Washington State 17, (19) Badgers 14: 2-minute drill

MADISON — Former Wisconsin running back Nakia Watson scored two touchdowns in his return to Camp Randall Stadium as Washington State upset the No. 19 Badgers 17-14 on Saturday.

Game Balls

Offense:

QB Graham Mertz

The junior has so often been the person pointed at as the reason for losses in the last two seasons, but Saturday’s performance was worthy of a victory. He threw for 227 yards and dropped a couple of dimes, including his first touchdown of the day on a corner route to tight end Clay Cundiff. Then, just before the half, Mertz hit Keontez Lewis down the middle for 40 yards on a perfectly placed ball. He finished that drive off by beating the blitz and finding Cundiff for another touchdown. Mertz finished 6-for-9 on third down, converting each of those into a first down.

WR Keontez Lewis

Lewis has a chance to be Wisconsin’s big play weapon this year. A different body type at 6-foot-3 and speed to burn, the UCLA transfer showed off what makes him difficult to cover on the 40-yard grab where he held on through contact. The sophomore later made a great catch on the sideline for a 22-yard grab for a first down.

Defense:

CB Max Lofy

Like John Torchio did in the opener, Lofy made a great play on a ball at the goal line for an interception. This one also came on the first drive of the game and snuffed out a scoring opportunity for Washington State.

S Kamo’I Latu

While recognizing his missed tackle on Nakia Watson’s touchdown reception, Latu also had a sack and hit Washington State quarterback Cam Ward just before he threw the second of his two interceptions. There is some boom or bust to his play style and we saw both sides on Saturday.

What Went Wrong

Special teams

Wisconsin has been poor in general on special teams the last two years and they played a major role in the loss Saturday. Kicker Vito Calvaruso missed a pair of kicks that didn’t come anywhere close to being good, while the Badgers also gave up an 82-yard kick return to open the second half. It allowed the Cougars to grab the momentum back that Wisconsin had built at the end of the first half. Another rough day for the punt return unit was just another punch to the gut for the special teams as a whole.

Penalties

The Badgers racked up 11 penalties, the most they’ve had in a non-overtime game since putting up 12 against Michigan State in 2008. Five of them went on the offensive line, including two on center Joe Tippmann. Almost of the penalties were absolute killers, too. Four of them wiped out 79 yards of offense while others put the offense behind the chains and in difficult spots to work out of. They also had an inexcusable delay of game penalty coming out of a timeout.

Turnovers

Wisconsin turned the ball over three times and Washington State took advantage. Two of them came on crazy play. Badgers’ cornerback Jay Shaw picked off a pass on third-and-10 in the third quarter that would have set them up with good field position but the Cougars stripped him of the ball and recovered it. Six plays later Washington State took the lead for good.

Wisconsin would get its own good fortune late in the fourth quarter after Mertz got hit as he was throwing and the ball was intercepted by defensive lineman Christian Mejia. He didn’t have it for long, putting it on the ground for Mertz to recover it. But just two plays later, after a 24-yard gain, Cundiff would cough the ball up. It was the last time the Badgers offense was on the field.

Both teams turned the ball over three times but Wisconsin’s felt more critical based on what happened afterwards.

In Case You Missed It

— Wisconsin’s honorary captain was former quarterback Dale Hackbart. He led the Badgers to a Big Ten title in 1959.

— Wisconsin played without several starters, including right tackle Riley Mahlman, cornerbacks Alex Smith and Justin Clark, along with safety Hunter Wohler.

— Badgers wide receiver Markus Allen was injured on a deep pass in the second quarter. It appeared to be a shoulder injury. Though he appeared able to return to the game after being checked out, he did not play another snap.

Inside the Numbers

2 – That is how many touchdowns former Badgers running back Nakia Watson had in his return to Madison. It was one more than he had in his two seasons at Camp Randall Stadium while with Wisconsin.

98 – That’s how many yards Braelon Allen had on the ground. It’s the just the second time in 11 games he’s been held under 100 yards since becoming a major part of the offense in the middle of last year.

3 – That’s how many times Wisconsin has lost as a favorite of 17 or more points in the last five seasons – 2022 vs Washington State, 2019 at Illinois and 2018 vs BYU. It had happened a total of three times in the previous 21 seasons combined.

1 – That’s how many undefeated teams there are left in the Big Ten West. With the Badgers, Iowa and Northwestern falling Saturday, only Minnesota has yet to lose this year.

What’s Next

Wisconsin (1-1) will welcome New Mexico State (0-2) to town next Saturday with kick coming at 2:30 p.m.