Tide roll over Badgers, 42-10
Alabama jumped around and walked out of Camp Randall with a dominating win.
By: Dave in Tuscaloosa
After a frustrating outing a week ago that saw #4 Alabama struggle mightily against a game South Florida squad, the Tide looked the part of a top-five team. Alabama dominated previously unbeaten Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium, 42-10. It was a thoroughly dominating performance in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first true road game that even saw Tide players joining in for Wisconsin’s patented “Jump Around” at the end of the third quarter. The win sets things up nicely for the challenge of facing the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at home in two weeks.
Once again, quarterback Jalen Milroe led the way on offense, accounting for five touchdowns (two on the ground and three through the air) as the Crimson Tide rolled up 407 total yards. Freshman wideout Ryan Williams (did you know he’s 17?) continued a torrid start to his college football career with four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown while Jam Miller picked up 71 yards on the ground and recorded his third touchdown of the young season.
Most notably, the Tide line, who had a rough evening against South Florida, returned two injured starters and had a terrific afternoon against the Badgers. Against the Bulls, the unit was flagged eight times, yet against Wisconsin, the unit was penalized just once. Milroe was essentially untouched as the starting five created a clean pocket for him throughout the contest.
On defense, the Tide continued their consistently high level of play, giving up 290 total yards to Wisconsin’s Air Raid offense while forcing two critical turnovers, both leading to Bama touchdowns. Badger starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke was injured in the opening minutes of the game and did not return. His backup, Mississippi State transfer Braeden Locke, hit on only 13 of 26 throws for a pedestrian 125 yards and a touchdown.
The effort was not perfect for those in Bama jerseys, as for the second week in a row, opponent receivers found themselves behind the young Tide secondary, something that will need to be cleaned up before Carson Beck and the Bulldogs come to Tuscaloosa on the 28th. Wisconsin did find some success on the ground, rushing for 149 total yards. Also, Tide veteran safety Malachi Moore left the game in the third quarter with a head injury and is now in concussion protocol. Linebacker Qua Russaw and back Richard Young also left the game early with lower body injuries.
The Badgers started off strong and fed off the raucous home crowd to take an early 3-0 lead on a Nathanial Vakos field goal from 53 yards out to cap a 10-play, 40-yard drive to open the contest. Alabama drove right down the field on their opening possession, but placekicker Graham Nicholson missed his first attempt of the year from 46 yards out. The underdog Badgers would drive down the field again but failed on a 4th and 1 from the Bama 39-yard line. From there, the Tide began to get their footing offensively and drove 60 yards in just four plays that culminated in Milroe hitting Williams in stride from 31 yards up to pull ahead 7-3.
The teams would exchange punts before Badger tailback Chez Mellusi ripped off a 21-yard run but coughed up the ball at their own 28-yard line. Seven plays later, Milroe would score from three yards out and Bama led 14-3 at the 9:43 mark of the second quarter. The Tide would break the game open just before the half when Wisconsin drove to the Bama 27, but Vasco would miss wide right from 44 yards out with 0:33 remaining in the half. The country would see a different Bama under DeBoer compared to Saban, as traditionally in similar situations, Saban tended to go conservative and run out the clock. DeBoer did no such thing, as Bama attacked downfield. First, Milroe hit Williams on a nifty 47-yard catch and run that moved the ball to the Wisconsin 26 with 0:27 to play in the half. Milroe then hit Washington transfer Germie Bernard on a perfectly placed ball in the corner of the endzone with 0:19 remaining in the half, and as the teams retreated to the locker room, Alabama held a commanding 21-3 lead.
The momentum continued into the second half as Alabama received the ball and marched 75 yards in just 5 plays, culminating in a 34-yard Jam Miller run that stretched the lead to 28-3. Wisconsin responded with their best drive of the day as the Badgers ran 17 plays and marched 75 yards that ended with a Locke to Will Paulding 3-yard touchdown pass on 4th and goal from the 3 at the 4:26 mark of the third quarter to cut the Bama lead to 28-10. The Crimson Tide responded with a three-and-out that may have given Badger Nation some hope of an improbable comeback, yet all hope was lost when Badger tailback Cade Yacamelli fumbled on the first play of their ensuing drive on their own 18-yard line. Three plays later, Milroe would score his second rushing touchdown of the game from 10 yards out. Bama would add a 37-yard Milroe to tight end Josh Cuevas strike for six in the 4th quarter to make the final score 42-10. On the day, Milroe would finish 12-17 for 196 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, Milroe has thrown eight touchdown passes against no interceptions while rushing for an additional six scores. Not a bad start to say the least.
Dominating in Big Ten country is always a positive thing, and going into their first bye week, DeBoer and the Tide should feel good about where they stand three games into the 2024 season. However, improvement is needed as the Tide enters a critical stretch of the season. In the next month, Alabama will face 2nd-ranked Georgia, 7th-ranked Tennessee, and 6th-ranked Missouri.
The results will be crucial in determining if DeBoer’s rookie season will translate into a deep run into the College Football Playoffs or be a mild success.
