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    • 4 Lessons From Wisconsin Football’s 42-10 Loss to No. 4 Alabama
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    4 Lessons From Wisconsin Football’s 42-10 Loss to No. 4 Alabama

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    MADISON – Wisconsin’s campus and Camp Randall Stadium were buzzing with excitement Saturday ahead of the Badgers’ game against No. 4 Alabama.

    Then the game began.

    Not only did UW lose 42-10, it lost starting forward Tyler Van Dyke on its first possession and lost control of the game in the latter half of the second quarter when a fumble by Chez Mellusi and some big passes by the Crimson Tide led to two touchdowns and an 18-point halftime lead.

    Alabama junior quarterback Jalen Milroe impacted the game with his arm and legs, completing 12 of 17 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Two of those scores came in the first half. He also rushed 14 times for a team-high 75 yards.

    Wisconsin redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke replaced Van Dyke and finished with 125 passing yards, completing 13 passes on 26 attempts. The running game was led by Mellusi and redshirt sophomore Cade Yacamelli, but both players lost fumbles that led to Alabama touchdowns.

    The loss came in the Badgers’ final preparation for the start of Big Ten competition. The team is off next weekend and plays its conference opener on Sept. 28 at USC.

    More: Braelon Allen makes an astonishing tweet about Ryan Williams’ age during the Wisconsin-Alabama game

    Here are four key points from the match.

    Stopping Alabama’s big offense is easier said than done

    One of the biggest tests for the Badgers defense was to contain Alabama’s big plays. They didn’t, and the plays had a major impact on the outcome of the game.

    Alabama had five passes of 20 yards or longer. Three of the plays resulted in passing touchdowns, and four total touchdowns.

    Freshman Ryan Williams was Alabama’s leading receiver for the third straight game, with four catches for 78 yards and one touchdown.

    Braedyn Locke can’t save UW offense

    During preseason, Badgers coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo viewed their top two quarterbacks as 1a and 1b rather than a true first- and second-team situation.

    Locke was put in a tough spot when Van Dyke left the ball on the first possession and the offense failed to spark much. Locke completed 7 of 16 passes for 55 yards in the first half, and the Badgers racked up 138 yards in 31 plays on the six drives he led the offense.

    UW’s lone goal of the first half, a 53-yard field goal by Nathanial Vakos, came on the game’s opening drive, much of which took place while Van Dyke was still in the game.

    The Badgers had no explosive passing plays in the first half and their only 21-plus run resulted in a turnover.

    They closed the game with an explosive play, a 21-yard catch by junior receiver Will Pauling, but that came when the game was already well out of reach.

    Turnover leaves you in a bad position

    The prevailing view was that Wisconsin would play more conservatively on offense after Van Dyke left the field during the first drive.

    That philosophy was especially true midway through the second quarter, when a 53-yard punt from Alabama’s James Burnip turned the field and forced UW to take over at the 5-yard line.

    On second-and-7, Mellusi ran for the Badgers’ longest gain of the half, a 21-yard burst to the left side that he tried to finish with physicality. Alabama safety Malachi Moore won that battle, though, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Zabien Brown at the Badgers 28.

    It was simply a mistake the Badgers couldn’t afford and Alabama made UW pay with a 3-yard touchdown run to take a 14-3 lead with 9:43 left in the first half.

    Crimson Tide masterfully controls the end of the half and the beginning of the third quarter

    What was UW’s worst drive of the afternoon? How about the two-play, 73-yard touchdown drive Alabama put together in the final 36 seconds of the half.

    Jalen Milroe outplayed the Badgers defense on both plays. He opened the drive with a 47-yard gain down the UW sideline and followed it up with a 26-yard touchdown pass down the field to Germie Bernard with 19 seconds left.

    That score allowed Alabama to hold off the Badgers early in the second half with a 34-yard run from Jam Miller at the 12:40 mark of the third quarter.

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