After a 28-14 victory in the season opener last Friday, the Wisconsin football team stays home tomorrow to face FCS opponent South Dakota. The Coyotes defeated Division 2 Northern State 45-3 last week. This is the last game before next week’s epic battle with Alabama. Can the Badgers put on a better performance tomorrow afternoon? The game starts at 2:30 p.m. on FS1. Here’s a preview of tomorrow’s game.
Will the Wisconsin football defense get to the quarterback?
After averaging just two sacks per game last year, Luke Fickell entered the transfer portal and added a few bodies to the defensive line. Last week? They only got one sack from Elijah Hills behind schedule in the game.
This was a unit that Western Michigan pushed at times. Just two defensive linemen is a challenge, but there’s really no excuse for why they weren’t able to defend the run and attack the quarterback more often. If they can’t get to South Dakota, which will rely on the run, it’s going to be a real problem for the rest of the season.
Faster start in attack
The Wisconsin football offense had only eight tackles last week, but still ran 82 plays. That’s a very good performance, but only 28 points to brag about. They left points on the field and had a turnover. Considering how frustrating the defense was at times, the offense could have been even more frustrating.
Much credit goes to the Western Michigan defense. They didn’t take risks, didn’t make mistakes, and didn’t let the Wisconsin football offense beat them deep. At the same time, it was disheartening that Phil Longo and the offense didn’t even attempt a deep pass. There wasn’t a single play that went more than 17 yards. That can’t happen Saturday or in the future.
Like the defense, there is no reason the offense did the way it did. 14 games in a recent offensive system with a ton of returning production shouldn’t result in average offensive numbers. Going into tomorrow, the offense needs to be more aggressive.
Forecast
The Badgers did some good things last week, even though it was a negative overall. South Dakota will give Wisconsin football all it can handle. The Coyotes look to be as good or maybe even better than Western Michigan. Tomorrow should be a wake-up call for the Badgers.
I won’t say the Wisconsin football team will lose tomorrow, but there needs to be better production on both sides of the ball. The Coyotes are one of the best teams in the FCS and they won’t be intimidated going into Camp Randall.
With the exception of throwing the ball deeper, I like what the Badgers have done with their run-pass distribution. I still think they need to establish the run early and get throws downfield when they are there.
The Coyotes will have a good running back duo in Travis Theis and Charles Pierre Jr. They combined for over 200 yards and three touchdowns on the ground last week. Sure, they are a much better opponent than Northern State, but I expect the Wisconsin football teams to play with a little more urgency and purpose tomorrow, and Alabama will be on the horizon next week.
Wisconsin 31 South Dakota 14
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