This is getting old—losing to Ohio State with Braxton Miller as quarterback, that is.
The dude is 3-0 against the Badgers and he's managed to lead his team to victory in just about any and every way imaginable at this point in time.
However, this version of defeat to the Buckeyes felt very new and that's because it was all about the quarterbacks and Wisconsin won that battle…
Yet it wasn't enough to pull out a victory as the Badgers lost 31-24 in Columbus.
It was a career night for Joel Stave as he completed 20-of-34 passes for 295 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His favorite target, Jared Abbrederis, also had a career night—collecting 10 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown.
Yet, at the end of the day, the guy with just 198 yards (Miller if you hadn't figured that out already) was the winner as he connected for four touchdown passes on the day.
No doubt, the third consecutive loss (and the third by a touchdown or less, btw) was harsh for the Badgers, but Stave's performance in this one should give Badger fans hope moving forward.
UW trailed by 16 points entering the fourth quarter and managed to get the game within a TD, but the Badgers just didn't have enough in the tank to get it done at the very end of the game.
Wisconsin couldn't find any footing in the run game, ending the day with just 104 yards on 27 attempts in the loss.
Even in defeat though, Stave proved his critics wrong against the best team he has seen and that's a good thing. It means he has put up a game that shows teams with far less in the defensive backfield that Jared Abbrederis (who had a career high 10 catches and 207 yards of his own) and he are on the same page.
That should scare opposing defenses, especially since the majority were against double coverage's that he beat.
If there is a silver lining in a bitter loss to the Buckeyes it is the fact that Wisconsin found a passing game and proved that Stave is more than a game manager. Without him on Saturday night the Badgers would've been blown out in Columbus.
How many of you or us had that as the likely scenario for a potential Wisconsin victory?
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