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SPORTS
Slowing the run came at a cost
MADISON, Wis. -- No. 11 Wisconsin's 51-14 dismantling of Marshall University on Saturday was the definition of give and take.
Make no mistake, while this non-conference matchup in Big Ten country was competitive, Marshall took away the Badgers' bull-dozing ground game. Doak Walker Award candidate P.J. Hill was contained, and neither speed back Zach Brown nor John Clay broke free on game-changing plays.
The price of committing personnel and strategy to stopping the run, however, was a stunning number of lonely receivers roaming the field, playing pitch-and-catch with Wisconsin quarterback Allan Evridge. The Kansas State transfer, who completed all of seven passes for 75 yards and an interception last week against Akron, stockpiled 308 yards on 17-of-26 passing, including a 26-yard touchdown to Garrett Graham.
That would be a staggering average of more than 18 yards a completion.
Marshall's secondary was challenged to tackle this week and delivered, helping limit Wisconsin to 158 rushing yards after pounding Akron for 404. Receivers, meanwhile, faced little resistance, running routes seemingly by themselves and compiling the formerly en vogue stat known as YAC (yards after catch).
"The secondary, we have to step up and make more plays," Marshall free safety C.J. Spillman said. "I felt this game we didn't play the ball well, and that's something in the secondary you have to do well.
"We weren't playing the ball well, and when you don't play the ball well that allows the opposing team to make big plays and make those catches that they should make."
Evridge isn't considered a playmaking quarterback, although he established a K-State freshman record of 1,365 passing yards in 2005, including a 357-yard performance against Texas A&M. Couple that with Wisconsin's tradition of no-nonsense, power football (the Badgers led the nation in time of possession last season), enhanced the unconventional tone of Saturday's rout at sold-out Camp Randall Stadium.
"It's always in the game plan," Evridge said. "Last week we had a pretty extensive throwing package. We just didn't have to use it with the offensive linemen playing so well. So it's always there, we just had to utilize it this week."
Evridge and offensive coordinator Paul Chryst never stopped utilizing on this brilliant Midwest afternoon. Wisconsin connected on 11 passes of at least 16 yards, including nine of 21 yards or more.
"If they can run the ball the way they did last week and throw it like they did this week, they're going to have a shot to be a pretty good team this year," Marshall head coach Mark Snyder said.
"We stopped the run. I've played Wisconsin a whole bunch and we would have been happy with that rush total.
"Obviously they beat us throwing the football. And we didn't help ourselves by turning the ball over.
"There's the story of the game."
Enough said.
