The Wisconsin Badgers have had quite the interesting season up to this point, looking like a team to beat at times and a defeated team at others.
However, many fans have kept faith as the Badgers still have plenty of talent and promise despite the recent results on the field. Often times, great things take a while to fully develop, and many fans have enough patience to endure difficult losses. However, the loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes appears to have changed the mind of many of the Badgers supporters this season.
The Wisconsin Badgers starting quarterback Braedyn Locke has had an up and down season this year, much like the Badgers. Locke is in the midst of an unfortunate run that has seen the quarterback throw an interception in the past seven games he has played in. The quarterback has two dual interception games this season and is now on a six-game streak of throwing an interception.
A season ago, Locke had just one interception and it occurred in his worst game of the season which was also against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Locke experiment was not incredible last season, but there were flashes of promise for the young quarterback. This season, however, the quarterback appears to have regressed between the interceptions, receiver drops, and the unusual play-calling.
Down 18 and still trotting Braedyn Locke out there is just openly admitting to everyone you’re giving up. Absolutely pathetic. This is rock bottom.
— Wisconsin Homer (@wisconsintakes) November 3, 2024
Braedyn Locke is just absolutely killing this team
— Grant Bilse (@WiscoGrant) November 3, 2024
While there has been a multitude of reasons as to why Locke has struggled this season, the interceptions are truly hard to look past. Even with the drops and inconsistency from the rest of the offense, Locke feels as though he is predetermining throws this year. The quarterback has failed to read defensive coverages this season and has made throws that at times appears as though Locke assumed the defender would not be there pre-snap.
With another loss added to the schedule is brutal fashion, the Wisconsin Badgers may consider making some changes.
Could the Wisconsin Badgers Staff Make a Quarterback Change this Season?
While many Wisconsin Badgers fans may want the staff to bench Locke, the idea of starting another quarterback might not be something the staff is comfortable with.
With just three games left in the season and no prior experience this year, the Wisconsin Badgers staff could consider playing true freshman Mabrey Mettauer. The quarterback is a definite redshirt candidate as this is a development year, but still is eligible to play this season. The redshirt has not been applied yet and four games is the limit, meaning Mettauer would be eligible if the Badgers staff truly felt a change was needed.
The Wisconsin Badgers coaching staff has been supporting Locke since camp, stating that they have “two starting quarterbacks” on the roster. While Locke has struggled, it seems much more likely that the staff will force Locke to figure things out rather than throw an unproven player into the game. The real truth of the situation is that Mettauer is around the staff daily, and they still feel as though he cannot fully run an offense at the collegiate level yet.
While a quarterback change might be what the fans want to see, it would take uncompetitive football like the Iowa Hawkeyes game to produce a serious change.
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