Michael Caputo continues to impress as well. Playing his 2nd game in a row as the field linebacker, Caputo was equally adept bringing pressure on the quarterback as he was in coverage or tackling in space. Caputo brings speed and athleticism to the edge of the defense that isn't there with Kelly on the boundary; his style of play is a likely sneak peek at what the staff wants this defense to look like in the future.

The Offense had bright spots as well. The offensive line looked the best in pass protection it has all year. Of the three sacks they gave up, two were against a seven-man rush and on the 3rd Joel Stave pumped twice but never threw the ball. All three sacks were on Stave; he was simply too slow to get rid of the ball against the rush. Otherwise the offensive line kept the pass rush at bay, making the Badgers a threat both in the air and one the ground.

That strong pass protection allowed the offense to put forward the most balanced game thus far in the season, rushing for 286 yards while passing for 241 more. It’s not suggested losing Jared Abbrederis for most of the game was good for the offense, but it did appear to force Stave to distribute the ball better than he has at any point in the season. In total, four wide receivers, and nine receivers in total, caught passes on the day.

While the passing game had a new wrinkle to it, the Badger ground game was more of the same. Melvin Gordon had another dominating performance, highlighted by an electrifying 71 yard touchdown run that effectively put the game out of reach...in the 2nd quarter! While James White contributed a 100 yard game of his own, Gordon was again the star of the show.

Finally, and not to be overlooked, Kenzel Doe deserves mention as well. Doe cemented himself as the electrifying special teams player that he is, returning his first kickoff back from injury 50 yards, putting the offense in great field position.

THE BAD

Unfortunately for Doe his great return is largely overlooked as Stave threw an interception on the subsequent possession. While he was serviceable Saturday and certainly played well enough to keep Northwestern’s defense from selling out on the run, there are troubling aspects to his game.

As alluded to earlier, Stave holds on to the ball too long. That internal clock so critical to a good quarterback seems lacking at times when he has the ball. He isn't adjusting his timing in the face of pressure either. The best strategy when facing Stave in obvious passing downs is to bring pressure, forcing him to make a quick decision, something he doesn’t seem equipped to do.

When he does get the ball off, it’s often arriving too late. Stave is making a mistake common to young quarterbacks; he waits for his receiver to get open before delivering the pass rather than anticipating their routes and delivering a strike at just the right time. That may come with more experience, but it’s not there now.

Perhaps most troubling however are his accuracy issues. He struggles on short and medium length passes. He put a ball at Alex Erickson’s feet that was close to being a fumble. A 3rd down pass to Jacob Pedersen was only completed due to a great diving effort by the tight end. While he’s completing slightly more than 60% of his passes on the season, that number could be higher with a more consistent delivery.