ARLINGTON, Texas — There were a couple of silver linings to emerge from what can best be described as a dismal performance by the University of Wisconsin football team’s offense. For starters, the No. 20 Badgers won’t see a defense as good as the one it faced Saturday night at AT&T Stadium for quite some time, perhaps the rest of the season. Better yet, the most important player on offense — senior quarterback Joel Stave — emerged from a 35-17 loss to the Crimson Tide with tangible evidence that the confidence he’s gained since the arrival of coach Paul Chryst is a real thing. Stave was brilliant in the first half and finished with a respectable final line — 26 of 39 for 228 yards with two touchdowns and an interception — despite the fact the Badgers weren’t able to generate much of anything in the running game. “I loved the way he competed and I thought he did some good things,” Chryst said. “I think he was seeing the field well. A couple throws, they did a nice job and the windows close pretty quick with this group. But I thought he was decisive and I thought he did some good things.” UW finished with only 40 rushing yards on 21 attempts. Take out three sacks and a 25-yard end-around by senior wide receiver Alex Erickson — the Badgers’ only run over five yards — and the ground game was limited to 39 yards on 17 attempts. “The game is all about balance,” Stave said. “You want to be able to run the ball; you want to be able to throw the ball. …
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