What We Learned: Wisconsin 42 Middle Tennessee 10
MADISON, Wis. — Leading just 14-10 in the third quarter, Wisconsin (2-0) blew the doors off Middle Tennessee in the second half. Using 28 unanswered points to close the game, the Badgers took care of business with a 42-10 win over the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Up next? Alabama…
Jake Renfro Was Ruled Out Pre-Game
An injury Wisconsin cannot afford the rest of the season is to senior center Jake Renfro. The Badgers have virtually no depth at center. When Renfro was out in fall camp with a lower body injury, UW’s backup centers had all sorts of issues snapping the ball. Two hours before kickoff, it was revealed that Renfro would miss Saturday’s game.
As Badger Blitz reported earlier in the week, Wisconsin was already expirimenting with a new offensive line combination. Senior Riley Mahlman moved fromt left tackle to right tackle, replacing Davis Heinzen. Redshirt freshman Emerson Mandell moved out to right tackle from right guard. With Renfro out, senior Kerry Kodano took the reins at center and redshirt freshman Collin Cubberly made his first career start at right guard. Redshirt freshman Ryan Cory would eventually get in at center. He and Kodanko both had snapping issues. Cory’s resulted in a turnover, while Kodanko’s led to a huge loss.
“That was something that came up on a Monday practice,” UW head coach Luke Fickell said in regards to Renfro’s injury. “That was a little bit of a surprise to us. I don’t think anybody knew that until game time. We were hoping by late in the week, he’d be okay. We’d hope in the week that he didn’t practice, he’d be okay next week. Don’t really have an update on that.
Danny O’Neil Exceeded Expectations
Sophomore quarterback Danny O’Neil came into Saturday with 11 career starts under his belt, but Saturday was his first with Wisconsin. The San Diego State transfer stepped in for the injured Billy Edwards (knee) in the week one win over Miami (OH).
No one could have predicted the day O’Neil had under center. Starting 9-of-9 for 98 yards, O’Neil finished 23-of-27 passing for 283 yards. That was the most passing yards by a Badger quarterback in their starting debut since 1951. O’Neil’s three scores through the air were the most in a UW starting debut since Graham Mertz had five in his debut in 2020. O’Neil’s 85 percent completion percentage was the best mark by a UW quarterback since Mertz posted a 87.5 percent clip (14-of-16) against Illinois State in 2022.
“I think we all knew that we were going to be aggressive,” O’Neil said. We’ve talked about it all offseason, all season leading up to this point, that we’re going to be aggressive with the play calling, we’re going to be aggressively going for it.”
Wisconsin Won On Fourth Down
I haven’t been too kind to Fickell over the past two-plus seasons with his fourth down decisions and handling of timeouts late in halves. On Saturday, he made a darn good one.
With Wisconsin trailing 3-0 midway through the second quarter and facing a 4th and goal from the 3-yard line, Fickell rolled the dice. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes was able to scheme open senior wide receiver Tyrell Henry, who strolled in for an easy score. It was a gutsy call as the Badgers had ran 10 plays on the drive and risked having nothing to show for it. O’Neil had also just missed badly on his previous throw. On MTSU’s ensuing drive, they threw an interception into the arms of freshman cornerback Omillio Agard as well.
Wisconsin found themselves in trouble again. Leading 14-10, the Blue Raiders martched down the field and threatened to take the field. However, after 12 plays, MTSU got nothing. On a 4th and 1, junior linebacker Christian Alliegro stopped the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs. That would spark three unanswered touchdowns to put the game away.
“We pride ourselves on making plays when it matters,” said Agard.
Wisconsin Dominated Most of the Second Half
If you’re looking for a silver lining, Wisconsin did what most expected them to do in the final 23 minutes. Following that fourth down stop, the Badgers out-gained MIddle Tennessee 277-40. The UW offense scored on four consecutive drives, including a 99-yard series, the longest for the program since 2003. The Blue Raiders also went 3-and-out on two of their final five drives. MTSU never ran more than five plays on any single series during that span. Four of UW’s five sacks also came during that stretch.
That’s how it should look on both sides of the football.
“There’s a tale of two havles,” said Fickell. “We did not play very well in the first half. We did not execute even close to the way, I thought, that we prepared.”
Wisconsin’s Lack of Run Game is Concerning
Some will look at the final rushing stats and see Wisconsin ran for 153 yards. Not ideal, but not terrible. Then they’ll peruse the box score and see that between Dilin Jones, Darrion Dupree, and Cade Yacamelli, the Badgers managed a combined 76 yards on 20 carries. The one thing UW was supposed to be able to hang its hat on this season, the run game, hasn’t produced through two games.
Part of why I like Grimes is he’s creative…probably to a fault. He did supplement the run game by getting the receivers involved. Sophomore wide receiver Trech Kekahuna had a 61-yard rushing score, the longest for the program since 2023. Senior Vinny Anthony also scored on a 14-yard run with ease. But this East-West stuff isn’t going to work a week from now and beyond.
Eventually, the Wisconsin offensive line is going to have to get a push. At the half, the Badgers were out-gained on the ground 20-17, despite five more rushing attempts.
“At the end of the day, we’ve gotta get the job done,” said Mahlman. “That’s unacceptable, not good, has to be way better, and will be way better.”
If Wisconsin has another first half effort like they’ve had against Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee, they could be in a hole they’ll never recover from. With Alabama now seven days out, are the Badgers ready for what’s coming?
“Right at this moment? No,” Fickell said bluntly. “We can’t play the way we did in the first half.”
