Did the defense do enough to win on Saturday?
The Wisconsin Badgers had a tough outing on Saturday against the Oregon Ducks, falling just short in a 16-13 defeat where the defense impressed, but couldn’t get enough complementary football to pull off the win.
It was an atmosphere filled with energy at Camp Randall Stadium, as the Badgers stayed within one score against the best team in the country all game long, but the score ultimately went against them when the clock hit zero.
Following the game, many believed that Wisconsin’s defense did enough to win the game for the Badgers, pulling out stop after stop, while forcing three field goals against Oregon in key situations.
Did head coach Luke Fickell share the same sentiment?
“Nobody feels like they did enough,” Fickell said. “Your job as a defense is to outplay the other team’s defense. It’s pretty simple.”
“You can feel good about, ‘okay, our plan was what we wanted it to be, our plan was working, but when it comes down to it, we’ve got to outplay the other team’s defense and whatever that means.’ And, so, that’s the way we’ve got to look at it, that’s the way we’ve got to act, and that’s how we’ve got to be to able to continue to hold this thing and push each other forward.”
Instead, Fickell pushed the message of overall continuity, trying to bring his group together as they look to weather the storm over the next two weeks.
“That’s probably the greatest message in our locker room,” Fickell said. “‘Hey, whatever we do, we do together. We’ve got to believe that.’ Everyone just talks about believing. Well, did they not believe when it comes down to the end? No, I don’t think that was the case.”
“The ability to keep believing in one another is what can be the most difficult as you go through these rocky times, and you go through these roller coaster rides. But, that’s what we’ve got to rely upon the older guys, the senior guys, that they can all do that.”
Following the game, it was clear that this one weighed heavily on the players, with senior linebacker Jake Chaney calling it the loss that likely hurt the most out of any in his career.
“It sucks. That’s all I can say right now,” Chaney said. “No, I’m not trying to throw anybody under the bus or no point finger, but you know, that’s a tough one, right? As a senior last year, that one probably sucked the most.
“From my four years here, probably, I don’t think we won a big game. And you know, you could say Penn State was close, say all these other teams were close, but I feel like truly like that came down to the last drive. Just being that close, you know, you always say you’re so close, you’re so close. But you know, for a lot of guys that’s kind of your last opportunity. So it is what it is.”
Cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean had a similar sentiment, especially given how well the defense played on Saturday.
“Definitely, this one stings a little bit more than any of the other losses [this] past season,” Fourqurean said. “I think we played great. It’s obviously one of [if not] the No. 1 explosive teams in the country, maybe the No. 1 sports team. Great offense, great quarterback, great playcalls and things like that. So, this one definitely stings a little bit, but at the end of the day, it’s a team game, so you got to do a little bit more as a whole.”
Did Fourqurean feel like the defense played as well as they could have?
“Absolutely. Like I said before, one of the most explosive offenses to hold to [one] touchdown,” Fourqurean continued. “Just the amount of points that they had, I think that was a very impressive performance. Obviously we can do a couple things a little bit better. I could have came down with that interception to give us a little bit more of a spark, but I think we played very well as a defense.”
Overall, it was a tough loss for the Badgers, not because of the difficulty of the opponent, but more so how close they were to pulling off the improbable upset. Ultimately though, they’re standing at 5-5 with two games to go, looking to gain bowl eligibility still.