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Lessons learned from the loss to Wisconsin

Posted on by Vanessa
Lessons learned from the loss to Wisconsin

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PISCATAWAY — So much for Rutgers football recovering from its first loss of the season.

Instead of getting back on track, the Scarlet Knights regressed on Saturday and put on a lackluster and disappointing performance, ultimately leading to a 42-7 loss to Wisconsin at SHI Stadium.

Rutgers fell to 4-2 with the loss.

Here are some key takeaways:

Rutgers football's offense was ineffective for the second straight season in its loss to Wisconsin

Where is the offense that looked so much more productive in the first four games of the season?

Where is the offense that actually gave Rutgers a chance?

For the second week in a row, it was nowhere to be found. While it was somewhat understandable against Nebraska – the Cornhuskers have as good a defense as Rutgers has had all season – the fact that it looked so bad against Wisconsin was more confusing.

The Scarlet Knights had 271 yards of total offense. They were just 5 of 17 on third down.

Rutgers, which punted on its first five possessions, didn't score until early in the fourth quarter when Kyle Monangai fired the ball home from nine yards out.

But at this point it was too little, too late.

The Badgers' defense finished near the middle of the pack in the Big Ten in several categories.

Against Rutgers, it seemed dominant for most of this game.

Scarlet Knights quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis went 12 of 32 for 103 yards with one interception. He was the victim of multiple, inexcusable drops from his receivers that ruined potentially big plays.

But Kaliakmanis also simply made some bad throws.

And the running game that was so productive earlier this season? That too has largely disappeared.

Rutgers ran for 166 yards against Wisconsin. Monangai had 72 of those yards on 19 carries.

Missed opportunities prove costly (again).

This game still could have ended in a loss, but Rutgers definitely had a chance to gain momentum.

It just didn't work.

The Scarlet Knights had a chance to get on the field in the second quarter when Kaliakmanis hit Christian Dremel for a 36-yard gain that moved into Wisconsin territory.

Rutgers reached the 10 when the drive stalled. It had a fourth-and-1 going, but the Badgers stopped Monangai for a turnover on downs.

The Scarlet Knights later got a takeaway when linebacker Dariel Djabome forced a fumble that Bo Mascoe recovered at the Wisconsin 37. The Scarlet Knights reached the 19, but Kaliakmanis threw three straight incomplete passes to reach fourth.

Jai Patel came out to attempt a field goal, but the snap was bad and the Badgers managed to deflect the kick.

It was such a day for Rutgers.

Rutgers' struggling defense struggled to contain Wisconsin's offense

The bad news became official about two hours before kickoff.

Cornerback Robert Longerbeam and linebacker Tyreem Powell were both listed as OUT on the availability report. Longerbeam's status wasn't that surprising — he was listed as questionable against Nebraska, but Powell's status was more surprising.

The Vineland native missed the first three games of the season as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered during the offseason.

Then, in the first half on Saturday, defensive end Aaron Lewis left the game with an injury. He returned for one play but then never got back into the game.

Flip Dixon also suffered an injury later in the game and cornerback Eric Rogers, who was listed as questionable, was limited.

So to say that the Scarlet Knights' defense, which has already been without linebacker Mohamed Toure this season, is missing some key pieces is an understatement.

Still, Rutgers couldn't contain Wisconsin's defense, which last week lost its starting quarterback to begin the season and its leading rusher indefinitely, not to mention two of its leading receivers, after they faltered in the Badgers' previous game against Purdue.

Wisconsin finished with 549 total yards. It totaled 309 points, including 198 from Tawee Walker, who scored three touchdowns.

Badgers quarterback Braedyn Locke completed 20 of 28 passes for 240 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Wisconsin scored touchdowns on two of its first three possessions and then on four of five possessions in the second half.

For most of this game, the Badgers offense got the better of the Scarlet Knights defense.

Injuries or not, this was a poor performance from Rutgers.

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