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.

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SnoTap Badger Preview: Wisconsin at Arizona State

Unknown.

This is probably the best word to describe the matchup between 20th ranked Wisconsin against Arizona State on Saturday night in the desert on ESPN. Both teams are 2-0 for the season, but they have fattened up on cupcakes. No one really has a true read on either teams thus far this season. The Sun Devils could be the second or the top team in Pac-12 South this season while the Badgers might have a chance at another B1G title game appearance. Both teams could also finish with seven wins and play some meaningless bowl game that no one cares about in December.  All of that being said, this is one of the premier games of the weekend.

There is a tired old saying about sports where they say 'something gotta give' when it comes to the Badgers rush offense facing the Arizona State's front seven.  The Badgers running backs are off to a great start with James White, Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement all going for over 100 yards in the the first two games of the season. Each member of the three-headed rushing monster brings a different element to the table. White is a combination of a power runner as well as being able to break a run here and there. Clement can wear teams down and then Gordon is the first game-breaker for Wisconsin in a long time.

Gordon is as good of a player at Wisconsin in some time. I realize Montee Ball had a great established career at Wisconsin, but it seems like Gordon is ready to blow the doors off the whole B1G. Every time Gordon is in the backfield or split out wide, there is a chance that play is going for a touchdown. When is the last time the Badgers can say that about a player?  Ball and White can break a long run, but not to Gordon's levels where every time it could be a touchdown. That is such a luxury with the team, and sometimes it gets forgotten.

Enter in the competition of Arizona State's defensive front spearheaded by Will Sutton. The Sun Devils defensive tackle could have been a first or second round pick in last year's NFL Draft. He will probably be a top 20 pick next season. The thing I love about Sutton is he plays 3-4 defensive tackle and is able to get to the quarterback and in the backfield. Last year, he had 13 sacks, 23.5 tackles for a loss in a dominating year in the Pac-12 Sutton is not at this level and has a better attitude yet he reminds me a bit of Ndamukong Suh in the ways where he can push and have an effect on offensive linemen. I realized Suh never played 3-4, but I feel like Sutton makes a Suh-like impact. Sutton is not the only Arizona State defender the Badgers have to worry about on Saturday night.

Linebacker Carl Bradford is a terror on the outside who had 11.5 sacks last season then add Jaxon Hood who resides next to Sutton was a Freshman All-American last season and they are pretty high on ends Junior Onyeali and Davon Coleman.  This will be an entertaining as hell matchup to watch all of these beasts go up against the Badgers three-headed rushing attack.

For all of the reason above, this could be Joel Stave time in Tempe. Play action will play such a large part in what the Badgers do this weekend. Running the football is important, but keeping the tough front-seven on their toes is extremely so important.  If the Badgers come in with a predictable offense, they will get submerged by that defense. The other thing about Arizona State is their secondary is not at the same level as their front-seven so there might be some opportunities to go deep.  This will be a big game for Stave

The Sun Devils offense and the weather could go hand and hand Saturday night. The Sun Devils are a part of the revolution that is the up-tempo offense we are seeing pop up all over the country. Taylor Kelly is a pretty solid quarterback and probably does not get the credit as some of the other Pac-12 quarterbacks do nationally. Kelly also can make some plays on the run thus the Badgers need to contain him in the tackle box as much as possible. They also have two solid running backs in Marion Grice and D.J. Foster who can both change a game very quickly with their speed.

One thing people might be underestimating is the weather in the Valley of the Sun. On Saturday, the weather temperature will be 102 degrees with a low 82 degrees.  It will be 7:30 pm when kickoff starts meaning it will still be in the high eighties or hotter. This sounds weird, but August was a pretty tame month in Wisconsin when it came to weather meaning the Badgers really have not practiced in these types of weather conditions. Some Wisconsin Augusts feature deep south-like humidity and could make a grown man crumble to his knees.They had a couple hot days here and there, but it was not like other summers. This would make me nervous in the final two quarters of the game.

As for the game itself, it will be extremely competitive and a ton of fun to watch. I want to believe White and his two sidekicks could carry this team to victory, but I have trouble seeing them being able to handle all the different elements that Arizona State brings to the table. This will be a close, nail-biter and once again, the Badgers will be on the wrong en yet there will be a ton of encouraging things moving forward.

Arizona State 24 Wisconsin 23

Charlie.

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