The Wisconsin Badgers suffered an ugly slump on Saturday, dropping a 38-21 game to the USC Trojans before falling to 2-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

The Badgers took an early 21-10 lead at halftime and fell flat on both ends in the second half, while USC capitalized on mistakes to earn a comfortable victory and their first-ever win in the Big Ten.

Here’s our recap of the Badgers 38-21 loss to USC on Saturday.

First half

This match was exciting from the start as the Badgers won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, meaning their first challenge came on the defensive front.

Things started poorly for Wisconsin, which was hampered by an odd 15-yard facemask penalty on the opening kickoff, even though it resulted in a touchback, starting USC on their 40-yard line.

After a quick first down to open the drive, USC couldn’t gain much traction but was saved by a costly offsides penalty from Jaheim Thomas on 3rd and 7, allowing them to run on consecutive downs and get a first down after leading had gone. a fourth behind.

Immediately afterward, quarterback Miller Moss dropped a dime on wideout Ja’Kobi Lane, who made an incredible one-handed catch over great coverage of cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean for a 32-yard score. It was unclear whether his feet stayed in on the catch, but the score was nevertheless maintained and USC opened the game with a lead.

The Badgers answered quickly, however, as the run game helped pick up a first down before Braedyn Locke delivered a nice 63-yard touchdown pass to Vinny Anthony, who made a nice double move to get wide open by 1-on -1 to work. the outside without safety assistance. Just like that, draw.

From there, the defenses held firm on consecutive drives, forcing a pair of punts, the last behind a 74-yard Atticus Bertrams boot that brought down Wisconsin at the 1-yard line thanks to a bad read by returner Zachariah Branch.

USC survived poor field position with a 10-yard run on 3rd and 9 at their own 2-yard line and looked to gain momentum by picking off the Badgers’ linebackers in run defense, but Preston Zachman saved the day with an incredible interception 1- on-1 work against Zachariah Branch in the slot.

Although the Badgers couldn’t immediately capitalize on the takeaway, Wisconsin took advantage of another Branch mistake, as the punt returner had a precious socket that UW recovered and quickly scored, thanks to an 18-yard Tawee Walker rushing touchdown. That gave the Badgers an early 14-7 lead, with the contingent of Wisconsin fans who made the trip cheering on the team here at the Coliseum.

USC didn’t go away without a fight, though, as they again selected linebacker Jaheim Thomas, leading to a 25-yard Zachariah Branch catch. Thomas later made another costly mistake and went offsides again on a 3rd and long, making it 3rd and 3 in Wisconsin territory.

But after the Trojans scored a first down and got into the red zone on their next set of plays with a 4th and 1, a costly false start forced USC to kick the field goal, instead of going for it and pushing for a touchdown. , keeping the lead at 14-10 Wisconsin.

Wisconsin looked to its run game for an answer, and it came, with Cade Yacamelli and Tawee Walker taking the top spot on back-to-back runs. But the explosives then continued for the Badgers in the air, as Braedyn Locke hit Bryson Green 1-on-1 for a 35-yard gain, with the wideout making a nice adjustment to bring in the underthrown ball.

Locke then made a nice fire over the middle to Will Pauling, before Riley Nowakowski found a play-action find that yielded consecutive first downs, giving the Badgers a goal-to-go situation. From there, Tawee Walker hammered the ball in and the Badgers were rolling, going up 21-10.

The back-and-forth battle couldn’t be stopped, however, as USC found themselves driving again, with Miller Moss throwing five straight passes to start the drive (one was an end around).

Gains of 15, 14 and 15 yards put the Trojans back within striking distance, but the defense held firm from there, with a nice run stop on the first down before a well-timed backside blitz from Mike Tressel found Austin Brown stripping Moss for a huge fumble.

Looking for a way to burn the remaining 3:30, the Badgers ran the football a ton on their next drive and drove into USC territory. But a big drop by Will Pauling on 2nd-and-8 at the USC 44-yard line halted the drive and the Badgers eventually punted into plus territory.

The half ended with Wisconsin leading 21-10, all momentum as they started the second half with the ball.

2nd half

Wisconsin’s first drive of the second half was short-lived as they struggled on the ground on first and second, leading to a quick three-and-out.

Defensively, however, they held up well in coverage through three straight games, with Preston Zachman holding his own in two of those instances. But from then on things started to go downhill.

