Eatman: Nothing worked with this ‘backup plan’

Shorthanded Foxes turn to third-string QB in loss

MADISON, Wis. —

Chase Wolf entered the game with 17 career passing attempts and left it with just two completions.

The third-string quarterback from Cincinnati got the call at halftime Friday night in the Big Ten opener, after starter Graham Mertz twisted his right ankle trying to hurdle a defender on the first play of the second half.

Backup Deacon Hill, who filled in for Mertz in the second half of last week’s loss to Washington State, is still in concussion protocol. That left the 6-foot-5, 234-pound Wolf, who was signed to the roster as a walk-on prior to the 2021 season, to lead an offense that had scored just nine points in its first seven drives.

The first play in Wolf’s tenure under center was an 8-yard pass over the middle to Dean Engram. But Wolf missed his next six throws and was sacked twice, putting the offense in a hole it could not crawl out of.

The final indignity came early in the fourth quarter, when Wolf was stripped of the ball by D.J. Johnson and it was scooped up and returned 21 yards for a touchdown by Riley Moss.

Redshirt freshman Myles Burkett, who played quarterback in high school, replaced Wolf on the final drive of the game.

“We had a backup plan and our backup plan didn’t work,” coach Luke Fickell said.

Fickell said Wolf, who has thrown just one pass in three seasons at Cincinnati, got most of the first-team reps in practice this week because Fickell thought Mertz would be ready to return.

“Chase, he’s a great player, but he’s still a young player,” tight end Josh Whyle said. “He’s still learning the ropes. It’s no excuse for how we played in the second half, but we’ve got to continue to try to get better and we’ve got to continue to try to help him get better.

Wolf’s outing was the latest in a series of setbacks for the Cincinnati offense, which has now failed to score a touchdown in six straight quarters.

“We’re just not executing,” Whyle said. “We’re not making plays when we need to. We’re not blocking our assignments. We’re not getting open. We’re not throwing the ball where it needs to be.”

The offense also failed to take advantage of a strong performance by the defense, which held Wisconsin to 224 total yards and forced three turnovers.

“You can’t win games when you don’t score points,” Fickell said. “It’s that simple.”