Luke Fickell proud of how Braelon Allen handled himself vs. Georgia Southern

In the first half of last week’s game against Georgia Southern, Wisconsin used Chez Mellusi at running back more than Braelon Allen. Of course, that changed in the second half as Allen wound up rushing for a game-high 94 yards and two touchdowns to help the Badgers to the 35-14 victory.

Playing Mellusi was a surprising decision considering Allen’s success through his first two years. According to head coach Luke Fickell, though, the third-year running back was “dinged up.”

And while he wasn’t going to be necessarily a game-time decision, Fickell pointed out how well Allen battled and broke out in the second half.

“Change of pace a little bit,” Fickell said of the decision to play Mellusi more to start. “Braelon was dinged up a little bit. But that’s what I’m as proud [as] anything. He didn’t bat an eye at it, whether it was being dinged up a little bit or, ‘Hey, this is the route we’re gonna go based on where you are physically.’

“He thinks he feels a lot better. And like I said, I’m not saying he was going to be a game-time decision. But he got dinged up a little bit in practice. I can honestly tell you, I’m proud of the way he fought through, the way he handled even today, and it showed in the second half.”

Why the ‘flow’ of the game might have impacted Braelon Allen’s usage this season

Allen has been the driving force for the Wisconsin offense the last two seasons under Paul Chryst and, in the interim, Jim Leonhard. With back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to his name, he’s off to another impressive start in 2023 with 255 rushing yards and four touchdowns to help the Badgers to a 2-1 record.

Through three games, Allen and Mellusi split carries fairly evenly. Mellusi has 40 carries so far while Allen has 36. Having that type of two-headed monster is huge for Phil Longo’s offense, and Fickell said the flow of the game was a big reason for that in the early going.

“I’m not saying it’s right or it’s better or whatever it is, but there’s a flow to things. And I think he’s mature,” Fickell said. “He understands that. He’s disappointed, he obviously wants to touch the ball a lot more and feels like more than just selfishly, feels like he can be more of an impact. 

“And I agree with him. He can be more of an impact but, you know, the opportunities that we get, we’ve all got to take advantage of it.”