FINAL SCORE: Wisconsin 20 - Army 14
Key stats:
• Wisconsin won the time of possession battle 30:47 – 29:13
• Both teams turned the ball over once
• Both rush defenses had the better of the run-heavy offenses.Wisconsin outrushed Army 198-179.
• Army was actually 5-6 passing for 87 yards.
• Both teams were 2-2 on 4th down, but Army won 3rd down, going 6-14 to Wisconsin’s 3-10.
1st Quarter
Both defenses assert themselves and the opening stanza ends scoreless
The Badgers took the opening kick and went 16 yards in 5 plays before NT Nolan Cockrill recovered a Graham Mertz fumble on an Andre Carter strip-sack.
Both teams traded 3-and-outs and Army was forced to punt after one first down on their second drive of the night as it became clear that the #1 and #2 ranked rush defenses in America would be very difficult for both run first offenses to have any success against.
2nd Quarter
Wisconsin gets their offense going and takes a 13-0 lead
On their next possession, Wisconsin changed pace with Freshman RB Braelon Allen. Allen helped Wisconsin down the field and then bounced a run outside to the left to go 33 yards for the Badgers’ first touchdown of the night.
Wisconsin forced another Army punt and Wisconsin went 81 yards in 10 plays for their second score of the night. The drive was highlighted by a Mertz – Danny Davis 36-yard pass play; a completion to TE Jake Ferguson; and capped off by a 5-yard bootleg run for a touchdown by Mertz. On the touchdown run, the play side Army OLB blew contain and Mertz had an easy score.
Wisconsin forced another 3-and-out by absolutely plugging the middle and dominating the Army offensive line in the trenches. Army’s defense got back on track with a stop on Wisconsin’s next series and the half ended with Wisconsin up 13-0.
Army was alternating quarterbacks most of the first half, but neither was having much success running the ball as Wisconsin was walking 1-2 linebackers up into the A-gap along with the Nose Tackle to completely blow-up Army’s plays in the backfield before they even had a chance to get going. It was clear by halftime that Army wouldn’t have success running the fullback and that they would need to make some adjustments to move the ball in the second half, or this could be a long evening in Madison for the Black Knights.
3rd Quarter
Army received the 2nd half kickoff and after a 6-yard run by Tyhier Tyler and an offsides penalty by Wisconsin, Jabari Laws threw a beautiful pass downfield to Isaiah Alston for a 34-yard gain to the Badgers’ 30 yard-line. However, the Black Knights gained only 4 yards the next 3 plays and Cole Talley’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide right.
Army received the 2nd half kickoff and after a 6-yard run by Tyhier Tyler and an offsides penalty by Wisconsin, Jabari Laws threw a beautiful pass downfield to Isaiah Alston for a 34-yard gain to the Badgers’ 30 yard-line. However, the Black Knights gained only 4 yards the next 3 plays and Talley’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide right.
Army forced another Wisconsin punt after one first down, and then managed to flip field position with a 12 play, 36-yard drive that took the Black Knights to the 48-yard line before Zach Harding had to come on for another punt. Harding has been a consistent weapon all year and he didn’t disappoint. He kicked to the Badger 15-yard line, and they were forced to fair catch his high punt.
Army’s defense stiffened again and forced another 3-and-out and Army took over on their own 46.
4th Quarter
Army puts together their best 4th quarter of the 2021 season and comes up just a little short of pulling the upset in Madison
The offense pieced together their first scoring drive of the night on an 8-play, 54-yard drive that was highlighted by a 36-yard QB counter by Tyler; and capped off with a 5-yard QB keeper by Tyler.
After Wisconsin put together a nice clock-eating 11-play, 7-minute “Army-esque” drive, Malkelm Morrison made a huge hit on a screen pass for a 4-yard loss, forcing the Badgers to punt on 4th and 14.
Army took over deep in their own territory having to drive 90 yards in a little over 4 minutes. Tyler started the drive for the Black Knights, and they picked up a first down to the 20. Then, Laws came in to throw a pass on 1st down to try and pick up some chunk yardage with 2:55 left and disaster struck. Wisconsin lined up a LB in the A-gap again, and RG Connor Finucane was able to cut him initially. However, Leo Chanal fought off the cut block and created a sack-strip giving Wisconsin the ball on the Army 1-yard line.
Wisconsin punched it in on a Mertz QB sneak on the first play from scrimmage to give them a 20-7 lead with 2:43 remaining in the contest, but the Black Knights weren’t finished. In true Army fashion, the Black Knights showed a ton of heart taking the ensuing kickoff 77 yards in 7 plays for yet another TD. The drive was highlighted by a 4th and 4 conversion by slotback Braheam Murphy on a toss play; and a 36-yard Laws to AJ Howard sideline go route to the Badger 6-yard line. Howard took the next toss play 6 yards for the score and the Black Knights had one last gasp as they trailed 20-14 with 0:38 remaining.
The onside kick was recovered by Mr. All Everything for Wisconsin, LB Jack Sanborn, who not only made 12 tackles and recovered the onside attempt, he also converted a fake punt for a first down. Wisconsin took a knee in victory formation to escape with a 20-14 win over Army.
Post Game Press Conference
• Army Head Coach Jeff Monken
• Safety Marquel Broughton
The Players
• OLB Andre Carter
• QB Tyhier Tyler
Highlights:
• The defense basically managed to shut out a super-talented Wisconsin offense for 3 quarters tonight.Army’s defense allowed 310 yards and 13 points if you don’t count the turnover on the 1-yard line.They also forced a fumble.
• After a dismal first half, Army’s offense really came alive in the 2nd half.Tyhier Tyler ended up leading all Army rushers with 17 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown
• Jabari Laws went 5-6 passing for 87 yards and played his most significant downs since 2019.
• Marquel Broughton led the team with 11 total tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 pass defended that was very nearly another interception by the Army Junior Co-Captain.
• Andre Carter had another sack to bring his season total to 8.5 in 6 games.
• There were a lot of players in the Army secondary getting their most significant playing time to include Leo Lowin, Jimmy Ciarlo and Quendrelin Hammonds, leading me to believe that Army has sustained even more injuries in the secondary than we knew about.
• At the end of the day, your friendly neighborhood GBK reporter is pretty pleased with this effort from the Black Knights.I get there are no moral victories, and Wisconsin isn’t exactly 2018 Oklahoma, but without Army’s starting Center and Quarterback, and with a host of other injuries, down 13-0 going into the 4th quarter, to walk away with a 20-14 loss to a clearly athletically superior team gives Coach Monken and the Black Knights something to build off for the rest of the season.This wasn’t a let down or poor performance like the Ball State game.This was clearly a case of match ups and Wisconsin was an awful match up for Army.I think they acquitted themselves quite well and have a real shot at upsetting Wake Forest in Michie Stadium next week.
Next up for the Black Knights: Army finally comes back to the friendly confines of Michie Stadium to take on undefeated and nationally ranked Wake Forest.
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