The running game is fine against the weak and the sad, but the young offensive line isn’t pounding away and isn’t doing enough to open holes for the mediocre backs. The Badgers regrouped, advanced to the Big Ten Championship Game and ran 50 times for 509 yards in a 70-31 rout of Nebraska, with Ball and White each topping 200 rushing yards.
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IS STAVE CONFIDENT? Stave, who has started 33 games, suffered four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles) in the 10-6 loss to Iowa last week.
Now Nebraska’s defensive coordinator, Banker has retooled a defense built for stopping the run. Wisconsin has issues of their own as Iowa beat them last week with a few defense and quite frankly a better team, but there is no way Nebraska should be laying points to anyone right now in the Big 10, the play calling is deplorable, the coaching is iffy at best, and while Husker Nation will be strong in Lincoln on Saturday and I will personally be in the crowd, at days end I prefer a fat wallet and deflated ego versus betting the same ol Husker Tradition at home and losing money.
The Cornhuskers’ passing defense ranks as the worst in the FBS, allowing 353.8 yards per game.
BOH: The Badgers are definitely more anxious about the pass than the rush. I expect the Badgers to try to create these same type of mismatches by getting Dare Ogunbowale and Derek Watt involved in the passing game Saturday.
“It’s a lot to do with Maliek (Collins) and Kevin (Maurice) working up front … and just being around the ball”, Weber said of his performance.
Chryst said that offense possesses big-play ability, which the Badgers will have to limit. No team has consistently churned out 5, 6 and 7 yards a chunk against the Blackshirts. The redshirt freshman missed a majority of fall camp after the injury and just this week started taking part in 11-on-11 work, splitting first-team reps at right tackle with Jake Maxwell.
“I think it’s everyone on offense”, Chryst said. “Wisconsin has a very smash-mouth approach to football”.
Numbers rarely tell the whole story but they are frequently interesting.
“This is a good team, defensively they’re good. They do what they do really well”.
“You’ve just got to take it one day at time”, Hillary said. Will the Badgers still be able to play the remaining six games on their schedule and qualify for a nice bowl game? Yes. “We’ve got to be physical, we’ve got to be downhill when we’re supposed to and we have to consistently, time in and time out, fit the way we’re supposed to”.
Running back Corey Clement is out at least another three weeks because of sports hernia surgery.
Taiwan Deal isn’t a talker by nature.
The Golden Eagles’ top two running backs – Ito Smith and Jalen Richard – combined for nine catches and 132 receiving yards in this game. “They’re deep at that position”. It’s never easy to go on the road and come back victorious, but this looks like a game where there was an overreaction from those who look at it for entertainment purposes. “Wisconsin’s not short on talent”.
The Huskers enter the game with a 2-3 record following a 14-13 loss at Illinois on Saturday.
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“You’re thinking about it and you’re thinking about it”, Stave said.
