There isn’t much to be happy about for fans of the University of Wisconsin football team after Saturday’s 23-17 win over Georgia State Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

The offense looked lost and the defense appeared shaky at times, but the No. 9 Badgers (3-0) found a way to pull out a win against the Panthers.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook replaced Bart Houston with 5:54 left in the third quarter and Wisconsin leading just 6-3. He led Wisconsin to a touchdown on that first drive, and UW scored on three of their final five series.

Hornibrook’s pass to fellow redshirt freshmen Kyle Penniston gave Wisconsin the lead for good with 7:25 remaining.

Here’s our breakdown of the game:

Offensive Player of the Game: Alex Hornibrook

Considering there wasn’t much of an offense until Hornibrook relieved Houston, Hornibrook is an easy choice. He finished 8-for-12 and threw for 112 yards in just a quarter and a half, and moved the offense with ease, especially compared to Houston (10-for-19, 91 yards).

Hornibrook opened up the offense immediately with two long completions, one to Jazz Peavy (29 yards) and the next to George Rushing (19 yards).

“The crowd really got into it after that drive,” Hornibrook said. “The players too. We got some life on our sideline after that.”

While leading Wisconsin on a fourth-quarter comeback, he connected with Robert Wheelwright for 11 yards and Penniston for a 29 yards to get UW inside the red zone.

Hornibrook doesn’t even deserve the interception he threw, because the ball went right through Rushing’s hands.

Defensive Player of the Game: Jack Cichy

The most impressive part of Cichy’s stat line isn’t the eight tackles he recorded Saturday, but the fact that all of them were solo tackles.

Cichy was second on the team on tackles Saturday, behind T.J. Edwards who had 11. But five of Edwards’ tackles were assisted. When it came to getting the job done in those pivotal one-on-one matchups, Cichy hardly lost.

The defense was key on Saturday, not allowing any points in the first half and maintaining a lead for the most part in spite of the offense’s ineptness. Cichy was a big part of that, and that’s why he’s our defensive player of the game.

Turning Point

When No. 12 trotted out to the tunnel, a sense of urgency overcame the offense and it showed. Hornibrook led the Badgers to victory and injected life into an offense that, for the first two and a half quarters, was inefficient and couldn’t move the ball on the defense’s side of the 50-yard line.

That all changed when Hornibrook got under center.

When You Knew It Was Over

With a team like Georgia State, this game should have been over the minute both teams stepped off the bus. But that’s why you play the games.

Wisconsin trailed as time waned in the fourth quarter, and were on the verge of suffering a humiliating upset. When they finally took a late lead and marginally added to it, the game appeared safe but nowhere near certain.

It was truly over when Georgia State quarterback Conner Manning threw three consecutive incompletions, which took just 24 seconds off the clock. Georgia State punted, the Badgers took over with 3:12 left, and then Wisconsin fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Trainer’s Room

Chryst offered little regarding the status of Taiwan Deal and Troy Fumagalli, both of whom departed Saturday’s game early with injuries. It’s tough to tell if they’ll be ready for the Big Ten opener against Michigan State next Saturday.

Corey Clement didn’t play Saturday, but that was more precautionary than anything. He should be ready to go for MSU.

Quotable

“He did what he was supposed to do. Coming in, having to step up and make some plays, he did everything we needed him to do to get the victory.” — Robert Wheelwright on Alex Hornibrook.

“They were able to get some really explosive plays off so hats off to those guys, they’re a really good team. We kind of needed a performance like this, as far as having to deal with adversity. I think we handled it well.” — cornerback Sojourn Shelton on Georgia State’s offense.