Mistakes, Wilson bury Beavers in Wisconisn

Jacob Pedersen (48) catches a touchdown pass with Oregon State's Rashaad Reynolds (16) defending during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Oregon State came into Wisconsin with a lot of questions, Saturday and it seems as though they got at least some answers, even if the answers weren't what they wanted to hear. With two quarter backs sharing the reps with the first team through out the week, it seemed as though Coach Mike Riley would be deciding on a starter by throwing them into the fire of Camp Randall Stadium, one of the most raucous in the country. Unfortunately for the visitors, they didn't get enough answers to make it matter on the scoreboard as Wisconsin garnered their first shut out, 35-0 since they shut out Purdue 37-0 in 2009.

The offense had to lean on the experience and abilities of their quarter backs as the running game was only able to net 23 yards on the ground against a stifling defense. It seems as though Coach Riley decided on Sean Mannion to lead his offense as he managed to complete 25 of 38 passes for 244 yards. Former starter Ryan Katz only threw 3 passes as it appears he will be passed up by Mannion on the depth chart. Only time will tell at this point as OSU has two weeks to prepare for their first conference game against UCLA.

On the other side of the ball, Russell Wilson was again sparkling, passing for 3 touchdowns and only missing on 4 passes. The Oregon State interior defensive line held up their end of the bargain early, slowing down the dynamic rushing attack of Montee Ball and James White, but there were no answers for Wilson as he lead the Badgers up and down the field. The Badgers eventually wore down the undermanned Beavers defensive line and Montee Ball broke through for two touchdowns late in the second half to ice the game for the home team.

Wisconsin got help from an unexpected source as the Beavers just couldn't get their special teams on the same page. Johnny Hekker netted -4 yards on a punt to give Wisconsin the ball inside Oregon State's red zone and an eventual touch down when Russell Wilson found Jacob Pederson in the end zone for his first touchdown of the day. With Wisconsin leading 14-0, the Beavers needed a solid drive to get back into the game but Kick Returner Kenyan Parker made a mental mistake, fielding the ball and stepping out of bounds inside their own 5 yard line, creating a tall order for the offense.

The Badgers have one more warm up against Northern Illinois before they get into conference play and they appear to be on the right track. Wilson providing a much needed spark to an offense that seemed to be missing one element to really become unstoppable. Meanwhile, the Beavers seem to find some rhythm on offense. Oregon State was really missing Freshman standout Malcom Agnew who rumbled for 223 yards against Sacramento State, getting a little banged up in the process. Perhaps, the passing threat of Sean Mannion will open up the Beaver offense and give Agnew the much needed lanes to make Oregon State effective.