It was dubbed as a battle of two of the best defenses in the nation, and that’s exactly what took place between the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday afternoon.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, it was the Wolverines defense that came up with the bigger plays when needed — resulting in a 14-7 victory for the hosts.
Michigan allowed UW just 159 yards of total offense, and forced three interceptions from redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook. The last of those coming with the Badgers trailing 14-7 and needing 10 yards from its own 8-yard line with the game on the line.
Hornibrook got off a pass to a relatively open George Rushing, only to see it thrown under Rushing. The pass was picked off by cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who made an incredible one-handed grab to cement a win for the Wolverines.
Wisconsin’s defense gave it all in the losing effort, but couldn’t get much help from an offense that didn’t have a single drive go longer than nine plays, which came on its opening drive of the game.
Even that drive wasn’t successful, as the Badgers were forced to punt. From there, no drive was longer than six plays, including a five-play drive that resulted in UW’s lone touchdown.
Despite all of that, the Badgers defense gave the team plenty of opportunities to make this a winnable game. That was especially true in the first half.
This is how the first half went for the Badgers:
#Badgers had 3 dropped picks, 2 dropped passes, 2 missed sacks, a fumble & interception by QB & benched punter, yet only trail 7-0. Amazing.
— Tom Oates (@TomOatesWSJ) October 1, 2016
Yet it was still just a one-score game as both teams head to the locker rooms.
It appeared that Wisconsin was going to waste another opportunity to start the second half, extending Michigan’s opening drive with a roughing the snapper penalty. However, Wilton Speight would throw an ill-advised pass over the middle and after being tipped it was Derrick Tindal on point for the interception.
Following a return to the Michigan 31-yard line, the Badgers were in prime position to get themselves back in the game.
Wisconsin wouldn’t waste that opportunity, turning the interception in to a touchdown just five plays later. A 17-yard throw from Hornibrook to Dare Ogunbowale would make it a 7-7 scoreline with 8:03 to play in the third quarter.
The defensive game of chicken continued for much of the rest of the game. Unfortunately it was the Badgers defense that blinked first and bit on a play fake by Wilton Speight to allow Amara Darboh the space to get free for a 46-yard touchdown reception with 7:56 to play.
It meant Wisconsin’s offense had to come alive, and it simply couldn’t find a way to make its own big play.
Hornibrook, starting just his second collegiate game, finished the day just 9 of 25 passing for 88 yards. A lot of the credit for that had to go to Michigan’s blitz-happy pressure and a few drops from UW’s receivers.
The lack of hands on Wisconsin’s receivers was never more evident than on the final drive of the day. Both wide receiver Rob Wheelwright and tight end Troy Fumagalli dropped sure-fire first down passes from Hornibrook with 92 yards to go and under three minutes left to play.
Wisconsin’s run game was also non-existent, with Corey Clement carrying the ball 17 times for just 68 yards on the day. UW ran for a total of just 71 yards thanks to two big losses from the team and Hornibrook, who was sacked twice on the day.
The Badgers will get a chance to regroup and get healthier, as they get a bye this next week before Ohio State comes to Camp Randall in two weeks time.
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