Blame the Badgers, not the Officials, for Saturday's Defeat.

Nothing gets the State of Wisconsin more mad than bad officiating in football.  Everyone feels like their team has a target on their back all while not realizing mistakes happen all over the college and pro football landscape. Pac-12 officials made the wrong call in the final moments of the Badger game allowing Arizona State to win the game, but Wisconsin should have never got to that point.  

The officials are probably the headline of most stories, but really what will get lost in the shuffle is how the Wisconsin defense could not keep up with Arizona State's up-tempo offense due to defensive coordinator David Aranda's blitzing nature. The Sun Devils had 93 total plays on Saturday night in the ninety degree heat and the Badgers could not keep up by the end of the game. Some of that had to do with the fact Aranda kept sending blitzes throughout the game causing the front line of the Badgers to wear down. There is nothing wrong with Aranda's blitz-happy way of doing things against the majority of the B1G, but when facing an up-tempo team, it is the sort of thing  that bites the Badgers in the ass. 

Although the front seven should not get all the blame for Arizona State wearing down the Badgers defense. The secondary did not have themselves a great game either. Taylor Kelly thrashed the secondary in the second half of the game. He probably would have had a bigger game than 352 yards if Arizona State's receivers could hang onto the football in the first half.  There is a great deal of work left to be done for Wisconsin when it comes to the secondary and definitely need to rethink their strategy when it comes to up-tempo offenses. 

Another major issue to the Badgers struggles on Saturday night was Joel Stave. He turned in one of his worst performances as a Badger. Stave did not really seem like the same quarterback after getting decked in the ribs in the second quarter of the game. There is nothing I can find that shows he suffered an injury, but it did seem like it altered his play throughout the rest of the game. Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig seemed to give Stave opportunity after opportunity to try to rite the ship. He had a couple nice passes, but he did not do this job - be a compliment to the Badgers rushing attack. One thing that needs to be fixed immediately is Stave avoiding getting his passes knocked down. He is 6'5, that should not happen.  

The Badgers also will deal with an awkward situation with their running backs. Melvin Gordon had another gigantic game for the Badgers and he looks like the real deal this year. Gordon had 15 carries for 193 yards with two touchdowns averaging 12.9 yards a carry. All of those numbers are pretty impressive, but he deserves to be carrying the ball more often. Yes, James White has done a ton for this Badger team throughout the year and is a true unsung hero of his team in the last couple years yet Gordon is the better player no matter his age.

As for the officials, it was a stupid error by the officials. Stave did nothing wrong, but he was not demonstrative enough.  They should have called Arizona State for a delay of game on Anthony Jones without question, but if you will, this is the cherry on top of a disastrous fourth quarter for the Badgers.  One question that has not been asked, if Kyle French preferred the other hash, why did Wisconsin run the hitch route to the other side of the field Another question, with how good Gordon played on Saturday, why not try to see if he can get some more yardage?   The officials deserve some of the blame, but there is no guarantee French makes that kick.

The Badgers had a double-digit lead in the first half and could not deliver the knockout blow. The Badgers also had five point lead in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin has nobody to blame but themselves for this defeat in the desert.

Charlie.