SPORTS
Roger’s poses big threat to Badgers
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Also by Drew Hansen:
- Wisconsin stuns No. 12 Maryland (December 1, 2004)
- Bo's Badgers roll in 2004 opener (November 22, 2004)
- Wisconsin prepares for Maryland's athleticism (November 30, 2004)
Related Stories:
- Spartans seem lifeless (October 28, 2002)
- Badger offense looks to ground Spartans (October 23, 2002)
- Calm down: UW still in title hunt (November 17, 2004)
- Defense must return to form (November 19, 2004)
- Five keys to victory (October 25, 2002)
by Drew Hansen
Thursday, October 24, 2002
It’s a different set of conditions for the Badger defense this week. Heading to the newly grassy Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, the Badgers have drawn a late 6 p.m. kickoff against an offensively potent Michigan State football team.
“It’s going to seem like a while before night gets there,” Badger defensive back Scott Starks said. “But it’s easy to get amped up when the lights come on.”
Getting up for the big game was not the problem for the Badger defense last week as Kevin Cosgrove’s unit put on arguably its best effort of the season, holding the No. 4 Buckeyes to 19 points and keeping Maurice Clarett out of the end zone.
“We did a lot of good things in that football game,” Cosgrove said. “The kids played hard. I think they saw what a couple critical plays can do to you. We played well, the kids executed, and we have to correct those mistakes and get the same kind of effort and put up the same type of enthusiasm into this week.”
It will take a lot of effort from the Badger defense to contain the nation’s best receiver in Spartan Charles Rogers. The six-foot-four wideout is having a Heisman-type season, with 43 receptions for 861 yards and seven touchdowns. The numbers say a lot, but Rogers has been a very clutch player, catching big touchdowns in critical situations.
Rogers had a field day with the Badger secondary last season, catching five passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
“I don’t know if anybody has stopped him yet,” Cosgrove said of the receiver. “What you have to do is you can’t let him get anything over the top. You have to limit the big plays.”
But as the Badgers have made a great effort to prevent anyone from going over the top all season, the Badger defense leaves gaping holes underneath their coverage. These holes in coverage have been exploited by opposing quarterbacks down the stretch of the last three games, putting the Badgers in a hole of their own; down 0-3 in conference.
“The coaches have just put together a great plan this week,” Starks said. “We’ll just follow through with our plan. I’ll just go out there the same as any other week.”
While Rogers remains a cause for caution, the Spartans have a confident quarterback that can get him the ball, and a very hefty offensive line with two bulky running backs who can be very hard to tackle.
“MSU has tremendous skill players,” Cosgrove said. “Rodgers is as good a wide receiver as there is in the country and Smoker is a tremendous quarterback. They have a big offensive line. So, they have a lot of weapons in that offense.”
For the Badgers front four, that hefty offensive line could be a lot to deal with. Spartan head coach Bobby Williams has put together a very tough and physical line that opened big holes for T.J. Duckett last season and has continued to do so this season for Dawan Moss and David Richard.
“They’re a tough group,” UW defensive tackle Jason Jefferson said. “They’re really physical, fast and strong. We’ll just have to get physical with them, put in the same amount of effort … [It’s] just all about the linemen, just reading the keys, knowing how to block them and which situation it will be.”
Michigan State running backs Moss and Richard have split the running duty this season with Moss carrying most of the load.
“We’ve got to do a great job of tackling [their running backs],” Cosgrove said, “You have to constrict the holes. They’re a big ISO team and we have got to make sure we get them down and not let them run through those holes.”
The Badgers look to plug those holes with a linebacking corps that has revolved more than a Beatles album since Jeff Mack fell victim to a stinger against Penn State. The linebackers latest change comes by moving Alex Lewis, who had played admirably at the outside spot all season, to the middle.
“We felt when Alex was playing outside there were a lot of adjustments,” Cosgrove said. “With a new guy coming in, not having [played] spring football, everything changes for him each week. We want to keep him inside where everything’s the same every week. We didn’t give him playing time last week, because he moved to the position, but he’s ready to go this week.”
The Badgers are really going to depend on their linebackers this week, as they will be counted on to plug the holes to stop the run, as well as help cover the middle coverage as the defensive backs prevent Jeff Smoker and Charles Rogers from getting over the top.
“[The] linebackers have been doing a pretty good job all year helping us out underneath,” Starks said. “They’ll continue to do a good job.”
Riding a three-game losing streak, the Badgers look to the road as a place to redeem themselves and find that first conference win of the season.
“I think the kids are excited to get away and get on the road,” said Cosgrove. “We’re excited to play another game and excited to play well. We just have to play like last week and eliminate a few mistakes.”
“It’s football,” said Jefferson. “You just have to keep a base, and keep after it.”
