After a bye week following a sturdy home game against Alabama, the Wisconsin football team begins Big Ten play tomorrow. The Badgers will travel to Los Angeles to face the USC Trojans. USC will enter this game with a 2-1 record after a 27-24 loss to Michigan last week in Ann Arbor. Conference play will be a challenge for the Badgers. Can they pull off a huge upset on the road and start conference play? Starts at 2:30 p.m. on CBS. Here’s a preview of tomorrow’s match.
Brayden Locke has to be almost perfect
I wouldn’t ask Brayden Locke to throw the ball 30 or more times tomorrow, but when he does, he has to be effective with the ball. USC will probably bring home and have Locke beat them with his shoulder. So far, we’ve seen that his footwork tends to fade away when blitzing, resulting in errant passes or the ball being turned over at the line of scrimmage.
USC is one of the better teams in the country, and their defense is playing better, too. They don’t have to be involved in 45-42 shootings every week. I still think the Wisconsin football team can score points, but they have to stay on the field, play aggressively and win time of possession.
Wisconsin football has to run, run, run
I think the identity of the Wisconsin football team for the rest of the season has to be running the ball. They have the running back depth and a very talented offensive line to do it. At some point you want Brayden Locke to win a few games, but this isn’t that game.
The duo of Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker performed really well in spurts. Cade Yacamelli provides a good combination of power and speed. I also think that newbies like Darin Dupree are coming back. It’s obvious they don’t want him to wear the red shirt. If this is the case, play with your baby.
Forecast
It’s like an Alabama style game, expect to be on the road and the opponent isn’t as good as the Crimson Tide. I’m having trouble figuring out specific ways the Wisconsin football team can go to a sold-out LA Memorial Coliseum and pull off a huge road win.
We’ll see how Brayden Locke plays now, with two weeks to prepare and a game-week start. The Alabama game showed me in the fourth quarter that he still had something to work on. The footwork is the same as last year, and he’s having trouble getting the air under the ball.
I will say that I think Locke cares about the ball and won’t be reckless with it. He will have to make plays on third down and will have to make some shots. This game seems to be more focused on running and defense.
Without a doubt, Locke will need to win some games this year. This looks like a really bad matchup for him. If it’s Tyler Van Dyke, I think this game is close.
If the Wisconsin football team can keep the ball, I think it will be closer than most think. I like USC’s offense and the deep ball that Miller Moss can throw. Quarterback play is the difference in this game. I just don’t think this Wisconsin football forward can score enough points in this game.
USC 31 Wisconsin 13
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