Wisconsin Football: 3 takeaways from Badgers win over Michigan in Week 12

Wisconsin football hosted No. 24 Michigan in Week 12, looking for revenge for last year’s loss in Ann Arbor. What did we learn?

Well, this game was everything we expected it to be. A low-scoring defensive battle took place in Madison on Saturday afternoon as the Michigan vs. Wisconsin game was the focus of ESPN’s College GameDay.

The Wolverines entered the game as the No. 24 team in college football while Wisconsin was No. 5 and looking to creep into that top four with a win and maybe a loss from one of the teams ahead of the Badgers. While the latter part of that wasn’t likely on Saturday with top teams facing cupcakes, the Badgers did control their destiny vs. the Wolverines.

Wisconsin got its signature win against No. 24 Michigan, avenging the 14-7 loss from last season. The Badgers are now 11-0 on the season and must have impressed the playoff committee.

Here’s what we learned from the huge Week 12 battle in Madison.

3. Badgers deserve better than Alex Hornibrook

This isn’t as much of a knock on Alex Hornibrook as it is sympathizing with the Badgers. Fans have watched their team play stellar defense this season, including against Michigan, and watch a breakout freshman running back take center stage in Jonathan Taylor, but we have yet to see progression from Alex Hornibrook.

The young quarterback is in his second full year as the team’s starter, but he seems to be playing nothing more than a conservative style of football. That’s not necessarily his fault as the staff doesn’t trust him enough to take shots down the field.

For a team that’s just about as complete as it gets in the Big Ten, Wisconsin needs to find a quarterback to lead the ship. Hornibrook isn’t the type of player that can take the offense to the next level like Russell Wilson did a handful of years back. Paul Chryst doesn’t have many options right now, but he will need to find that guy in recruiting.

Although he did make what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown pass late in the game, he must improve for this team to be serious in the playoff race.