Bret Bielema Fires Offensive Line Coach, But Wisconsin, Big Ten Have Deeper Offensive Issues

September 8, 2012; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeye wide receiver Keenan Davis (6) catches a pass against the Iowa State Cyclones in the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-US PRESSWIRE

By now, you’re likely well aware that Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema fired offensive line coach Mike Markuson after the Badgers’ 10-7 debacle at Oregon State. Wisconsin was reduced to more than five touchdowns fewer than its 2011 average.

There are apparent problems to point out in the Badger offense: Paul Chryst is (probably regretfully) coaching the Pitt Panthers, and Russell Wilson is a day removed from his first NFL start with the Seattle Seahawks. Nick Toon is also gone from a season ago, and Jared Abbrederis was lost early to injury.

However as analyzed here on SaturdayBlitz.com, new offensive coordinator Matt Canada seemingly abandoned the rush, giving 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist and 2010 near 1000-yard rusher James White a combined 18 carries against a rush defense that ranked in the 1000s. Canada went instead to 37 Danny O’Brien pass attempts. Perhaps Markuson’s line was to blame. After all, Bielema’s decision came swiftly.

Bielema’s comments at Monday’s press conference alluded to Markuson’s family. There was an air of ambiguity that I interpreted (perhaps inaccurately) as there being more systemic problems plaguing the Badger offense than simply Oregon State coming out fired up.

"I did due diligence bringing him in. But it was at a point on Sunday that I had contacted people early in the morning, made sure that a transition could happen. And I sat down with Mike Sunday afternoon, had a conversation with him and really wished it wasn’t going to end the way it did."

The Badgers are not alone in their struggles. Iowa took the field Saturday at home against rival Iowa State, daring the viewing audience to find anything uglier than its leather helmet era throwback uniform.

Challenge accepted! declared the Hawkeye offense.

Iowa held ISU to just nine points, but could muster just six of its own.

Like UW, Iowa has obvious offensive deficiencies that explain away the lack of production. The Hawkeyes’ two top running backs from a year ago are plying their trade at Stony Brook (Marcus Coker) and Southern Illinois (Mika’il McCall). Meanwhile, Kirk Ferentz has been proven to wield some kind of Stephen King novel power that curses anyone listed at the position on his depth chart. The Geneva Convention is considering adding a protocol that declares lining up at running back for Iowa inhumane.

The Hawkeyes’ complete inability to move the ball on the ground against what is a pretty talented Cyclone rush defense hindered Iowa’s scoring opportunities. Yet even with AJ Klein and Jake Knott patrolling the midfield, ISU is hardly the defense that should hold an offense to six points. James Vandenberg was throwing a lot — 42 times to be exact. Two of those resulted in interceptions, including one in Cyclone territory on the Hawkeyes’ final possession.

Reaching ISU’s side of the 50 proved a daunting task. The Hawkeyes accomplished it just three times all game, but on two such occasions running back Damon Bullock carried for the ball six and four times. Those were on each Iowa scoring drive, and accounted for more than the third of Iowa’s run plays the entire game.

New offensive coordinator Greg Davis — notice the similarity shared with UW? — called for passes exclusively on three of the Hawkeyes’ final four possessions, including the final two. Bullock was not what one would categorize as effective, averaging all of 2.4 yards per carry. Then again, neither was Vandenberg with his sub-50 percent completion rating.

Purdue was held to 17 points in its loss on Saturday, albeit against one of the most talented defenses in the country. However, the Boilermakers’ quarterback situation is dire. Caleb TerBush was suspended in Week 1, allowing Robert Marve to start and flourish. Marve was also considerably better on Saturday, but is lost for the season to an ACL injury. The Boilers have one of the best defenses in the conference, if not the country. Yet the Notre Dame game proved the offense not giving the defense adequate support wears a town down by attrition.

Even those offense that produced points left Saturday with some eyebrow raising concerns. Nebraska’s rush offense without Rex Burkhead wore down in the second half at UCLA. Ameer Abdullah’s production dropped off a cliff following his fumble deep in Bruin territory.

Michigan bounced back from its Week 1 blowout loss, and Denard Robinson was superhuman. But how effective can the Wolverine offense that Al Borges is seemingly re-configuring weekly be when it’s so reliant on Shoelace making plays? Fitzgerald Toussaint’s integration back into a more regular role is likely in order.

Oh, Michigan and Indiana? They combined for 89 points. *shrugs*