South Florida vs. Wisconsin: Game Grades, Analysis for the Badgers

It was close at halftime, but the Wisconsin Badgers were able to open things up in the second half, leading to a 27-10 victory. Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon was held to 50 yards on 17 carries in the first two quarters, but he finished the game with 181 yards and two touchdowns.

South Florida was able to win the battle at the line of scrimmage before halftime, but Wisconsin controlled the offensive line in the second half, finishing with 294 total rushing yards.

South Florida freshman running back Marlon Mack was coming off a 103-yard performance against Connecticut, but he was held to 34 yards on 10 carries Saturday.

You can find the full box score here, courtesy of NCAA.com.

Position Unit	First-Half Grades	Final Grades
Passing Offense	D	C+
Rushing Offense	C	A
Pass Defense	B-	B
Run Defense	B	B
Special Teams	B	B
Coaching	C	B

Pass Offense

The passing offense didn’t look very great today, but it wasn’t that bad either. Tanner McEvoy threw for 160 yards and one touchdown, but he missed some wide-open throws in this game also.

McEvoy has to improve as a passer moving forward, but Wisconsin doesn’t need him to be a Heisman candidate. The Badgers just need him to make plays and not turn the ball over, and today he did that.

Rush Offense

After limiting Gordon to 50 yards on 17 carries in the first half, the Badgers broke things open in the second half. Gordon finished the game with 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Corey Clement also played well, finishing with 77 yards on 16 carries.

The run offense is ultimately what won the game for the Badgers, gaining 294 yards. More importantly, the run game allowed them to eat up the clock in the fourth quarter, making it near impossible for South Florida to make a comeback.

Pass Defense

The pass defense played fairly well for the Badgers. South Florida had a couple of drops in the first half that could have been big plays, but Wisconsin only allowed 173 total passing yards and was able to come up with a big interception.

Run Defense

The Badgers front four played just as well as any unit in the second half. South Florida only gained 72 total yards on the ground, and Marlon Mack was held to 34 yards. Besides the 26-yard touchdown run by Rodney Adams, this was a solid performance from this unit.

Special Teams

We didn’t see anything bad from the Badgers special teams unit Saturday either. Kicker Rafael Gaglianone was 2-of-2 on his field-goal attempts, and Drew Meyers had a punt go inside the 20-yard line.

Coaching

The coaching was questionable in the first half because of the inability to break out offensively. The offense stalled in the red zone a couple of times, and I thought the play-calling could have been better.

The staff made the necessary adjustments at halftime, however, so it finished with a good grade. We knew Wisconsin would have to run the ball in the second half in order to win, and the staff called plays that allowed Gordon to get out into space and make plays.