3^rd quarter

14:43: Big hole for Boom Herron, good vision and speed for 57 yards, brought down by 3 guys in the open field after dragging the pile. This is easily his best run of the night so far.

14:01: Botched snap by Mike Brewster, the consensus top center in this draft class.

13:35: Herron fast in space for another sizeable gain.

13:16: Herron can’t do anything at the goal line.

12:54: Herron on the goal line again, bounces to the outside, but can’t get the touchdown again.

12:42: Herron stuffed on the goal line again.

11:28: Toon overthrown deep by Wilson. Well covered.

7:55: Russell Wilson under pressure, throws it over the head of Toon. Pressure by John Simon, who had a sack earlier. He’s been impressed by the junior defensive tackle’s motor, but at 6-3 270, it’s unclear where he will play at the next level.

4:05: Herron not a lot up the middle.

2:57: Herron cuts back and finds a hole and a good gain on 3^rd and 1.

2:25: Herron for 10 in space out of the wildcat, brought back by penalty.

0:46: Taylor with a pass deflection now.

4^th quarter

14:21: Herron good vision to run away from the blitz, 7 yards in space.

13:54: Herron with a yard up the middle.

13:12: Herron barely converts 3^rd and 1 on forward progress.

12:44: Herron explosive for a big gain through a big hole.

12:10: Herron stuffed at the line.

11:30: Herron dances around, can’t find anything, little to no gain.

9:47: Toon takes a pass in the flat, breaks, a couple tackles, good moves for 14.

8:45: Toon almost makes an awesome deep catch. Extends against tight coverage, but can’t quite finish the catch.

8:01: Herron stuffed at the line.

7:18: Herron nice cut back out of the wild cat for a few. Could have been a negative play.

5:25: Herron for a couple up the middle.

4:39: Herron not in on a key 2 point conversion. He’s being taken out on the goal line for a smaller back after his earlier struggles in this area.

4:09: Toon targeted, but inaccurate out of bounds by Wilson.

3:39: Herron with a short gain.

2:55: Herron with a few.

0:38: Herron gets a good push from his line to convert 3^rd and 1.

0:13: Toon makes a good play downfield to break up an errant pass that could have been picked.

0:05: Toon drops a tough catch, but he might have done it on purpose. Wisconsin had no timeouts left with 5 seconds left and the catch was over the middle. If he makes this catch, it’s game over as there was a guy draped on him who would have taken him down and ended the game.

0:00: This was Boom Herron’s 2^nd game back from suspension. He had 1155 yards and 16 touchdowns on 216 carries. In his first game back, he had 114 yards and a score on 23 carries. In this one, he had 160 yards on 33 carries. However, take away 57 yard run and he had 103 yards on 32 carries. That was more indicative of how he ran in this one.

Living up to his name, Boom Herron had one big Boom play, that long run, but he had a lot of Bust as well. You can’t be this boom or bust if you’re going to be a consistent running back in the NFL. He didn’t show a lot of yards after contact. He had a few nice cuts, but he’s not the shiftiest back either. He also doesn’t have the best vision.

He’s got a good offensive line blocking for him and he’s great in space with good speed and explosiveness, but I don’t think he has enough to be a lead back in the NFL. He really struggled in short yardage, including 3 stuffs on the goal line. He’s not all that small at 5-10 205, but he runs smaller than that. He looks like a mid rounder.

Herron’s nemesis in this one was Mike Taylor. Taylor, who was responsible for several of Herron’s bust plays all by himself, finished with a whopping 22 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and a pass deflection. The 6-2 230 junior linebacker has come out of nowhere this season to have 86 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 2 deflections, and a pick on the season in 8 games. Should he declare, he could be a day 2 pick, but considering he only has one year of good production, it would be beneficial to his stock for him to return for his senior season.

Herron’s counterpart in this game is Wisconsin’s Montee Ball, a day 2 pick at running back. Ohio State’s front 7 played him well, led by linebacker Andrew Sweat and defensive tackle John Simon, but Ball kept his stock steady with 85 yards on 17 carries. Wisconsin’s offensive line played well again and all 3 of their early draftable offensive linemen, Ricky Wagner, Peter Konz, and Kevin Zietler should see their stock stay stable.

Andrew Sweat had 8 tackles in the game to give the senior linebacker 57 tackles in 8 games. The 6-2 235 pound senior looks like a late rounder. John Simon is a junior and will almost definitely return for his senior season. I love his motor, but at 6-3 270, where does this defensive tackle play at the next level. He caused problems for Montee Ball. He had 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and got consistent pressure on the quarterback. On the season, he has 29 tackles, 9.5 for loss, and 5 sacks.

Simon didn’t just cause problems for Montee Ball, he caused them for Russell Wilson. Wilson still had a good game, which he needed after struggling a bit against Michigan State, his first tough test of the year. Wilson was 20 of 32 for 257 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no picks. He should stay a mid round pick. Wilson didn’t throw to his favorite target Nick Toon all that much. Toon caught 3 passes for 39 yards. Toon might still be suffering from his foot injury. In 7 games, he has 30 catches for 544 yards and 6 scores. He’s stock is in the 3^rd round range. He’s a smart player, a 3 year starter for a conservative offense, and a great athlete at 6-3 220, but he hasn’t been able to shake injuries in the past 2 seasons.