graham mertz stats – Syndication Server

Film room: The good, the bad and the questionable from Graham Mertz’s performance against Iowa

The Wisconsin Badgers and redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz have had a rough go of it since their 49-11 victory over the…

The Wisconsin Badgers and redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz have had a rough go of it since their 49-11 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

Their poor performances can be attributed to several factors–the team constantly missing games due to COVID-19 protocols, injuries to key positions, inexperience on offense and more.

But one of the biggest factors has been the play of the quarterback, a guy who now has turned the ball over eight times in three games and has struggled to bring his team into the end zone.

Now not all of those turnovers are his fault, as yesterday’s fumble can be fully attributed to wide receiver Chimere Dike running into the football while Mertz was handing it off to Nakia Watson in the backfield.

The fumble:
-Dike (yet again) makes a horrible and easily-avoided mistake (last wk it was forgetting to block down the field)
-They're faking the sweep to him BUT HE RUNS RIGHT INTO WHERE MERTZ IS HANDING OFF THE BALL
-I don't know what else to say. That just can't happen pic.twitter.com/nIHboHcaCu

— Ben Kenney (@benzkenney) December 14, 2020

But a lot of the offensive miscues are on the quarterback and the things that he has to fix as he develops throughout his career.

Last week I broke down the film of his performance against Indiana, citing his tendency to lock on to Jake Ferguson and his decision-making as two things that would need to improve moving forward.

Well, yesterday against Iowa those problems persisted, as Mertz threw for just 169 yards and turned the ball over twice.

In this piece, I go through the Iowa game and show you the good, the bad and the questionable from his performance.

Studs and duds from the Badgers’ 28-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes

The Wisconsin Badgers ended their regular season on a bitter note yesterday, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7 and falling to 2-3 on the…

The Wisconsin Badgers ended their regular season on a bitter note yesterday, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7 and falling to 2-3 on the year.

After what was a remarkable start to the season with two blowout victories, it has become a year to forget for Badgers fans with three straight losses and several COVID-19 related cancellations.

There is a lot to take away from the Iowa game, however, including areas where the team must improve heading into a hopefully-normal 2021 season.

While the final score indicated a poor showing all across the field, there were also some Badgers who did all they could yesterday to lead the team to victory.

Here are studs and duds from Wisconsin’s 28-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes:

Five takeaways from Wisconsin’s 28-7 loss to Iowa

The Wisconsin Badgers finished their regular season on a tough note this afternoon as they fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7…

The Wisconsin Badgers finished their regular season on a tough note this afternoon as they fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes 28-7.

The storyline of the game could’ve been found before kickoff, with starting running back Jalen Berger and starting wide receivers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis missing the contest.

Even with those players out, however, it was a tough showing in many facets for the Badgers–with the Iowa defense holding them to only 56 yards on the ground, the Badgers failing to score a point in the first half and Iowa connecting on several deep touchdowns over the top of the Badger defense.

Here are five takeaways from the Badgers 28-7 loss:

Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Iowa on Saturday

The 2-2 and No. 25-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 19 Iowa Hawkeyes are set for a December battle that will decide who finishes…

The 2-2 and No. 25-ranked Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 19 Iowa Hawkeyes are set for a December battle that will decide who finishes second in the Big Ten West.

Entering the season, this matchup could have been for the division, but thanks to Northwestern’s victories over both schools the Wildcats have punched their ticket to Indianapolis and the winner of this game will now decide who faces Ohio State during Big Ten Champions Week.

Kinnick Stadium is never an easy place to win, and even when the Badgers have found success there it has been a hard-fought, closely-contested football game.

Expect that to be the case on Saturday, with the Hawkeyes riding the momentum of five straight victories and the Badgers looking to continue their four-game winning streak in the schools’ all-time series.

Saturday’s loss to Indiana happened in large part because the Badgers did not accomplish any of the five keys to victory I outlined heading into the contest.

Now, for Paul Chryst’s team to turn around on Saturday and end their two-game losing streak, here are five things they must do:

Studs and duds from Wisconsin’s loss to Indiana

The Wisconsin Badgers fought hard until time ran out, driving inside the red zone with a chance to tie the game with 1:00 left on the…

The Wisconsin Badgers fought hard until time ran out yesterday, driving inside the red zone with a chance to tie the game with 1:00 left on the clock. Like all of their red-zone trips during the game, however, the drive ended up stalling as the Indiana Hoosiers held on and won the game 14-6.

It’s an interesting performance to unpack, with the Badgers besting the Hoosiers in many meaningful statistical categories including total yards, rushing yards, passing yards, 3rd down conversion percentage, time of possession and more.

The difference in the game, in the end, proved to be quarterback Graham Mertz’s two turnovers and the Badgers failing to score a touchdown in any of their three trips to the red zone–that compared to two touchdowns on two red-zone trips by the Hoosiers.

There are still some positives to take away, though a 2-2 record through Week 7 is far from what many expected from this team entering the season (obviously the biggest disappointment being them only having played four games through seven weeks).

Here are the studs and duds from the Badgers’ performance yesterday:

Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Indiana on Saturday

It’s game week yet again for head coach Paul Chryst and the 2-1 Wisconsin Badgers. After yet another idle week the Badgers return to the…

It’s game week yet again for head coach Paul Chryst and the 2-1 Wisconsin Badgers.

After yet another idle weekend, the Badgers will return to the field three days from now and face the 5-1 and No. 10-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.

This hasn’t been the season that many had scripted for the Badgers, as through six weeks the team has missed as many games as they’ve played, two of which because of COVID-19 outbreak within their program and one because of an outbreak at Minnesota.

Despite no longer being eligible for the Big Ten Championship game due to the conference’s six-game requirement, Wisconsin gets to close their regular season with two ranked teams in Indiana and No. 24 Iowa and still has a shot at facing Ohio State during the conference’s “championship week” on December 19.

But that’s all down the road, and the focus right now is on the Michael Penix Jr.-less Indiana Hoosiers that will travel to Camp Randall this weekend.

This isn’t the Indiana team we’ve seen Wisconsin defeat 10 times in a row. However, it also isn’t the team we’ve seen this season with Penix Jr. under center.

Here are five things the Badgers must do on Saturday if they want to bounce back after the Northwestern loss and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive: