Sunday Hangover: Badgers showed mettle in win over LSU

[Da-news-now]

Rarely do season-defining moments appear in the first game of the year.

And while only time will tell if Saturday’s statement win over LSU in the Carmex Lambeau Field College Classic was just that, the Wisconsin football team showed a level of mental fortitude that will serve it well as it attempts to navigate a grueling conference schedule.

There came a point in the game when the Badgers had their backs against the wall. Rather than crumbling, they stood tall and secured a victory over a top-tier opponent in one of football’s most historic venues.

A pair of offensive miscues helped the Badgers cough up a 13-0, second-half lead in short order. LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who was held in check by the UW defense in the first half, was starting to get lathered up, consistently breaking off runs of seven yards or more.

As the scoreboard showed the Badgers trailing 14-13, flashbacks of the 2014 loss to the Tigers appeared inside the head of senior cornerback Sojurn Shelton. That contest saw UW relinquish a 24-7 lead in the second half and ultimately resulted in a 28-24 LSU victory.

“It brought back memories of two years ago,” Shelton said. “In that game, the momentum, it changed so quick. It had the same feel in this game. My whole thing was ‘not again.’ We worked too hard … to lose a game like that again.”

One thing was for certain, with 8:14 left in the game and facing a one-point deficit, this team was about to show what is was made of.

And did they ever.

When they needed it most, the Badgers offense engineered a nine-play, 48-yard drive that resulted in a 47-yard Rafael Gaglianone field goal, a score that proved to be the game winner.

“I was talking with the line, talking with the receivers and running backs and just keeping their heads up, don’t let them slack off or anything,” quarterback Bart Houston said. “Just keeping confidence, that’s what I did with the offense.”

With 3:47 still on the clock, it was up to the defense to rise to task.

“I think we saw a lot of zeal and confidence in our players when we were down 14-13,” linebacker Vince Biegel said. “As a defense, we were confident, but just watching the offense and how they prepared and how they went and got that last three points was, for us, motivating to put the last stamp on it and get this win.”

At first, it wasn’t looking good. It took the Tigers just five plays to reach the UW 30 yard-line, barely in field goal range for LSU placekicker Colby Delahoussaye , whose career-long is 49 yards.

However, a false start penalty pushed the Tigers back five yards. On the following play, Tigers signal caller Brandon Harris was able to escape elude a rushing Biegel, but ended up throwing an interception that effectively ended the game.

“Justin (Wilcox) radioed in my favorite blitz call. It’s called a ‘Psycho Track’ and I came inside the tackle and I was surprised I was unblocked,” Biegel said. “I actually thought it was a screen at first because I was unblocked so much, but give credit to No. 6, he’s a very shifty quarterback. He ended up escaping my grasp and made a pass that fell right into D’Cota (Dixon)’s lap. Give D’Cota the credit, he was exactly where he was supposed to be at the right time.”

Just like the offense, the defense dug deep and executed when called upon.

“It’s a group that’s played. There’s a number of guys that have played and they’ve got confidence and rose up to the challenge,” Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst said. “I though they did what the needed to do in the sense that they didn’t try to do too much.”

As Chryst and his players were quick to point out, it was only one game. But in their first opportunity to leave an impression, the Badgers showed confidence and mental strength.

Looking ahead, the Badgers have a couple of non-conference home games that shouldn’t present much of a challenge. But it will require a good deal of focus to avoid looking too far down the road.

When the conference season hits, UW will face four straight opponents who began the season ranked in the top-20 of the national polls. That task will call for the type of trust and persistence the Badgers displayed on Saturday.

“We talked about adversity and we were able to fight through it,” Shelton said. “That’s what I’m most proud of. When the chips are down … we’ll be OK.”

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