UW's Kendric Pryor agonizes over an incompletion and a touchdown that wasn't
Jeff Potrykus
MADISON – Player after player discussed the plethora of opportunities Wisconsin’s offense squandered Saturday in the loss to Illinois.
Wide receiver Kendric Pryor would love to have two plays back from that game.
The first occurred in the second quarter with UW looking to build on a 10-7 lead.
UW drove from its 35 to the Illinois 27. On second and 9, Jack Coan tried to hit Pryor down the right side. Pryor was between two defenders and the throwing window was tight. Coan placed the ball between the defenders but it was a bit high and barely out of the reach of Pryor inside the 5.
“I tried to reach both hands for it but it only hit the top of my middle finger on my left hand,” Pryor said. “I didn’t get a chance to catch it.
“We had some missed opportunities. I caught that same pass last week against Michigan State.”
After tailback Jonathan Taylor dropped a pass in the right flat on third and 9, UW settled for a 44-yard field goal by Collin Larsh and a 13-7 lead.
Then in the fourth quarter, UW faced third and 4 from the Illinois 38. Pryor ran a slant against corner back Devon Weatherspoon and Coan hit him in stride at the 30.
Pryor headed toward the end zone, with Weatherspoon trailing. Weatherspoon tried to grab Pryor up high near the 15 but lost his balance fell to the turf. At the last instant he was able to reach out with is left hand and grab Pryor’s left foot.
Pryor went down at the 3.
“He was closer than I thought,” Pryor said. “He tried to get me up top and then as he was falling off he grabbed my hips and then he got a swipe. I thought I was going to score.
“I’m at mad at myself that I didn’t score.”
Pryor’s frustration stems from the fact that he tried angling back slightly toward the middle of the field to shorten the distance to the goal line. In hindsight, Pryor believes he should have kept running toward the pylon in the right corner.
“I may have gotten in,” he said. “I should have gotten in. That is why I am mad. We didn’t get six points. We got three.”
UW settled for a field goal after three running plays netted a gain of 1 yard, a failure that eventually allowed Illinois to rally for the victory.
“There was a sick feeling in your stomach,” Pryor said. “We are a better team than that.”
Pryor and his teammates have a chance to prove that when No. 13 UW (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) faces No. 4 Ohio State (7-0, 4-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Columbus.
The Buckeyes are No. 2 in the Big Ten in pass defense, allowing only 136.3 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown only three touchdown passes in 194 attempts, one every 64.7 attempts, and 10 interceptions.
Three teams have passed for more than 200 yards against the Buckeyes, Florida Atlantic (206), Indiana (215) and Michigan State (218). But Ohio State has limited three of its last four opponents to a combined 149 passing yards.
Northwestern quarterback Aidan Smith hit just 6 of 20 attempts for 42 yards in a 52-3 loss to the Buckeyes last Friday.
“I thought we came out with great energy on defense," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. "I thought we had an edge to us. We could feel it in warm-ups."
UW quarterback Jack Coan has completed 76.0% of his passes for 197.6 yards per game, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Wide receivers Quintez Cephus, Danny Davis, A.J. Taylor and Pryor have combined for 69 catches for 837 yards but only three touchdowns.
This will be their toughest test to date.
“You can tell they are great athletes, very fast,” Pryor said of the Buckeyes’ defensive backs. “I think it is a good matchup because I feel we have four great receivers on our side and they’ve got four great DBs on their side.
“I think it will come down to winning your one-on-one match-up. They got speed; we got speed. They’ve got athleticism; we’ve got athleticism. You need to win your one-on-one match-up.
“I feel whoever does that the most will determine the outcome of the game.
Pryor expects the Buckeyes will look to slow Jonathan Taylor and play mostly man coverage against UW’s wide receivers.
“I think they will try to stop the run and make us beat them by throwing the ball," he said. "I think we have the talent.
“I like our guys. I like the group I’m with.”
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