The Trojans were forced into a three-and-out and had a great opportunity when returner Tyrell Henry muffed the kick, giving USC great field position.

Wisconsin still made things tough defensively and made some big plays (Fourqurean PBU, Hallman stop on the screen, Austin Brown PBU in the end zone), but USC found a way to respond to the bell when their backs were against the wall .

Moss found Ja’Kobi Lane for first downs on 3rd-and-7 and 3rd-and-15 before the wideout scored another touchdown and got a fade into the end zone over Xavier Lucas to cut the lead to 21-17.

Needing a quick response to stop USC’s momentum, Braedyn Locke converted a crucial 3rd-and-7 to Bryson Green with a well-placed ball on a curl route, giving him 15 yards on the play. Wisconsin was able to advance all the way to USC’s 33-yard line, but faced a big decision on 4th and 1.

After a timeout on the field, the Badgers trotted out in their shotgun and ran the ball as they had done in the past, but to no avail as USC’s edges crashed hard and forced the stop. The questionable play call proved costly as it took away a Wisconsin scoring opportunity and gave the red-hot Trojans the ball back with a chance to take the lead.

USC again marched down the field and got three first downs before giving up another crucial third down. Facing third-and-7 at the Wisconsin 43-yard line, Miller Moss delivered a nice final fade to Duce Robinson, who hauled in the tough catch over Austin Brown in coverage.

As we got to the 11 yard line it was a similar situation for USC who ended up with another 3rd and 7. The result? A touchdown for Robinson, who beat Hunter Wohler 1-on-1. Miller Moss, sensing Wisconsin’s all-out blitz, found his sharp read over the middle and punched in the score that put the Trojans on top for the first time since the opening drive. It was questionable for Mike Tressel to call the all-out blitz without pressing the line of scrimmage because that’s where the pressure came, but there was too much space for the receivers to work with on the play, which led to Moss going to his hot route went for the score.

Trailing 24-21 and the third quarter nearing an end, the Badgers were faced with another rough offensive possession as Chez Mellusi could not get any traction on second after picking up five yards on first, which led to a crucial 3rd and 5. result? A swing pass well behind the sticks to Will Pauling, who lit up as he caught the ball, leading to another three-and-out.

USC, already feeling the momentum, took a 10-play, 77-yard drive that took 6:29 of playing time for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, giving them a big 31-21 lead heading into the second half of the match. last frame.

This was filled with explosive plays as USC had consecutive passes for 13, 10, 21 and 14 yards, taking them all the way to Wisconsin’s 20-yard line. The Badgers had a chance on the road, moving the Trojans into third and second and forcing a fourth down.

But when the shotgun was out, quarterback Miller Moss had a keeper, forcing a missed tackle from Hunter Wohler before heading into the end zone for a seven-yard rushing touchdown to give USC the two-score lead, what a deafening moment was. for the Badgers.

It looked like Wisconsin still had some life left, looking to battle with 8:42 left in the game, when Tawee Walker took the first play of the drive for a 12-yard rush. But the Badgers offense sputtered quickly after that, as a pair of incomplete passes intended for Will Pauling led to the team’s third punt of the half.

The kick choice was interesting as Wisconsin had a 4th-and-6 at their 41-yard line with just over seven minutes left, looking to gain confidence in their defense despite the success the Trojans were having offensively.

Now USC ended up going three-and-out on their next drive, but it didn’t matter as Braedyn Locke had a pick-six for Mason Cobb, looking for Trech Kekahuna on a breakaway. For the second time, the quarterback and wide receiver were not on the same page, as Kekahuna failed to look back at the ball in time and the pass deflected off him into the hands of a defender for the pick-six, making the score 38-21 .

Looking to end the game on a high note, Vinny Anthony had a big kick return of 74 yards, providing some spark for the Badgers as they started the drive at the USC 18-yard line. But the battle for offense continued in the second half as Wisconsin was awarded two penalties, leading them to a 4th-and-10 where Braedyn Locke threw a pass well behind the sticks, causing a turnover on downs.

USC ultimately won this battle 38-21, leading to their first win in Big Ten play, while the Badgers fell to 2-2 in a tough loss on the season.

Stay tuned for the rest of our coverage of Saturday’s match soon!