(This post originally appeared on Bloguin’s national college sports blog, The Student Section)
By Matt Zemek
Wisconsin was ready to make a BCS bowl last season. The Badgers played their final home game of 2013 on the Saturday after Thanksgiving against Penn State. Wisconsin was expected to handle an average bunch of Nittany Lions, but what was also expected was that Stave would not throw three interceptions and collapse under the weight of high-stakes pressure. The implosion of Wisconsin’s passing game led to a crushing defeat in Madison. The Badgers were relegated to the Citrus Bowl (Capital One had been the official name, but you know how much that matters to lovers of college football), and their passing game really never recovered after that point in time…
… until, it could be argued, this past Saturday against Iowa.
With the Hawkeyes roaring back from a 16-point deficit to create a tense 19-17 score, the Badgers — up by only two points in the fourth quarter — had to come up with a special drive to keep their season on track. Gordon entered the picture… but not as a runner. The Heisman candidate became a pass-catching star, taking the ball in open space and making Iowa defenders miss on multiple occasions. This new use of Gordon in passing situations represented a difference-making moment last Saturday in Iowa City. Gordon enhanced his Heisman credentials. Instructively, he gave Stave a lifeline and stabilized Wisconsin’s offense.
If Gordon can draw attention as a receiver in this game and pull Minnesota’s linebackers to one side of the field, Wisconsin could potentially hit big plays in the passing game without Gordon even touching the ball. Naturally, the Badgers will need to give Gordon the rock many times on handoffs, trusting their meal ticket to carry them to Indianapolis, but there might come a few occasions on Saturday when Gordon’s threat as a receiver will matter for Gary Andersen’s athletes. Gordon’s presence in open space could enable Wisconsin’s passing game — which was such an unmitigated disaster in the first half of this season — to be competent against the Gophers. Basic competence — which was not in evidence a year ago on Thanksgiving Saturday in Camp Randall Stadium against Penn State — is all Wisconsin needs in its aerial attack to field an appreciably complete offense.
If the Badgers can write a different script compared to one year ago against Penn State, they would gain a chance to jolt the college football season — and the big, bad Buckeyes of Ohio State — one week later.
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