If you aren’t in to accepting reality, this piece isn’t for you. That’s because the reality of the 2015 Wisconsin Badgers season is that it all comes down to quarterback Joel Stave — and so far, so good.
As much as a vocal minority in the Badgers Twitterverse won’t like to admit it, the Badgers senior quarterback is playing some of the best football of any quarterback not named Russell Wilson in a Badgers uniform.
It’s a damn good thing too.
Having one of the worst rushing attacks in the country is not something most Badgers fans alive are used to. After Saturday’s 96-yard performance against the last-ranked defense in the Big Ten, there’s no way around the fact that something isn’t right in the run game.
Had we told you Stave would be called upon to win games for the Badgers entering the season, most would’ve assumed this team was in major trouble. Instead, the senior quarterback has stepped up to the plate and delivered time and again.
Stave is moving up the career passing charts in multiple categories, and with his 2015 performance he is likely to go down as one of the statistically great quarterbacks UW has ever produced. He just went in to second place on the all-time completions list and is third in win percentage, passing yards and touchdowns.
He’ll likely finish his career inside the top three in starts and wins by the end of the season as well.
Stave is completing a career high 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,708 yards and has eight touchdowns to five interceptions on the season.
He’s also led an offense that has been nothing but productive when in the red zone this season. UW has 20 touchdowns in 31 trips to the red zone, tied for the most of any team in the Big Ten. In fact, when you tie in the 13 touchdowns Wisconsin has put up on the ground, you start to see a picture where perhaps Stave’s touchdown numbers are a bit misleading.
Not bad for a walk-on quarterback from Greendale, Wis., huh?
Those numbers indicated not only longevity, but a high level of production. That production hasn’t been bigger than what took place the last two weeks.
Stave has thrown for 322 yards in back-to-back Big Ten contests, completing 30 of 39 passes against a Purdue defense that was middle of the pack in the conference heading in to the game.
Wisconsin and Stave will have opportunities to build on what has been a huge season in the passing game over the next five weeks, as they face just two defenses that are in the top half of the conference in passing defense.
One of them is Illinois, who rank 7th in the Big Ten, giving up 181.2 yards per game with just eight touchdowns to seven interceptions. The other will be a huge test, as the third-ranked Northwestern passing defense will come to Camp Randall late in November for what could be a crucial matchup.
Stave isn’t the only Badger stepping up to the plate this season though. That’s because two wide receivers and a tight end are actually stepping up to the plate to help complement the know quantity that is Alex Erickson.
We’re talking of the trio of tight end Troy Fumagalli and wide receivers Jazz Peavy and Robert Wheelwright. The latter of the trio have really stepped it up in the past two weeks, and it should be no coincidence as to why the Badgers have put up record numbers.
“I think that when their number is called, they have been able to deliver, and that gives them confidence, I think which can give — Joel some confidence,” said head coach Paul Chryst following the Purdue game. “Jazz did a nice job after the catch. He had the shallow cross he took and on the first third down on the dig and that was good.
“I really enjoyed seeing Jazz’s growth, kind of jumped out in spring ball, came back in fall camp and I think he’s certainly a player that Joel trusts. That’s a big part of it. Rob’s had a number of opportunities and he’s come up in them.”
Wheelwright finished the last two weeks with 11 of his 25 receptions on the season and 142 of his 322 yards as well. Peavy on the other hand, he’s picked up six of his 12 receptions on the season and 92 of his 139 yards as well.
It’s finding those second and third options that has made all the difference. It’s also finding those options that makes this more than just a fluke performance or two.
Wisconsin has passed for less than 200 yards just once this season, going for 186 yards against Hawaii. It was also the one game where the run game got going, with UW rushing for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
All of it adds up to Stave and the passing game needing and proving to be the driving force of this offense.
However, we also need to put this season in perspective. Where does it fit historically, and what does it mean for the rest of the 2015 season?
Wisconsin’s passing attack this season ranks 47th nationally in passing yards per game (251.0), is 33rd in passing yards (1,757) and 47th in completion percentage (62.0). Those are heights not seen under Gary Andersen, and even during earlier days under Paul Chryst.
The high-water mark in terms of passing seems to be the one season of Russell Wilson back in 2011. Even that season is topped by what is going on currently, as UW averaged just 234.3 yards per game (61st nationally), completed a ridiculous 71 percent of its passes (5th nationally) and finished the season with 3,280 yards (41st).
Going through Chryst’s time at UW, no passing attack he had managed to rank inside the top 50 of every one of those categories for an entire season.
With no Corey Clement for the majority of the season so far, a new offensive line nearly every week and a wide receiver group that was shaky to say the least to begin the season, Stave’s experience and leadership have been exactly what the Badgers needed.
Ask yourself this question — where would the Wisconsin Badgers be without Joel Stave?
How many of you thought that would be answered by — “Wisconsin would be screwed without him?”
While some will never get past the few mistakes made, the reality is Stave is Wisconsin’s key to success in 2015 and without him what is a 5-2 season could be very different.
So, thank your lucky stars for Joel Stave, whether you like it or not.
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