Wisconsins defense comes to terms with its early-season problems: We have to be better
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin led Purdue 36-17 with 3:35 remaining in the game Friday night when Luke Fickell and his coaching staff opted to send in the call for a two-point conversion attempt. Receiver Will Pauling fielded a reverse from running back Braelon Allen and completed a pass to quarterback Tanner Mordecai to give the Badgers a three-touchdown lead.
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Whether that decision was necessary depends on your perspective. Boilermakers fans booed as television play-by-play announcer Tim Brando said, “They think that’s rubbing a little salt in the wound.”
Fickell made it clear after the game that the choice came from “the book,” which indicates when to go for two based on score and situation. And in this instance, it made a heck of a lot more sense than when former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema went for two with a 41-16 lead late in the fourth quarter of a 2010 game against rival Minnesota because “that’s what the card says.”
The difference this time? Fickell had watched Purdue score touchdowns on consecutive drives during the third quarter, which left him feeling “not overly comfortable” with Wisconsin’s defensive performance.
“I thought they did a really good job of moving the ball,” Fickell said of Purdue. “We did some good things at making some stops there in the red zone and getting a couple of turnovers. But it never felt like, ‘Hey, we’re in good shape.’”
That sequence, as well as Fickell’s commentary, says a lot about where this defense is four games into the season and how far it has to go.
Wisconsin ranks 77th in the FBS in total defense, allowing 374.5 yards per game. That’s the most by a Badgers team since 2005. Wisconsin is allowing 5.2 yards per play, which is the most since 2018. There appear to be several factors at play, including players adjusting to a new scheme and at times a general lack of execution. What is clear is that Wisconsin, which for so long had been one of the more dominant defenses in the country, is in a bit of transition under first-year defensive coordinator Mike Tressel.
“Ultimately, we know overall we have to be better and we will be better going forward,” said Badgers cornerback Ricardo Hallman, who recorded two interceptions against Purdue. “This is a first time for everybody on this defense getting into the new scheme. It’s going to be hiccups sometimes. But I think we’ve done a great job of bending but not breaking. But ultimately, I think we’ll improve as we go on throughout the season.”
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Tressel has implemented a 3-3-5 defense that differs from the 2-4-5 system Wisconsin ran under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. The 3-3-5 relies on versatility from linebackers and defensive backs and deploys different blitz pressures to confuse offenses. One of the scheme’s biggest changes: putting six defensive backs on the field and using one of them — typically safety Hunter Wohler — at linebacker depth.
According to TruMedia, no team in the country has had more defensive plays with six defensive backs on the field than Wisconsin’s 156. Only three other teams have even run 100 plays with six DBs: Nebraska (130), UNLV (114) and Vanderbilt (111). And while there have been successes, including four interceptions, Wisconsin is allowing 6.1 yards per play with six defensive backs on the field. Opposing quarterbacks have been able to find running lanes, averaging 6.2 yards per rush when taking out sacks.
Inside linebacker Jake Chaney was the most outspoken member of the defense about his unit’s performance after the Purdue game, in which the Boilermakers racked up 396 yards of total offense. Chaney refused to use the new scheme as an excuse and instead put it on the players, saying, “I think we need a little bit more football knowledge on defense.”
“We practice on it,” Chaney said. “We’ve seen other teams run it. I think we’ve just got to get better at it. It’s not the coaches putting us in bad situations. It’s just like, ‘OK, if we’re going to call this, you guys need to do it to the best of your abilities.’ And I think right now we’re just hesitant with it. I think we’ll get there. But right now it’s not where we want it to be.”
Wisconsin has adhered to an old adage of bending but not breaking in early games this season. The Badgers surrendered 851 yards of total offense over their last two games against Georgia Southern and Purdue, but they also forced nine turnovers. Georgia Southern quarterback Davis Brin threw for 383 yards and five interceptions. But Wisconsin has allowed too many big plays for its liking and has frequently missed assignments or been caught out of position.
