It is true that the Wisconsin Badgers continue to be dogged by injuries. It is true that injuries matter, and that one shouldn’t expect the same high level of performance from backup players. Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, against Iowa, against Ohio State, this idea remains relevant and necessary.
One can question the performance of specific backups if they have gained a lot of snaps in the past, and have been demoted due to poor play. One can raise questions about the trajectory or development of specific players. Yet, for the most part, backups are backups for a reason, and starters are starters for a reason.
One thing starter-level players do better than backups is play sound assignment football. They aren’t out of position as often. They don’t get confused as often. They know where they are supposed to be. This point leads into an analysis of Wisconsin’s defense on Saturday against Nebraska.
One can note the injuries to UW’s defense and yet point out that a lot of the failures on this side of the ball are not flowing from defenders being out of position. Inexperience — due to Eric Burrell and Reggie Pearson getting hurt on Saturday — certainly played a part in shaping this defensive performance. Those injuries are relevant in assessing the Badgers. However, they can’t be allowed to tell the whole story of this game against the Huskers.
Many times on Saturday, Wisconsin defenders weren’t out of position. They weren’t caught off guard. They weren’t failing to diagnose a given play or action. They simply didn’t make the tackle.
How many times on Saturday in Lincoln was a Wisconsin defender one-on-one with a Nebraska ballcarrier in open space, and unable to make a sure tackle? How many times did the Badgers have a chance to get off the field in third down, only to fail to make a play Jim Leonhard and Paul Chryst would expect them to deliver? How many times were linebackers or safeties wondering how a Nebraska rusher slipped away?
One can chalk up some of these missed tackles to inexperience, but a lot of them were much less about football IQ and more about not trusting one’s athleticism and instincts. Wisconsin can’t remain on its heels to this extent when it plays defense. What’s worse is that the Badgers’ poor fourth quarter against Iowa ought to have led to a lucid, energized display in the first 30 minutes against Nebraska. Yet, that first half was as poor a half as Wisconsin’s defense had played all season.
Has the depth chart on this team gotten a workout this season? Yes. Has there been a lot of injury-based attrition this season? Yes. However, Wisconsin defenders were in position to make plays against Nebraska, and they simply failed. Wisconsin got away with it this time. It won’t get away with it against a good opponent. The task is clear for the remainder of this season, especially against Minnesota in a few weeks.