Behind a Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week performance from Scott Tolzien, the Badgers were able to get the best of the Spartans this past Saturday in Madison. Michigan State made an attempt at a late rally, scoring two touchdowns in the last two minutes of play, but the Badgers were able to hang on to their otherwise easy win, 38-30.
Badgers' Top Performers
- Scott Tolzien: 19-31, 243 yards, 4 TDs
- Garrett Graham: 5 catches, 58 yards, 3 TDs
- John Clay: 32 carries, 142 yards, 1 TD
- Mike Taylor: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PD
- Chris Maragos: 5 tackles, 2 INTs
- Chris Borland: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD, 4 QB hurries
As evident by the stat sheet, lots of players made a significant impact on the game. Tolzien's performance, as I have previously mentioned, earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. Three of his touchdown strikes went to Garrett Graham, whose performance was sure to catch the eye of any tight end recruits that were at the game or watching from home. John Clay bounced back from a fumble-filled game against Wofford, and was able to keep the defense honest by making noise on the ground.
On defense, Chris Maragos continued to give the opposing QB headaches. He now has 3 interceptions on the year, which ranks 10th nationally. Linebackers Mike Taylor and Chris Borland once again gave Badger fans reason to be excited for the future. Taylor has been one of the team's best tacklers as a redshirt freshman, and he hauled in his first career interception. Borland was used more in blitz packages this week, and forced the Michigan State quarterbacks into making rushed decisions with four hurries. The Badgers are lucky to have these two moving forward.
As a team, the Badgers were generally able to hold down what had proven to be a tough MSU passing attack. While Mark Dell was held out of the Spartans' first two games, Blair White and BJ Cunningham were able to prove their worth. Their receiving core on a whole this season has 13 total touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns came on Saturday against the Badgers, though two game in the game's waining moments. It was an impressive performance for the Badgers' pass defense, but it should serve as warning that better defense needs to be played in prevent situations such as the end of Saturday's game. The last thing the Badgers need is to give a way a game that they have won by allowing a team to take it from them in the last few minutes.
Wisconsin started to receive votes for the top-25 in this week's polls, but if they want to actually get ranked, they're going to need a convincing performance against Minnesota. Even then, it could be close.
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