts, with his only make coming from 28 yards.
Unless Calvaruso improves as soon as Saturday, there might have some changes coming up. With tough games coming up, every chance of scoring needs to be successful, including field goals.
2. Less penalties
In such a close game, every play matters. Unfortunately for the Badgers, they had too many mistakes that ended up costing them precious field position.
Wisconsin football committed 11 penalties, totaling a loss of 106 yards. For comparison, the Cougars only had five penalties for 50 yards. Those penalties by UW caused longer downs and forced punts, as well as calling back some of their best offensive plays.
The contest versus Washington State was very different from the Illinois State one. In Week 1, the Badgers only had five penalties for a total loss of 51 yards. Not only it is a big difference on paper, but it showed how the team responds to the situation. When they had to face a tougher opponent, the nerves were on and caused the multiple penalties.
In order to beat New Mexico State, Wisconsin football must be more careful and commit fewer penalties. Now that the pressure is on following the Week 2 loss, it might be even more difficult to avoid those mistakes. Still, if the Badgers are able to avoid that problem, they are in a good spot to bounce back and get the win versus the Aggies.
1. Offense cannot disappear again
If a fan looks only at the numbers, it seems that Wisconsin had a solid offensive performance against Washington State. The Badgers had 401 total yards on offense, with 227 of them coming through the air. The problem is that, despite all those yards, the team produced close to nothing in the game.
Wisconsin had two passing touchdowns in the second quarter, then failed to score for the rest of the game. With the Badgers set to face teams such as Ohio State and Michigan State later in the season, the team cannot be held scoreless for three of the four quarters.
If Wisconsin football really wants a convincing win against New Mexico State, the offense must be consistent and get to the red zone multiple times. In the fourth quarter of the last game, the team only got within 10 yards of the end zone once.
The Badgers also had three turnovers, two being lost fumbles and one an interception. The pick was at the 14-yard line in the last quarter, which was the best field position Wisconsin had in a long time. Without capitalizing the play, the almost seven-minute drive only burned the clock, something that the team could have used better in the final possessions.
Overall, Wisconsin must have a solid offense throughout the entire game. A team with 22 total first downs against the opponent's 10 cannot be limited to two touchdowns and two missed field goals. The Badgers must improve their ability to score for better chances of winning. Should they break their scoreless drought early in the game against the Aggies, expect them to have much better numbers by the end of the contest.
