MADISON – The Wisconsin football team finished well on Saturday, but left plenty of room for improvement.
The Badgers defeated South Dakota 27-13 on Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall, fending off a second-half comeback by the Coyotes that allowed them to pull within four points midway through the third quarter.
However, Wisconsin responded with a 50-yard field goal by junior Nathanial Vakos with five minutes left in the third quarter and a 1-yard run by senior Chez Mellusi with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game and improve to 2-0.
Senior quarterback Tyler Van Dyke completed 17 of 27 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt sophomore Cade Yacamelli had a team-leading 73 rushing yards on eight carries. Senior safety Hunter Wohler made a team-leading eight tackles.
Next up is fourth-ranked Alabama next Saturday at 11 a.m. at Camp Randall Stadium.
Here are five takeaways from the win.
MORE: Match report | Big Ten standings | Wisconsin schedule
Badgers successful with running game in the red zone
Wisconsin led by seven points in the fourth quarter when it drove 85 yards in 11 plays to score the game-winning point.
UW benefited from three personal fouls on that drive, but after a first down at the 14-yard line, offensive coordinator Phil Longo turned to the running game to reach the end zone. The Badgers were successful with the running game in the red zone last week with Tawee Walker. With Walker out for the day, senior Chez Mellusi had two tough 5-yard gains to set up a first and goal from the 4-yard line.
Three plays later, Mellusi capped the drive with a 1-yard run on fourth-and-1. Nathanial Vakos’ extra point gave UW the final victory.
Mellusi scored his second and third touchdowns of the season and had a solid afternoon, gaining 60 yards on 16 attempts.
Tackett Curtis leaves traces in Jake Chaney’s absence
The Badgers’ defense suffered the biggest loss of the day when linebacker Jake Chaney was sacked and sent off the field for targeting late in the third quarter.
The good news is that Wisconsin doesn’t seem to have lost anything with the departure. Sophomore linebacker Tackett Curtis finished the game with five tackles, four of which came after Chaney left the game.
The UW defense proves resilient when its back is against the wall
The Badgers defense found itself in a difficult position midway through the third quarter when Vinny Anthony botched a punt that the Coyotes recovered at the UW 8. The situation got worse after Chaney was targeted, giving South Dakota a first and goal at the 4.
To Wisconsin’s credit, they took the reins when it mattered most.
South Dakota played for a tie and the defensive line had its best moment of the afternoon. The unit made a good push on first down that helped Curtis stop a 3-yard tackle that resulted in a loss of yardage on first down.
On the next two plays, tackle Ben Barten deflected a pass from South Dakota quarterback Aidan Bourman and Elijah Hills sacked Bourman for a loss of 8 yards, forcing a field goal attempt.
With 5:06 left in the third quarter, Will Leyland scored a 32-yard field goal to cut the Badgers’ lead to 17-13, but the situation could have been much worse.
The second touchdown shows the impact of Tyler Van Dyke’s running game
Part of Van Dyke’s work this season was to rejuvenate himself to be in better shape and impact the game with his running game. The Badgers’ second touchdown was an example of that effort, although the team did score on a 50-yard pass from Van Dyke to CJ Williams.
Van Dyke faked the handoff to Chez Mellusi and then ran to the right side of the formation. The Miami transfer was no longer up to speed, was he? Not so fast. This time he managed a nice, easy throw on the run to Williams, but not without completely outsmarting the cornerback and the safety.
Williams, who caught the ball at 25 and entered the end zone at 4:48 of the second half.
Cade Yacamelli more than fills the gap in Tawee Walker’s absence
Yacamelli’s solid play in camp was overshadowed by Mellusi and Walker, but on the big stage the redshirt sophomore delivered a convincing performance.
Last week at Western Michigan, he ran for 35 yards on four carries, mostly in the closing stages of the game. On Saturday, he filled in for Walker, who was unable to play because of a leg injury, and ran for 59 yards on seven carries in the first half, including the longest run of his career, 29 yards. Three of those runs were at least 5 yards.
He finished the game with eight carries for 73 yards.
