SPORTS
Badgers set for showdown in West Lafayette
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by Dave McGrath
Friday, October 15, 2004
Saturday's contest between the University of Wisconsin Badgers and Purdue Boilermakers figures to be the ultimate battle: the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object — with Purdue's offense playing the part of the unstoppable force (No. 4 offense in the nation) and the Badger 'D' (ranked No. 1 nationally) in the role of the immovable object.
The key to the game seems to be simple. If the Boilermakers can move the ball and put up points against the Badgers, they can come away with a victory. If Wisconsin can keep the Purdue offense in check, manufacture some offense and dictate the game, it comes away with a victory.
However, the road for either team to accomplish this feat is much more complex.
For Wisconsin, the first order of business will be to corral Heisman candidate Kyle Orton and the nation's second best passing attack (averaging 351.2 yard a game).
Orton is the leader of the Purdue offense and forcing an off game from him will be the Badger's biggest concern. This will be one tall task though; Orton also represents maybe the most dominant passer UW has met since Drew Brees captained the Boilermakers.
"He takes advantage of [mistakes] more than anyone," UW defensive coordinator Bret Bielema said of Orton. "If he believes there is someone who has busted a coverage, someone doesn't have the right leverage, I think he does a great job of recognizing that and getting themselves into a positive situation offensively."
Orton has accumulated 1,642 yards and 18 touchdowns to this point in 2004, while completing his passes at almost a 70 percent clip and only tossing just two interceptions. His performance, coupled with Purdue's fast start out of the gate, has propelled him to the top of the Heisman race.
Taylor Stubblefield, Orton's favored target, has already caught 11 touchdowns (tops in the nation), to go along with 568 yards and a 16.2 yards per catch average.
Last season, Orton victimized the UW defense by going 38-55 for 411 yards and a score, overwhelming the Badgers secondary with a barrage of short throws that went for long yardage after missed tackles — something Bielema has emphasized needs to improve this go round for UW to be successful.
"I think tackling is very, very important on Saturday. I think everybody needs to tackle. There are going to be DB's that are going to need to tackle, linebackers that are going to need to [make] a tackle, D-linemen that are going to have to make a tackle. If they don't have any extra yardage after missed tackles, that is going to lead us to have success," Bielema said. "They are going to complete passes, but what we have to do is get the ball down once it's thrown and not allow any yardage after that."
The Badgers are going to rely on their strong defensive line to create pressure on Orton without the aid of blitzers. Bielema has confidence that Anttaj Hawthorne, Erasmus James, Jason Jefferson and Jonathan Welsh are up to the task.
"I believe they are who they are because they [get the job done] everyday," he said. "I don't expect Saturday to be any different."
The Badger offense will look to rolling after a confidence-building game against Ohio State, in which signal caller John Stocco led the Badger aerial attack to its best performance of the season. Timely third-down completions and a pair of outstanding catches in the end zone by Darren Charles and Jonathon Orr helped Stocco mature into his role as the starting quarterback on one of the nation's top teams. The Badgers likely will need another steady performance from Stocco this week, with avoiding turnovers a must.
The offense again will look for running back Anthony Davis to lead the way in a hostile road environment and this time against the Big Ten's third best run defense. Last week Purdue limited Penn State to only 18 rushing yards.
Through Davis and fullback Matt Bernstein, the Badgers will look to control the clock by running the football, in an attempt to keep Orton and company where they are least dangerous: on the bench. Davis will look to cement himself firmly back in the Heisman race himself with a solid performance and a UW victory.
The special teams match-up could also have crucial implications, especially if punt returner Jim Leonhard can repeat his return for a touchdown performance of a year ago.
In the end however, it looks as if the Badger defense will be the story of the day however, if it can slow down the Boilermaker attack, while the Purdue offense will again command headlines if it runs over the Badgers.
The Badgers believe they truly have the advantage and believe their defense can get the job done against the highly touted Kyle Orton and the Boilermaker offense.
"We just got to play our type of defense," senior captain Leonhard said. "We have been doing a great job of just flying to the ball and making plays that way. To have success we just have to [run] around and [be] able to execute our defense."
