5 takeaways from Wisconsin football's 38-21 loss to No. 16 USC

MADISON – The magic of the Wisconsin football team was gone in the second half on Saturday.

With the Badgers unable to generate much offense or make significant stops in the third and fourth quarters, their chance to upset No. 16 USC in their Big Ten opener fell by the wayside in front of 74,118 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum .

UW lost 38-21, leaving 28 unanswered points in the second half.

The Badgers were outscored 469-285 in that game. The second half numbers were 205-82.

Sophomore Braedyn Locke completed 13 of 26 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first start of the season. Senior running back Tawee Walker ran for 55 yards on 12 carries and scored twice. Junior Vinny Anthony had a team-high 70 yards rushing and scored his first varsity touchdown on a 63-yard play in the first quarter.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

The Badgers’ inability to make third-down stops proved costly

Wisconsin’s defense set up third-and-long situations that typically help a unit have devastating effects on offense. However, the Badgers couldn’t finish the job.

USC scored two touchdowns in the third quarter. Success on third down was crucial to getting those points. The Trojans converted five straight third downs, with the average need for a first down being 8.4 yards.

USC gained an average of 14 yards on those plays. That included a 32-yard gain from quarterback Miller Moss to Duce Robinson on third-and-7 to allow a first down at the 11, as well as touchdowns of 6 yards to Ja’Kobi Lane and 8 yards to Robinson.

That success helped USC turn a 21-10 halftime deficit into a 24-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Repetition: Wisconsin vs USC soccer score, live match updates, highlights

The Badgers’ margin for error is too low to overcome the turnover

Wisconsin won the turnover battle 3-2. Turns out the Badgers couldn’t even afford that.

Tyrell Henry’s botched punt came after the Badgers forced USC into a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half, giving the Trojans a first down at the Badgers’ 30.

USC turned the short field into a nine-play, 30-yard drive that ended with Miller’s touchdown pass to Lane.

More: Wisconsin-USC football history: All-time series record between Badgers and Trojans

Testing Trojan defenses pays off

Attacking a defense vertically doesn’t always pay off, but UW showed its value against the Trojans.

The Badgers were aggressive twice in the first half. The first resulted in a 63-yard touchdown pass from Locke to Anthony.

In the second quarter, Locke found Bryson Green being covered by DeCarlos Nicholson, but managed to complete a 35-yard reception that led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Walker that gave the Badgers a 21-yard lead -10 with 6:29 left in the first half.

Atticus Bertrams turns the field around

One of the MVPs of the first half was sophomore punter Atticus Bertrams, who punted three times for over 150 yards in the first two quarters. He turned the field around twice.

In the first quarter, his 74-yard punt took USC to the 1-yard line. The shift in field position forced the Trojans to advance the length of the field, and the Badgers finally ended the threat with an interception by Preston Zachman at the UW 25.

And early in the second quarter, Bertrams hit a 39-yard punt that bounced hard and was blocked by Zachariah Branch. Anthony recovered the ball at the USC 18. On the next play, Walker scored on an 18-yard run that gave the Badgers a 14-7 lead after the extra point with 14:44 left in the half.

Wisconsin finishes the first half strong

We saw in the Alabama game how the game can change in the final minutes of the half when the Crimson Tide ran two long plays and scored a touchdown to give them a 14-3 lead.

This week, UW won the final four minutes of the half when Leon Lowery’s pressure caused Moss to fumble. Badger Ben Barten recovered the ball, ending a Trojans attack that was on the verge of reaching the red zone.

Instead, the Badgers took the lead with 3½ minutes left. They didn’t score, but had 2:19 left before Bertrams hit a 32-yard punt that was fairly caught at the 7.

USC had 71 seconds before halftime but did not make it past the 36-yard line before time expired. Lowery’s forced fumble was one of three turnovers Wisconsin forced in the first half. There were only two in the first three games.

5 takeaways from Wisconsin football’s 38-21 loss to No. 16 USC

ByJasper

The Badgers’ inability to make third-down stops proved costly

The Badgers’ margin for error is too low to overcome the turnover

Testing Trojan defenses pays off

Atticus Bertrams turns the field around

Wisconsin finishes the first half strong

By Jasper

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