13 thoughts after Wisconsin football's listless loss to No. 1 Ohio State
Still more to discuss after another deflating loss.
MADISON, Wis. — An early, acrobatic catch by Carnell Tate was only the start of things to come for the University of Wisconsin football team this weekend in another shutout loss.
Tate snagged a leaping 33-yard touchdown pass between two Badgers defenders near the back of the north end zone inside Camp Randall Stadium midway through the first quarter Saturday. No. 1 Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) and its dynamic, surgical passing attack combined with its nation-leading defense on way to a 34-0 victory over Wisconsin (2-5, 0-4).
“I’ve said it once since the end of the game. I’ve said, oh, this will be the fifth or sixth time, that I’m incredibly disappointed in a lot of things,” Fickell said. “Obviously, the scoreboard is probably the most notable, and to not find a way to put points on the board will never give us a chance. So we know we have to find a way to be able to do that, and we got to get a hell of a lot better at it.
“But there are some bright spots. I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat things, and you can ask all the questions you need to ask, but I just want to mention a few things that we got it handed to us today in all areas, to be honest with you.”
Here are numerous other thoughts from Wisconsin’s loss.
Fickell answers question on reporter’s allegations about NFL scouts’ access
Dane Brugler, an NFL Draft analyst for The Athletic, said on Twitter during the game that Fickell “has been shutting NFL scouts out of practice so games are the only chance for teams to get eyes on Wisconsin players in person.”
“No, we have NFL scouts there almost every single day,” Fickell said. “I think at one week, we kind of said, ‘Look, on Wednesdays, let’s don’t have a slew of guys.’ But no.
“They’re in the building. They’re able to ask. Maybe they can’t watch the whole practice on a Wednesday, I think. But my goodness, we don’t even have much of a restriction. I think there was a week, but other than that. I think we’ve got other things to worry about.
“To get into some (Bill) Belichick type of scouting situation, that’s the least of our worries. They could ask all questions and visit with too many people at times, but they’re more than welcome.”
A lot of Buckeyes fans in the crowd
Ohio State travels well, as there were plenty of Buckeyes faithful walking around prior to the game while on my walk west to Camp Randall Stadium. With the apparent current state of Wisconsin fandom, it admittedly was tough to tell at times when looking down from the press box which jerseys were cardinal (Wisconsin) and scarlet (Ohio State).