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One example of Wisconsin’s defensive issues came on Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s 24-yard run late in the third quarter, two plays before he scored a touchdown to bring the Boilermakers to within 10. Chaney was out of position after being stuck on a block from offensive lineman Mahamane Moussa. Inside linebacker Jordan Turner also was out of position and missed the tackle attempt up the middle. Pro Football Focus credited Wisconsin with 16 missed tackles in the game, which is the most the Badgers have had in a game this season.
“A lot of big plays, you can watch NFL, college, one person loses leverage, that messes everybody else up,” Chaney said. “It’s not really the running back making these crazy moves. Oh, he just cut back on five different people? No. It’s just he made one dude miss and everybody else lost their leverage and now they’re fighting to try to gain back or trying to make a play.
“I think we need to start playing on the same page. Everybody keeping leverage. Leverage in coverage, being in the right spots, just trusting teammates. So if it’s on his left shoulder, it’s going to stay on his left shoulder, then you can close his right shoulder. I know that’s definitely a big issue right now. But I’m confident we’re going to get it fixed in practice.”
Chaney started in place of inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta, whose only snap came on Purdue’s final fourth-and-10 pass play. It was unclear why Njongmeta didn’t play more, with Fickell saying only that “he was able to play” and that the staff wanted to roll through different personnel in some situations.
One factor to consider is how much Wisconsin’s up-tempo offense under coordinator Phil Longo has had an impact on the Badgers’ defense. Wisconsin ranks 52nd in the FBS in offensive time of possession at 30:37 per game. This is a program that traditionally has succeeded by milking the clock. During a five-year stretch under Paul Chryst from 2016 to ’20, the Badgers ranked first nationally in time of possession three times and second once.
Over the previous 20 seasons, the Badgers’ average time of possession was 33:34, or nearly three minutes more per game. As a result of the change in philosophy, Wisconsin’s defense has been on the field for more plays. Wisconsin’s first four opponents have run an average of 72 offensive plays per game. Since the 2006 season, the plays per game average for Badgers opponents is roughly 61.6.
It hasn’t helped that the Badgers’ defense has had issues getting off the field on third down. Georgia Southern went 9 of 17 on third downs; Purdue went 6 of 13. Wisconsin ranks 71st nationally in third down conversion defense (39.3 percent). That’s a stark contrast for a defense that ranked in the top five in eight of the last 10 seasons.
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“We’re finding ways to play with our best 11 guys on the football field, and I think that’s where in some ways we’re still trying to figure that out,” Fickell said. “And now you see us bounce back and forth from four-man to three-man (fronts). But I think maybe a little bit different mentality than I’m used to when we weren’t a bend-but-don’t-break team. And right now we’re a little bit better in some of those situations.
“But it’s big plays. I think that’s where we’ve got to do a better job of tackling well in space. We’ve got to do a better job at putting pressure on the quarterback. And then when we do put pressure on, we’ve got to be able to contain. He ran around way too much (Friday) for us.”
Wisconsin’s pass defense ranks 103rd in the country, allowing 256.2 yards passing per game. The Badgers have never allowed that many passing yards per game over the course of a season, though four games still serves as a relatively small sample size. Wisconsin’s run defense ranks 49th nationally at 118.2 yards rushing allowed per game. Over the past eight years, the Badgers have allowed more yards rushing per game in a season just once, in 2018. According to TruMedia, opponents are averaging 1.94 yards before contact per rush, which puts Wisconsin 81st nationally in that category. Opponents are averaging three yards after contact per rush, which ranks the Badgers 91st.
Wisconsin heads into its idle week sitting at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten, the only team in the West Division without a conference loss. That’s a good spot for the Badgers to be. But to stay there, defensive players know they have to perform better.
“I feel like as a defense, the defensive line standpoint, we want to rush the passer a lot better,” defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. said. “We got a little pressure getting the QB off the spot, but the QB is running around too much and he had too much time to make plays off of that. So I feel like we need to continue to stay in our rush lanes and be more aggressive through our pass rush. We can’t let quarterbacks have that much time.”
“We’ve just got to execute our gameplan to prevent that stuff from happening, just eliminate the explosives. If we tackle well, we can stop a 20-yard gain and turn it into a 5-yard gain.”
(Photo: Zach Bolinger / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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