The 2022 Wisconsin Football season has been nothing short of bizarre. The program let go of Head Coach Paul Chryst following a 2-3 start that was highlighted by home losses to Illinois and Washington State. A loss to Ohio State on the road is to be expected, but Wisconsin was not at all competitive in Columbus. The brutal start led to lots of finger pointing, with Junior Quarterback Graham Mertz receiving heat from the fans. Quarterback is always an easy place to blame, but this team has issues that go well beyond who is under center. Mertz has actually turned in some of his best play as a Badger this year.
What do the Numbers Say About Graham Mertz?
Through six games, Mertz has thrown for 1,296 yards, 13 touchdowns, and five interceptions. For comparison, Mertz threw for 1,958 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in the entire year of 2021. With half a season to go, Mertz is poised to shatter his yardage mark from a year ago, and has already eclipsed his passing touchdown total. Mertz’s average yards per completion is 14.18, which is good for 19th in all of FBS. Additionally, Mertz ranks second in the country in PFF’s Big-Time Throw percentage after week 6:
Power 5 big-time throw percentage leaders:
1. Quinn Ewers (UT), 10.0
2. Graham Mertz (WIS), 9.9
3. Jaxson Dart (MISS), 9.2
4. DJ Uiagalelei (CLEM), 8.9
5. Drake Maye (UNC), 8.4 pic.twitter.com/TcC3JfQ1SN— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) October 10, 2022
PFF definition of a Big-Time Throw:
A big-time throw is best described as a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.
— Jeff Deeney (@PFF_Jeff) September 14, 2022
Mertz vs Northwestern
Mertz had a monster game against Northwestern, throwing for five touchdowns, 299 yards and no interceptions. The offense was turned loose in its first game without Chryst, and Mertz turned in arguably his best game as a Badger. His performance earned him PFF’s top rated power five quarterback for week six in college football:
Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz in Week 6:
🦡 90.3 PFF Grade (1st | Power 5 QBs)
🦡 299 passing yards
🦡 5 TDs
🦡 0 INTs pic.twitter.com/cK769NwQGZ— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 9, 2022
He got it done in a variety of ways. He stood tall in the pocket and delivered strikes at times, and extended plays with his feet at others. My favorite throw of the day was this off-balance beauty to WR Chimere Dike to make it a 21-0 game:
This is probably one of the more impressive throws I’ve seen Graham Mertz make. He avoids the rush, rolls to his left and makes the perfect touch pass for a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/T2LTurwVJr
— Cory Jennerjohn (@CoryJennerjohn) October 9, 2022
What About the Losses?
In fairness, it’s easy to cherry-pick numbers from one brilliant game to build a case for a player. Wisconsin has lost three games this year, and Mertz was under center for all of them:
Mertz vs Washington State
Mertz threw TD passes of 17 and 10 yards to TE Clay Cundiff. This accounted for all of Wisconsin’s points. He threw an interception while he was getting sacked, but he ultimately recovered the ball back on the same play after the WSU defender fumbled. The 17 yard TD pass to Cundiff was especially pretty:
Graham Mertz to Clay Cundiff 17 yard TD! #CollegeFootball #Badgers
— The College Experience (@TCEonSGPN) September 10, 2022
I have a hard time pinning this loss on Mertz. His teammates lost two fumbles and committed 11 penalties. Wisconsin also gained 22 first downs to Washington State’s 10 showing they moved the ball well. After watching the game highlights back again, Mertz probably deserved a better fate considering some of the throws he made.
Mertz vs Ohio State
Thing went off the rails from the start, and an early Mertz interception did not help. Wisconsin’s defense offered zero resistance to the Buckeyes offense all night. Mertz was not very good, but neither was anybody else. Wisconsin was simply outclassed at every position on the field by one of the best teams in the country.
Mertz vs Illinois
This game started promising, with Mertz hitting RB Isaac Guerendo for a 21 yard score to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Mertz was picked off on a deflected 50/50 ball that his receiver was unable to make a play on. You can argue this was an irresponsible throw. However, if the receiver makes a play, we are all talking about what a gutsy throw it was on third and nine from his own end zone. Mertz’s worst play of the day came in the 2nd quarter when he avoided a sack, tried to make a play that wasn’t there, and threw an interception.
Unfortunately this INT came after a beauty of a throw down the right sideline. From there, the wheels fell completely off the Badger team, and their head coach was fired the next day. As a result, The highlights and lows can be seen here.
Looking Ahead
It remains to be seen how Wisconsin’s offense will evolve with offensive coordinator Bobby Engram having full autonomy of the playbook. The early results were outstanding, but Northwestern isn’t exactly world-beaters. The biggest thing we need to see from Graham Mertz and this passing game is consistency. However, I feel he has made some of the best throws of his Badger career this year. However, as we saw in the Illinois game, nobody remembers those if you follow them with questionable decisions/interceptions.
In Conclusion
All things said and done, I’m not trying to put Mertz in the Heisman discussion or anything like that. He still has a ways to go to be considered a polished power five quarterback. My point is that if you look under the hood, his season has quietly been solid. Wisconsin’s slow start should not be placed squarely on his shoulders as some in the fan-base continually try to do. Mertz, along with interim head coach Jim Leonhard, have a chance to rewrite the script of the 2022 Wisconsin Badgers. Northwestern was a great start, but a strong showing against Michigan State would go along way to building the consistent habits we all want to see from Mertz and this offense.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @AJdonaldson_1 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!