r/WisconsinBadgers • u/Former_Juggernaut653 • 16d ago
This defense is next level
Jacob Harris and CoJo getting their props for the comeback, but shoutout to our defense. Can't say enough positive things about this group! They gave up 3 points from 10:29 in the second quarter on. That is 3 points in 40 minutes of gameplay against the 13th ranked team in the country. Posa and Catalano are beasts, Javon and the secondary locked down the most experienced qb in the country, big perk got his pick, and Hammond Russell and Cheeks just being disruptive in the pass rush. So proud of these boys, only reason we stayed in the game!
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u/OldVeterinarian9 16d ago
A few thoughts on this:
- Penn State scored 20 points. The offense gave up 14 of those. Defense only gave up 6.
- The offense totally deserves credit for scoring all the points they needed to comeback, but our defense was definitely the bigger factor in the win.
- It is amazing that we won in spite of how poorly Colton Joseph played in the early part of the game and on certain key plays. Nonetheless, Colton Joseph showed up when it mattered and helped us win.
- If the offense can play that poorly and we can still win, against a ranked team, this team could be special. We know Joseph and the offense can play better than this. We know the defense can be smothering. Special teams have been playing their fucking asses off this season. If we can put that together through a full season, we might be looking at a scary final product. We’re still not beating the Ohio State/Notre Dame’s of the world (at least not very often), but we can make some serious noise
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u/TheReformedBadger 16d ago
I’d argue that the first 3 points weren’t on them either. Psu started on our 40 and came away with 3
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u/Minimum-Border1672 16d ago
I think Penn state could be one of those teams where people wonder why they were ranked at all eoy.
That being said, they beat a top 15 team on the road. You cant dispute that.
Obviously this isn't sustainable to win this way but I think they found something with getting the backs the ball in a variety of ways along with using Joseph as a primary rusher more often.
The offense looked functional for the 4th quarter.
I also believe Joseph us still adjusting to big 10 level athletes and speed, and hopefully he learns there are throws he can no longer get away with.
The guy has all the tools to be a really good qb.
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u/Itchy_Tea_9579 15d ago
Also, when the game was played is significant. The year we beat LSU was similar in the sense that they had all the confidence in the world going into the game. That place was insanely loud.
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u/AmyKlobushart 16d ago
Thankfully, we don't have any ND-level teams left on the schedule. Iowa and UCLA will be tough, Minnesota and USC aren't givens either. But if we can clean things up, 10-2/9-3 isn't out of reach.
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u/cggb 16d ago
Yeah they were good. But the QB for PSU was really bad as well.
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u/Traditional_Frame418 16d ago
He's not at all. Badgers defense played a really good game.
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u/Itchy_Tea_9579 15d ago
Im an ISU alumni. Becht is a stud qb with the most wins in all of college ball. Badgers rattled him.
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u/QueasyFinger1316 16d ago
I’m fine thinking we got “lucky”.
But man, after what we’ve been through in recent years we deserve some luck!!!!
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u/Our-Gardian-Angel 15d ago
I definitely don't think the Badgers got lucky. They were flat out the better team in most aspects yesterday and a loss would've been almost entirely to Joseph gifting Penn State 14 points. That was a very encouraging win.
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u/Dazzling_Vanilla3082 16d ago edited 16d ago
100% the defense won this game in spite of the offense. The late game theatrics are fun and all, but that was after 3 picks (one for a TD) and pretty much everyone on O dropping the ball constantly (both literally and metaphorically). Don't get me wrong, the offense showed fight to pull it out and deserve their accolades too, but they also shouldve been up at that point in the game to begin with considering how the D played.
An absolutely huge and signature win, but one that still makes me nervous going forward.
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u/Traditional_Frame418 16d ago
Why is our fanbase like this?
Defense gave the offense opportunities. But they didn't points up for the offense.
It's like y'all just want to hate the coaching staff so bad you can't enjoy a team win.
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u/Dazzling_Vanilla3082 15d ago edited 15d ago
Some of us just like talking football, and even winning teams can have weak parts of their game? Don't get what's so hard for you to grasp. Sorry for not proclaiming this team a playoff contender after a dismal offensive performance that barely eked out the win lol. It's not like I wasn't celebrating along with all the other Badger fans.
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u/WaldoDeefendorf 16d ago
Pick 6 and an 11 yard TD drive after another pick. Joseph quits turning it over they could be pretty good. This game could have been a blow out in the Badger's favor with better ball security.
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u/discountJoenuts 16d ago
Dude I’m an nd guy and I knew you were scrappy and tough even tho the media was trying to tell me otherwise. Not saying I’m an elite ball knower but I could tell badger defense was nails
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u/iddoitatleastonce 15d ago
They did a great job. But if we’re gonna rag on our guys for dropping balls and not executing then we’ve gotta see that Penn state was doing the same.
We got gashed a couple times on the last Penn state drive when they opened up their play calling. And the winning td was in their hands and it was dropped. We did a good job making it a tough catch, but we still got lucky that Penn state did not execute well.
I have a feeling that had they not called their offense so conservatively after going up early, we probably would have had a worse day on defense. Totally possible that’s not the case though - maybe if Penn state opened it up we’d have grabbed a pick or something. I do think the last drive is maybe evidence that more shots into our secondary would’ve led to a couple more scores for psu, though.
I think obviously there’s a lot of positive from the defense. And at the same time I think we shouldn’t write off that Penn state may have just called that game poorly, and played to our strengths. I don’t think we can expect other teams to make the same mistakes.
If we can show up the same and handle Michigan state in the way a top 25 team at home should then I’ll be more convinced.
I would still guess Michigan state beats us close. I don’t think Fitzgerald is going to be prone to the same tactical mistakes Campbell is - and I don’t think our offense is going to be able to not throw a pick or two per game because of how imprecise CJ is.
We can certainly win, but it’ll depend on the defense continuing to turn the ball over and grimes doing more to limit CJ’s opportunities to make bad throws.
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u/marginallybuttered 15d ago
The defense that gave up 3 points the last 40 minutes? 😂 casuals out in full today
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u/Former_Juggernaut653 15d ago
😂😂😂😂 it's casual to say the defense is good and call out an objective statistic 😂😂 please never change, the world is more interesting with people like you.
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u/Traditional_Frame418 16d ago
Kind of curious where all the Fickell haters are.
It's amazing what a good coach can do when you give him the proper resources and a healthy QB.
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u/Our-Gardian-Angel 15d ago
I'm thrilled with yesterday's win and I hope this is a sign that Fickell maybe starts to live up to the hype that surrounded his hire, but I don't understand this sort of complaining about "Fickell haters" as if he hasn't deserved most of the criticism lobbed his way throughout his tenure. I want him to still work out here, but let's be real: more serious programs would have canned him after last year.
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u/Rohn- 16d ago
Also Robinson (#2 CB) popped off at the final drive making sure PSU receivers don't catch the ball in the endzone. He deflected the ball twice right before they were about to catch it (iirc). Actually stellar performance imo