After seeing the Badgers rack up 89 points and give up seven over the last two weeks, one could easily think all is right in the world of Wisconsin Badgers football. With the Badgers winning 37-0 over Rutgers that assumption could be even easier.
However, reality is that is far from the case, especially at the quarterback position — and a second viewing of the contest on Saturday showcased that UW is far from finding the answers it needs at quarterback.
All Saturday did was serve to underscore the theme of the year at quarterback — inconsistency.
Last week the Badgers seemed to have found a way for Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy to be a winning combination, but one week later it was right back to the quarterback position holding back the offense. Whether it was McEvoy missing wide open deep throws or throwing a bad interception or Stave’s inability to be accurate on short passes — this week showed that Wisconsin doesn’t have an answer at quarterback.
Wisconsin quarterbacks were 8-of-20 for 87 yards and an interception. If it weren’t for two high-quality running backs, those numbers would’ve made this game very ugly for both offenses.
Something has to give at some point in time, the question is will it happen during the 2014 season. So far what we’ve seen from both quarterbacks is complete inconsistency. If we’re being honest, the quarterback position has really only worked one week, and that was against Maryland.
Yet, there isn’t much that can be done about it this season. The one thing we do know is that Wisconsin is likely stuck with its two-quarterback system for the rest of the 2014 season.
May we suggest that come the final whistle that it be the last time we see Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy behind center in a game for UW?
The truth is these two quarterbacks aren’t what Wisconsin is looking for out of the position going forward, and outside of Tanner McEvoy becoming a star, 2014 was likely a stop-gap year at the position anyway.
It’s hard not to look forward to the possibilities that exist at the position, especially when you hear reports of D.J. Gillins handling the offense pretty well in fall camp and when you hear of incoming freshman Austin Kafentzis breaking records and blazing trails in his senior year of high school.
Kafentzis has put up 12,895 yards and 114 touchdowns through the air, while also amassing 6,858 yards and 102 touchdowns on the ground through his career at Jordan high school in Sandy, Utah according to MaxPreps.com. Those numbers are ridiculous and hard to ignore, especially since he set a career high for passing yards and touchdowns so far this season.
That’s a far cry from the production UW has gotten out of its quarterbacks this season, and for many those two deserve every chance to win the job in 2015.
It’s now up to the coaching staff to either rip the Band-Aid off and give the youngsters a chance or continue to roll with experienced but underwhelming options at quarterback.
UW’s chances to be a contender next season are going to rest on the decision made at quarterback. What we’ve seen so far this year suggests it’s time to rip up the script and start over…even if there are going to be growing pains.
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