In the first half of the NCAA tie against Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz had a horror show as he failed to string even a single touchdown pass.
Mertz hasn’t had the best of outings for some time now. He is yet to register even a single TD pass in his last six starts, including tonight’s game.
Meanwhile, the Notre Dame side were 10-3 ahead after the end of the second quarter. In the second quarter, Mertz finally had an open receiver down the sideline and he missed him straight. That could’ve been the clutch throw to turn the tie around for Wisconsin. The Badgers were forced to punt.
Also read: Washington stop early spiral, thump Arkansas State 52-3
Mertz had another near-disaster moment just ahead of the half time, when he fumbled a snap and the Badgers were lucky to regain possession.
So far in the game, the 20-year-old QB has completed five passes out of 13 in the first half and only 71 passing yards.
“Graham Mertz hasn’t thrown a TD pass since November 21? Today is his sixth start since then,” a user on Twitter posted.
Also read: Brian Pata murder: All you need to know
Another user quipped: “Graham Mertz could really use a GPS to find his way back to anything resembling quality quarterback play.”
Also read: NFL: New York Giants winless after two games for fifth straight year
Meanwhile, this is the first meeting between both the teams since 1964, and the first when both are ranked.
The game has an intriguing backdrop with Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan playing against his old teammates. Coan left the Badgers last year after Graham Mertz was named the starter. Mertz is yet to live up to the lofty expectations that came with him being ranked as the best pocket passer coming out of high school in 2019.