Wisconsin was tied with Michigan, 7-7, midway through the fourth quarter in Week 12 when Badgers' quarterback Alex Hornibrook took a 1st-and-10 snap from their own 10-yard-line. He dropped back to the goal line, surveyed the field and fired into double coverage like he has too often this season.
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The ball initially went through the hands of Michigan linebacker Devin Bush but he still corralled an easy interception as he fell to the turf at the 29-yard-line.
It was Hornibrook's eighth straight game with an interception and gave him a 5.8-percent interception rate, the worst in the FBS. And at the time, it appeared to be another misfire that may cost Wisconsin a shot at the College Football Playoff.
Then the switch flipped, and Alex Hornibrook went from playing tentative, bonehead football to playing like an All-American. On their next drive — after a Michigan field goal gave them a 10-7 lead — he hit A.J. Taylor down the sideline for a 51-yard gain. Three plays later, he threw what was maybe his most impressive pass of the season, a 24-yard touchdown strike to Taylor on 3rd-and-16.
MORE: Taylor Found Perfect Fit at Wisconsin
Minutes later, following a Michigan three-and-out, the sophomore signal-caller retook the field. Who would it be?
The irresponsible player who before the last touchdown drive was 6-for-14 for 44 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception? Or the one who marched Wisconsin 77 yards down the field in seven plays for the go-ahead score?
The second one.
Hornibrook threaded the needle to Danny Davis III on the near sideline for a 27-yard gain that, at minimum, had the Badgers on the edge of field goal range late in the third quarter of a one-score game. Then Kendric Pryor scored on a 32-yard reverse on the next play.
In two drives, Hornibrook went 3-for-6 for 99 yards, one touchdown and three of his best throws of the season.
As odd as it looked, this is who he is. He's an inconsistent, hesitant player who routinely doesn't see open receivers down field, dances for too long in the pocket or air mails throws over the middle. He's also a big, athletically gifted and smart quarterback who can fire bullets into coverage.
Wisconsin doesn't need Alex Hornibrook to be the player he was on those two touchdown drives. They can win if he's even half that player. But they do need him to be smarter than the player who throws nearly one interception every 17 pass attempts and, until the 3rd-and-16 touchdown, had done almost nothing to prove he can be trusted on third-and-long.
The Badgers have an elite defense, a top-three running back in college football and good coaching. They have the pieces to win the Big Ten Championship and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. But they cannot do that when Alex Hornibrook looks like Dustin Sherer.
He is not a great quarterback but he's good enough to get the job done.
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NEXT: Tracking Jonathan Taylor vs. Ron Dayne's Freshman Season
