Badgers Dismantled by the Tide

In one of the most highly anticipated Badger football games in some time, the Badgers got absolutely dismantled by the Alabama Crimson Tide on national television by a final score of 42-10. This game was a lot to take in so let's talk about it. 

It was brutal showing by the Badgers on Saturday after their blowout loss to the Crimson Tide to say the least. They couldn't get anything going on offense and their defense was no match for the high powered offense of the Tide. 

Things all started to fall downhill on the first drive of the game when quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went down. Van Dyke got hurt on a tackle on the Badger sideline and never came back. It was later confirmed that the transfer quarterback suffered a torn ACL and will now miss the entire season. 

Things were left up to sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke for the remainder of the game. We saw Locke a good amount last season when quarterback Tanner Mordecai suffered a long-term hand injury. He was not very good last season and played like his 2023 self against the Tide as well. 

But I don't blame it all on him, I blame it on the coaching. The coaching was way too conservative in this game and with this type of play calling against the fourth ranked team in the country, the Badgers stood no chance. The Badgers ran the ball way too often right into the teeth of the Alabama defense for minimal gains. 

There were other costly mistakes that took this game away from the Badgers very quickly. Fumbles by both Cade Yacamelli and Chez Mellusi gave the Tide some momentum when the Badgers were within striking distance early in the game. 

Another costly blunder was the missed field goal by Nathaniel Vakos which was the difference from going into halftime with the Badgers being down by three possession compared to just one. All in all, the Badgers were far from perfect this previous Saturday. 

They were simply outmatched. After struggling to really pull away in their first two matchups against Western Michigan and South Dakota, the Tide gave the Badgers a very humbling feeling in their blowout victory. 

As Luke Fickell said to the team after the game, "if you haven't had your ass whooped before, you just did." The Badgers will now have a long time to reflect on their embarrassing loss as they head into their bye week before heading to Southern California.