By now we’ve all heard the old adage, “if you have two quarterbacks, you really have none.”
As the final month of the 2016 college football season approaches, the Wisconsin Badgers appear to be putting that adage to the test. Over the past two weeks we’ve seen head coach Paul Chryst design an offense with the purpose of getting both Alex Hornibrook and Bart Houston in at quarterback.
But, can this two-game experiment become a model for long-term success?
After all, Wisconsin’s overtime win against Nebraska this past weekend made winning the Big Ten West division a real possibility.
The two QB system worked in a way on Saturday, as Bart Houston came in for his second series of the game and never came out while the Badgers found a way to win it in overtime.
The narrative is that the Badgers fifth-year senior led Wisconsin to victory. Reality tells us a different story though, as Houston was more of a by-stander than the one that marched this team to victory with some magical heroics.
Instead, it was big play after big play from the running back position that got the job done late.
Senior running back Dare Ogunbowale racked up 120 yards on 11 carries, which was more than the combined yardage from the quarterbacks on Saturday night.
Yet, some are holding on to the fact that Houston was the difference maker.
You can’t be a hero while throwing just seven passes in the game and throwing a near game-killing interception late in the contest. He was the one that threw it right to safety Nate Gerry, just as the Badgers held a narrow 17-14 lead and were driving for a likely score to put them up by at least a touchdown.
Instead, Nebraska went 52 yards on 11 plays before kicking the game-tying field goal to put the game at 17-17.
Let’s also remember, Houston was just 4 of 7 for 43 yards and no touchdowns to go with that brutal interception.
All of it added up to a quarterback who was more a part of the action than responsible for a victory. Yet, he was the one in come overtime despite that massive mistake.
“He (Houston) had just been going and I thought that, depending upon what we might need, it gave us our best chance,” said Chryst after the game. “But really both could have gone and it was just stay with him, as much as picking one over the other.”
That’s not to suggest that Alex Hornibrook was that clear answer either. He struggled at times, including his own brutal interception. Chryst seemed to have enough of that play, inserting Houston in to the offense the very next drive and never allowing his freshman quarterback to come back in.
Hornibrook finished the day 10 of 16 for just 71 yards and a touchdown to an interception.
As brutal as the interception was, Hornibrook also was responsible for an amazing throw that connected with roommate Troy Fumagalli for the lone passing touchdown of the game between the two teams.
Clearly this team needs a spark in the passing game, but haven’t found a consistent version of it. That’s led to this two-quarterback experiment, but one has to wonder if the Badgers can win a Big Ten West division title if this is the best that duo can do.
Perhaps it is best to find a quarterback you like, stick with that quarterback and hope the run game is enough to get you through.
That was the formula that won on Saturday, and if the change in quarterback is only going to provide minimal results, what is the point?
Is Hornibrook going to throw a bad interception here and there? You bet. He’s a freshman learning the position on the field.
Is Houston going to throw up a duck or two? You bet, he simply can’t get the ball down the field with the zip or accuracy that Hornibrook does.
This choice may come down to passing game style. Does Chryst believe it best to have a real deep threat passing game or one that will dink and dunk down the field?
If it is the former, why not ride him as the clearly more prolific arm with the chance to actually get big plays in the passing game? After all, the gameplan is pretty clear — hope the running game gets going and that the offensive line can find a way to actually protect a quarterback long enough for a few plays to be made.
If it is the latter, go with Houston and mold your gameplan around how to be successful with him in the game.
Either way, it would behoove the coaching staff to make a decision and stick with it. There isn’t a single team in the country that is successful with a long term gameplan of playing multiple quarterbacks.
Wisconsin has a very real shot at the Big Ten West division title and to make some noise nationally too. It would be a shame to see indecision at the quarterback position stop that from happening.
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