The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Indiana at Wisconsin

James White and the Badgers steamrolled Indiana 51-3 in Madison

The Hoosiers were run over by the Badgers in Wisconsin 51-3 on Saturday in a cold and rainy Camp Randall Stadium.  Before we dissect the game tomorrow, we want to put together a “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” piece from this game.

The Good- While there isn’t much to point to in the 51-3 loss for the Hoosiers, there has to be some good feelings about how Indiana played on third down and the play from freshman linebacker Clyde Newton.  The Hoosiers held the Badgers to just 3 for 10 on third down conversion.  When they forced the Badgers into these situations, albeit not often enough, the Hoosiers did a nice job of stuffing the offense.  True freshman Clyde Newton, who started for the second time in his career, lead the team in tackles with 14 and looks to be, along with fellow freshman T.J. Simmons, a legitimate Big Ten linebacker.

The Bad- The Indiana run defense got thrashed by the Badgers, giving up 554 yards and six touchdowns.  The Badgers got started early when James White broke two tackles and went 93 yards for a score after the Hoosier offense turned the ball over.  Wisconsin had three backs go over the 100-yard mark and wide receiver Jared Abbrederis added 86 yards and two scores on just three carries.  Everyone knew it would be a tall task for the Hoosier defense, but this was just embarrassing.

The Ugly- As horrid as the defense was, the offense was every bit as ugly.  The Hoosiers came into the game averaging 41.3 points per contest, but only mustered three points in this one.  Nate Sudfeld looked shaken by the weather, as he went 9 of 22 passing for just 99 yards as well as an interception and a few bobbled snaps.  Sudfeld missed several open receivers during the game.  Tre Roberson didn’t fare any better, as he was just three of eight for 23 yards.  At the very least the Hoosiers were expected to put up some points in this one.  Yes, Tevin Coleman was out but the performance on offense was inexcusable.  There were too many mistakes and penalties that should not be happening 12 weeks into the season.

Indiana has to regroup and learn from this debacle if they are to have any shot at beating the Buckeyes, who trounced Illinois 60-35 today, or even beating Purdue in the Bucket Game at the end of the season.  Another bright spot is that the Hoosiers do not meet the Badgers again in the regular season again until 2017.