At the end of one half, Alabama leads Wisconsin 14-7 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. Here are my takeaways from the first half.
Stave shining. Joel Stave is 14-16 for 149 yards and a touchdown thus far. He has looked SHARP with new coach Paul Chryst, as he has not made any bad throws. Alex Erickson has been the main receiver with 5 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Caputo injured. Badgers captain and arguably best player Michael Caputo was injured in the first possession after he suffered a head injury. He even tried joining the Alabama huddle on the next play, indicating to the Badgers coaching staff that it was probably time for him to get off the field. He will not return to the game. The Crimson Tide have punished the Badgers over the middle, so Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda will need to make some adjustments at the half.
Running game struggling. The Badgers running backs have struggled this far, combining for 29 yards on 12 carries. The offense has done its best to try to mix things up and keep guys fresh, but the team cannot get anything going against the Alabama tough front seven. Corey Clement only had one carry in the second quarter.
Gaglianone missed field goal at the end of the half. The Badgers got a gift from the Crimson Tide after a shanked punt by Alabama punter J.K. Scott. They had the ball at the Alabama 39 with 9 seconds left and got to the 17 on a nice play to Alex Erickson. Unfortunately, kicker Rafael Gaglianone missed a 34-yard kick off the post, and the team better hope they don’t lose by 3 points tonight.
Offensive line struggling on fourth possession. In nearly consecutive plays on the Badgers’ fourth possession, right guard Walker Williams and center Dan Voltz completely messed up a blocking scheme, resulting in a Stave sack. Right tackle Hayden Biegel then got called for holding two plays later.
Shelton Island. Sojourn Shelton has made two great plays on deep balls thrown by Alabama quarterback Jacob Coker. He looks to be as good as everyone has said over the summer.
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