Defense: C
Wisconsin’s defense was able to hold Oregon’s offense to 204 yards of total offense on 51 offensive plays, which is well below what Oregon was averaging (433.1 yards of total offense) entering the game.
One important area where Wisconsin’s defense needed to have success was finding a way of keeping Herbert and the Ducks passing game in check. Herbert threw for a season low 138 yards on 14-for-20 passing and didn’t throw a touchdown pass for the second time this season.
The one area where Herbert did hurt the Badgers defense was with his legs as he finished the game with 29 yards on nine carries and had three rushing touchdowns.
While Wisconsin defense struggled to keep contain of Herbert on key plays the Badgers rush defense was able to keep both CJ Verdell and Travis Dye in check. Verdell carried the football 17 times for 49 yards while Dye only carried the football once for three yards.
Wisconsin’s defensive line was able to create the necessary lanes to allow for Wisconsin’s linebackers to be able to slow down Oregon’s rushing attack.
Wisconsin’s top four tacklers were the Badgers starting linebackers as Jack Sanborn finished the game with eight tackles, Noah Burks had seven, Chris Orr had six, and Zack Baun finished the game with five tackles.
With Wisconsin having success stopping the run and keeping contain of Oregon’s passing game it allowed for Wisconsin to make sure the Ducks couldn’t consistently sustain drives. Oregon finished the game 3-for-10 (30 percent) on third downs and only possessed the football for 21:57 of the game.