Where Does Wisconsin Turn to For Hope on Offense?

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell was asked on Monday how he sells hope to a team when their offense can’t score points. For Fickell, it all starts on the practice field, and hoping his team applies it to Saturday. Take it for what it’s worth, but senior center Jake Renfro continues to believe the Badgers are a lot closer to producing on that side of the football than the numbers suggest.

“Diving into the film, watching one guy here, one guy there, in the run game, in the pass game, the little glimpses of hope,” said Renfro. “We just have to keep pushing, playing as hard as we physically can, knowing it’s going to come.”

Renfro pointed to a play in the third quarter during last Saturday’s 34-0 loss to No. 1 Ohio State. Wisconsin, who ran for just 95 yards on the day, ran a wide zone. According to Renfro, everything was there for a big play, but the Badgers just weren’t able to hang onto their blocks long enough.

“Our bread and butter wide zone,” said Renfro. “Kind of parted like the Red Sea. Exactly how the play was designed.”

Entering Saturday’s game at No. 6 Oregon (6-1, 3-1), Wisconsin (2-5, 0-4) ranks outside the top 105 nationally in all four major offensive statistical categories, including a dreadful No. 129 in scoring offense (15.5 ppg) and No. 127 in total offense (292.5 ypg. In Big Ten Conference play, UW is averaging just 5.0 points and 225.3 yards per game. For context, a big chunk of that damage has come in the fourth quarter against the opposition’s reserves.

“It’s tough to see success when you can’t put up any points,” said Renfro.

The offensive output is especially tough on sophomore wide receiver Trech Kekahuna. After entering the transfer portal after last season, Kekahuna was convinced to stay and swayed by first-year offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to return to Wisconsin. Kekahuna even shipped his belongings back to Hawaii and was en route to the airport until Grimes’s last-minute call. In their last two games, the Badgers have only gotten Kekahuna the ball in the passing game two times, one of which went for a 5-yard loss on UW’s last offensive snap of the game in the OSU loss.

According to Kekahuna, UW is making a point of emphasis this week to force-feed the wide receiver the ball in order to get out of this rut.

“The emphasis was really just getting the playmakers the ball,” said Kekahuna. “If we slowly start to do that, I feel like our numbers will change. Just give us opportunities.”

Since losing starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. to a knee injury, Wisconsin has found no answers at quarterback. Getting the last three starters, senior Hunter Simmons has zero touchdowns to four interceptions and has completed eight or fewer passes in UW’s last two outings.

On top of that, the Badgers’ second-leading rusher, Darrion Dupree has missed the last two games with injury. Redshirt freshman and starting tailback Dilin Jones is banged up. Oh, and the offensive line continues to be hampered by injuries and youth.

So, where exactly does Fickell turn to instill optimism into a group with a laundry list of issues?

“I don’t know,” said Fickell, who is now 15-18 as UW’s head coach. “There’s things each and every week — Look, if we can’t find a way to establish some run game, give our guys some opportunity to not be in 2nd and 8…it’s going to be tough. We have to take some more shots. That’s a simple thing to say. You want those to be somewhat higher percentage shots.

“But I don’t know if there’s any quick fix, to be honest with you. We all know that you know the balance of the quarterback, who’s playing quarterback, and the consistency at that position is the easiest thing to point to. But, I don’t know if there’s a lot of changes that are going to happen in that spot right now. We’re trying to find out what that best lineup is up front to give those guys a chance.

“It’s going to be a grind. Let’s just be honest.”

The glass-half-full outlook? It really can’t get any worse after Wisconsin has been outscored 71-0 in its last two games…could it?

“If you don’t get in those moments, you’ll never know how to fail. I kind of like those moments. It’ll really test your faith,” said Kekahuna. “I kind of like it. It tests me as a player and a person. It’s been very hard for me. Struggling mentally. But, I’ve got coaches who still love me.”

The lackluster offense is also having a negative impact on Wisconsin’s defense. Take last Saturday’s loss, for example. The Badgers were only able to run 46 plays and suffered five 3-and-outs on nine drives. UW didn’t even get inside the Ohio State 45-yard line until the final drive of the game. That left their defense on the field for a whopping 70 plays.

Saturday night, Wisconsin won’t get the slump buster they desperately need. Oregon enters the matchup top 10 nationally in all four major defensive statistical categories. The Ducks have held five of their seven opponents under 300 yards of total offense and held three foes to 10 or fewer points.

On top of that, Oregon may be on a war path after a home loss to Indiana two weeks ago. The Ducks bounced back this past Saturday with a 56-10 beatdown of Rutgers in Piscataway.

“Just gotta take one step at a time, one play at a time,” Kekahuna. “If it doesn’t go your way, the ball finds energy. So if it doesn’t go your way, keep energy.”