Badgers must quickly regroup from BYU loss
Wisconsin’s season went from national championship aspirations to recovery mode earlier than expected.
The Badgers entered the season with experience, perhaps the best offensive line in the country, a Heisman Trophy candidate in sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor and plenty of talent in the front seven on defense.
That along with an easy opening three-game home schedule would pave the way for a run at the Big Ten West Division title, the conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
But BYU derailed some of that thunder with a stunning win at Camp Randall Stadium, dropping the Badgers from No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 ranking to No. 18. All is not lost for the Badgers, however, if they win out and claim a conference championship. Crazier things have happened in college football, but the BYU loss does sting.
The Badgers (2-1) need to quickly regroup because they travel to Iowa for the start of the conference season.
“You don’t ever want to rely on losing as a source to go win,” Wisconsin offensive lineman Michael Deiter said. “That’s never going to end well. But if you do have hiccups … it should be a feeling that you never want to feel again.”
The Badgers’ offense was manhandled by BYU’s aggressive defense. The Cougars gained momentum with each passing minute and clearly were not intimidated by the highly-ranked Badgers, even after suffering a 40-6 defeat the previous season at home to Wisconsin.
“There’s a lot of season left, a lot of football to be played,” Wisconsin safety D’Cota Dixon said. “I’m worried about getting our guys back and bouncing back.”
A key area to watch for Wisconsin is the running game. Surely, the Badgers will look for the offensive line and Taylor to spark the team. Taylor leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally at 171.7 yards per game. He rushed for 117 yards in the loss to BYU, but Iowa’s defense is second in the conference and third nationally against the run. The Hawkeyes rely on an athletic defense, which has held opponents to 42 yards rushing per game.
“We’re going to approach this week of practice with a new mindset,” Taylor said. “We know that we’re going to have to work harder for everything we want … We’re going to learn from this loss and take those lessons and bring them to practice. We’re going to focus on things we need to correct to ensure we’re ready to play Iowa.”