Rastall Ramblings: Badgers Experience Mixed Bag at Lambeau

There was a little bit of everything for Wisconsin football in their season opener against Notre Dame this past Sunday — an opening half that delivered a healthy dose of optimism that maybe this could be the year the Badgers get some positive momentum under Luke Fickell, followed by an ugly second half that served as a reminder of all the frustrations of the Fickell era.

Unlike a decade ago, when Wisconsin upended No. 5 LSU on a memorable afternoon at Lambeau Field, there would be no instance of an unranked Badgers squad knocking off a top-five opponent in Green Bay this time around.

In the first half on Sunday, however, Wisconsin looked mighty impressive going up against one of the preseason national title favorites. The Badgers were physical and aggressive in the trenches on both sides of the ball, the passing game with Colton Joseph looked crisper than it has at almost any point the last few years and Malachi Coleman looked like a potential difference maker in the receiving corps.

The highlight of that opening half came courtesy of Badger punter Sean West who pulled off, without a hint of hyperbole, perhaps the greatest coffin corner punt I’ve ever seen.

West boomed an exceedingly nice punt that wound up going 69 yards, taking a sudden, 90-degree turn near the end zone to roll out of bounds at the one-foot line, which he capped off with a golf swing celebration. Wisconsin followed that immaculate punt up with excellent complementary football, forcing a three and out to take over near midfield and then cashing in on Joseph’s 28-yard touchdown strike to Coleman.

The Badgers trailed only 13-10 at the halftime break, and that didn’t feel like a lucky scoreline given that they outgained the Irish. They were every bit Notre Dame’s equal in that opening half, and they could have even held the lead if not for a muffed kickoff return that basically gifted the Fighting Irish a touchdown.

That was not to last. Notre Dame easily marched down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, then stuck the dagger in with a pick six on the ensuing Wisconsin possession. The Irish scored touchdowns on all three of their second-half possessions, as their heralded offensive line started imposing their will and quarterback CJ Carr started easily finding openings in the Badger zone defense.

The way the game transpired felt like a frustrating broken record that has played multiple times under Fickell: put together an encouraging opening half against elite competition, then watch it come unraveled in the second half.

As good as the start of the game was, Fickell is not going to be winning anyone over with moral victories or a single good half of football at this point in his tenure. The wins will need to start coming and the Badgers will need to convincingly beat some of the lesser teams on their schedule.

The more encouraging aspect is that Notre Dame should easily be the toughest opponent on Wisconsin’s schedule this fall. Even with things going sideways in the second half, the Badgers did enough in that first half to make a 7-5 or 8-4 record against their lighter schedule feel like a realistic goal.

We’ll see how that all plays out once Big Ten play begins. For now, I recommend setting the replay of that Sean West punt on an hour-long loop to fully appreciate its majesty.