Column: The worst loss in a long line of losses to Wisconsin

That was one of the worst performances I’ve watched from the IU football team.

The Hoosiers got completely whipped on both sides of the ball Saturday against Wisconsin, getting dominated 51-3 at Camp Randall Stadium.

After the game, I received a good deal of text messages from friends complaining about IU’s play. Most couldn’t fathom how this happened — again.

One said, “I don’t even think we should play Wisconsin anymore! Wtf!”

It was the newest chapter in the Badgers’ absolute dominance of the Hoosiers in the last four years.

It’s like there’s some sort of mental block when IU plays Wisconsin. The Hoosiers just can’t do anything against the Badgers. They can’t stop them from running the ball down their throat, and they can’t manage to get any offense going.

Saturday was no different.

The game was basically decided just six plays after kickoff.

After Wisconsin intercepted IU sophomore quarterback Nate Sudfeld, Wisconsin senior running back James White ripped off a 93-yard touchdown run on Wisconsin’s first offensive play.

Despite having the entire game to go, there was just a feeling that the game was over.
And it was.

The Hoosiers never got anything going on offense to climb out of an immediate 20-0 hole after the first quarter.

Of all of IU’s losses this season, this was clearly the worst.

The defense failed miserably, allowing three Badgers to rush for more than 100 yards, totalling 554 rushing yards on the day.

The offense failed miserably, accumulating just 224 yards of offense and totalling just three points on the day.

It was a pathetic showing.

I didn’t think IU would win — I predicted a final score of 56-21 — but I thought there would at least be some fight.

You could argue the defense had some fight when it managed to stop Wisconsin in the red zone three times, but the explosive plays from White, sophomore running back Melvin Gordon and freshman running back Corey Clement overshadowed any of the few good things the defense did.

It seems like that’s the easiest thing to pick on from this game. But what was even worse was that IU’s explosive offense only managed three points.

Three points? That’s it?

The Wisconsin backs were going to get their yards. They’re good. But they shouldn’t have piled up 554 yards. That’s inexcusable.

But even more inexcusable is the fact that IU only managed one scoring drive.

This is an offense that prides itself on the idea that if the defense allows 100 points, it has to find a way to score 101.

IU has scored more than 51 points two times this season, including just last week against Illinois. It’s capable of big numbers. There’s no doubt it is the strength of this team.

And it only managed three points against Wisconsin.

IU has lost badly to Wisconsin before. This isn’t anything new. But the fact that the offense failed as badly as it did, combined with Wisconsin’s running backs putting up video game numbers, makes this IU’s worst loss to Wisconsin.

­— robhowar@indiana.edu
Follow football columnist Robby Howard on Twitter @robbyhoward1.