Wisconsin didn’t have much going for it on Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Ill., so much so that Gary Andersen made the switch at quarterback. Joel Stave played for the majority of the game, and the results weren’t much better than what McEvoy was doing before being pulled.
It would be easy to blame Stave and McEvoy for the four picks, the lack of consistent play at quarterback and the loss in general. However, what was showcased on Saturday wasn’t all on the shoulders of the quarterbacks.
What was on display was an offensive line that has an identity crisis. They certainly can open up holes in the run game, with Melvin Gordon leading the nation with 174.2 yards a game and the nation’s second best 871 yards on the year.
However, for all that Wisconsin’s offensive line does well in the run game, it can’t seem to be consistent in pass protection.
Wisconsin’s offensive line gave up just one sack, but also gave up four quarterback hurries on Saturday and numerous other issues that won’t show up on a stat sheet emerged.
This season, Wisconsin has given up just four sacks and nine quarterback hurries, but a large part has been the combination of McEvoy’s ability to scramble and a simple lack of a huge number of passing attempts to date.
In the two games where Wisconsin needed to have a large presence from the pass game, the offensive line gave up big numbers. In the LSU game it gave up a sack and four quarterback hurries, the exact same numbers as Saturday.
After watching the Northwestern game back, it is clear that Stave made a bone-headed play on the interception for what could’ve been a game-changing touchdown drive with just under six minutes to play. It’s also clear that the other three were not a direct fault of the quarterbacks in play.
McEvoy’s interception came down to a quarterback being pressured and having to throw before he really wanted to. Despite that, McEvoy’s pass was actually not bad and Northwestern safety Godwin Igwebuike made a great play to take away what should’ve been a touchdown catch.
The other two of Stave’s three interceptions on the day were all down to pressure as well. His first interception was off a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage, and that goes on the offensive line any game, anywhere.
Stave’s third interception was also hurried and tipped at the line of scrimmage, and also came after UW’s offensive line had to use a chop block to undercut a blitzing linebacker up the middle.
It doesn’t matter who you have a quarterback if they don’t have the pocket or the time to throw a good pass. That’s clearly what UW was dealing with on Saturday and have been dealing with for most of the season.
Wisconsin’s offensive line needs to find a way to be better in protecting the quarterback or it won’t likely matter who’s behind center for the rest of the season. That said, it might make more sense to have a running option available given the sporadic pass protection given the quarterbacks.
If that’s the case, then McEvoy deserves to be the starting quarterback, because he has the better ability to make things happen with his feet.
Ultimately, how Wisconsin’s offense progresses in the Big Ten portion of the season will likely all come down to how the offensive line pass protects.
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