Major Coaching Mistake Costs Wisconsin Badgers Against LSU

Tough loss for Wisconsin.

Although it isn't receiving too much media attention (yet), Gary Anderson's coaching decisions in the second half of the Badgers opener against LSU ranks among the most idiotic blunders that I have ever seen in college football.  
The Badgers seemed to have a stranglehold on the Tigers during the first half of the game, dominating their SEC opponents in every facet. The Badgers went into the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 17-7 lead. With the exception of one long pass play, the Tigers had shown a complete inability to score against the stingy Badger's defense. Wisconsin had already established their two pronged running attack, both Melvin Gordon III and Corey Clement were eating the Tiger's defense alive. Barring a complete meltdown, it looked like LSU wouldn't figure out the halftime adjustments that they needed to make a serious comeback in the second half. Unfortunately, that meltdown happened, and the reason for it was the idiotic decisions made by the Badgers head coach Gary Andersen.
The second half started right where the first half left off. After Melvin Gordon electrified the crowd with a 63 yard scamper to the LSU 12 yard-line, Corey Clement punctuated the drive a few plays later with a two yard touchdown run. On the ensuing LSU offensive possession, a fake punt equated to a 30 yard field goal by Colby Delahoussaye that trimmed Wisconsin's lead to a still commanding 24-10 advantage. However, from there, the Tigers scored 21 straight points to stun a Wisconsin team that seemed poised for victory after the first half. The final score was 28-24 Louisiana State.
The ESPN analysts commentating on the television broadcast of the game attributed Wisconsin's meltdown to that fake punt that led to 21 unanswered LSU points as the crucial play that completely shifted the momentum of the game. However, if Gary Andersen hadn't executed one of the worst coaching performances in the history of Wisconsin football, the Badgers would have won the game.
Gary Andersen's decision to almost completely abandon Melvin Gordon in the second half (after his 63 yard run early in the third he only carried the ball three times the rest of the game), and his unwillingness to bench McElvoy despite his struggles both contributed directly to the loss.
Lets start with the blatant misuse of Melvin Gordon. With a commanding lead in the third quarter and nothing going in terms of the passing game, Gordon should have been the featured back the entire second half. Not only is the tremendously talented junior capable of carrying a team by himself, but sticking with a productive run game would have bled time off the clock preventing the 17 point comeback.
But Melvin Gordon, a preseason Heisman trophy candidate and a guy that finished the game with 140 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown, watched from the sideline as sophomore running back Corey Clement was bottled up by the LSU defense. He also watched as a 17 point lead turned to a 4 point loss, and a national championship dream was diluted away.
Naturally, at the conclusion of the game, questions abounded regarding the logic behind not playing a star running back during the final quarter and a half of an ultra-important game. Nobody provided a reasonable or satisfying answer.
"There was a little bit of a scenario with Melvin being completely ready to go at halftime," UW coach Gary Andersen said. "But he came out and hit the long run and he seemed to be OK."
So, if he was ok, and the halftime "issues" turned out to not be an issue why did he only get THREE carries for the rest of the game?
"I don't know that," Andersen said.
For a division one college coach that made a decision of that nature, having the nerve to be that vague when explaining his coaching decisions is unacceptable. Melvin Gordon is his best player; he went against all conventional wisdom and benched a Heisman trophy candidate. He needs to own up to his mistake, and admit that he was blatantly wrong in his decision. Although it isn't an immediate fix-all solution, it least it provides some closure for the thousands of disgruntled Wisconsin fans who had their hearts broken as a result of this game.
Initial speculation regarding the reasoning behind Gordon being benched, drew the conclusion that an injury must be the reason behind the issue. But backup running back Corey Clement asserts that Gordon was fine the entire second half.
"Melvin is perfectly fine. Melvin has his time and I have my time. I just try to make the most of my opportunities."
The second coaching decision that screwed Wisconsin over in this game centered around the quarterback. A heated training camp quarterback battle was eventually won by former safety Tanner Mcelvoy.
Mcelvoy didn't live up to the expectations of the game, proving completely incompetent in the passing game. It didn't help that the Badger receivers had a heck of a time getting open. Mcelvoy went 8-24 with a grand total of 50 yards and 2 interceptions. He contributed to the age-long stereotype that Wisconsin lacks good quarterback play and therefore is a one-dimensional offense that is stoppable despite the prowess of their running backs.
In the waning moments of the game, Wisconsin had one more opportunity to score a touchdown and squander a victory. In a situation where the passing game was crucial to get the ball up the field as quickly and efficiently as possible, Mcelvoy wasn't the answer at quarterback. Joel Stave, who has been the Badgers starting quarterback in the past possesses the poise needed to be effective in these late game situations. Although Stave by no means is a great quarterback, he would have been a better option than Mcelvoy.
Going into next week, the Badgers coaching staff has a lot of important decisions to make regarding who gets the start at quarterback against Western Illinois next Saturday. Mcelvoy, a safety turned quarterback, earned the starting job because of his mobility. However, the mobility provided drawbacks and these were on full display on Saturday. He never established a good presence in the pocket, and threw off his back-foot way too much. Stave, at least for the present, seems like the answer at quarterback for the Badgers.
These two obvious coaching blunders cost the Wisconsin Badgers a game that they were in the driver's seat to win. In the process, Wisconsin has been virtually eliminated from playoff contention and move forward knowing that they let a game slip away. For me as a fan of Wisconsin football, the game Saturday was another bead on the long string of failures that have cursed the Badgers over the year. It hurts more that this game was an opportunity to make a nationwide statement that Wisconsin is for real by beating an SEC team. The pain is doubled knowing that a coaching decision that I could have made cost the team the game.