After moving into the top spot in the conference standings with a come-from-behind victory over Purdue in West Lafayette, the UW football team (7-0, 4-0) will return to Camp Randall looking to preserve its perfect record against the Wildcats of Northwestern (3-3, 2-1) in the annual Homecoming game Saturday.
Though Wisconsin’s dramatic win over Purdue, which moved the Badgers to 7-0 for the first time since 1998 and left UW as the only remaining undefeated team in the Big Ten, has many in Badger nation thinking Rose Bowl, head coach Barry Alvarez is not looking past the Wildcats.
“I know Northwestern’s a heck of a football team and a very dangerous football team, and that’s the only remaining schedule that I’m looking at,” Alvarez said.
After opening the season 0-2 with losses to TCU and Arizona State, the Wildcats have won three of their last four games, including back-to-back overtime victories over Ohio State and Indiana. Though the Wildcats may not appear intimidating with a .500 record, Randy Walker’s squad has proven itself as a giant-killer this season with a 33-27 win over then-No. 7 Ohio State in week five.
The Wildcats have won the last two meetings with the Badgers, including a 16-7 upset in Evanston, Ill., last season. The Badgers hold a 6-6 record against Northwestern in the Alvarez era.
“We’ve got to play a good Northwestern team that’s playing really, really well right now, and who beat us last year; so we have to play good football,” offensive coordinator Brian White said.
The Wildcats have weapons on the ground and through the air, as the Northwestern attack features the second-ranked rusher in the Big Ten in tailback Noah Herron and the second-most-productive quarterback in the conference in Brett Basanez.
“Northwestern is a real good team,” cornerback Scott Starks said. “Their record doesn’t show it as much, but they got a great running back and a great quarterback and good receivers. Their offense is just phenomenal, and we’re going to have to come out and bring our A game.”
Herron, who also ranks second in the conference with nine touchdowns, has averaged 112 yards per game in 2004. The talented tailback exploded for 206 yards and three touchdowns on 6.8 yards per carry in the Wildcats’ win over Indiana Saturday. In his last two games, Herron has compiled 325 yards and five touchdowns.
“You see him split so many defenses; he’s a north-and-south runner,” Alvarez said of Herron. “He’s a downhill runner. He’s big and powerful. He can run through tackles. He makes things happen. He’s key to their offense.”
Herron will look to exploit a depleted Wisconsin defensive line, as defensive ends Erasmus James and Jonathan Welsh will be absent from the starting lineup due to injury. James will miss the game entirely and Welsh has been removed from the starting lineup and is unlikely to receive playing time. James and Welsh will be replaced in the starting lineup by redshirt freshman Jamal Cooper and sophomore Joe Monty.
“I guess that’s the good thing; all year we’ve had a rotation in the defensive line,” Alvarez said. “You’ve seen a number of different mixings, guys mixing and matching in that defensive front. And we certainly needed that this past Saturday. We’ll need it this Saturday.”
While Herron provides a big-play threat in the backfield, Basanez leads a potent Northwestern passing attack that currently ranks second in the conference with an average of 265.3 yards per game, trailing only Big Ten juggernaut Purdue. Basanez’s primary target, wide-out Mark Philmore, is second in the conference in receptions (45), behind Michigan’s Braylon Edwards.
A week after shutting down Heisman hopeful Kyle Orton and the Boilermakers, Wisconsin’s top-rated pass defense (141.9 yards per game) will face another difficult challenge in Basanez and the Wildcats. Wisconsin will look to contain the versatile Basanez, who is a threat to run as well as pass. The quarterback has run for 202 yards and three touchdowns in six games this season, averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
“They want to give him a run-pass option and get him out into space where he can use his feet,” Alvarez said of Basanez. “You know, any time you have someone that does that, what the defense wants to do is limit where he goes on the field and cut the field down by getting someone up the field and pulling him up.”
While Northwestern’s offense has emerged as a dangerous group this season, the Wildcats have struggled defensively. Northwestern has allowed an average of 31.5 points per game this season, the highest opponent scoring average in the conference. The Wildcats rank 10th in the Big Ten in pass defense, as the lackluster Northwestern secondary has surrendered an average of 284.3 yards per game this season.
With quarterback John Stocco and the UW passing game coming alive in recent weeks, the Badgers will look to exploit the porous Wildcat secondary, especially if the quadriceps strain that sidelined tailback Anthony Davis in the second half against Purdue has any lingering effects.
Carrying a 7-0 record into Saturday’s contest, the Badgers have more than revenge riding on this year’s meeting with Northwestern. Alvarez’s squad, however, will not consider the potential bowl implications that will be attached to every remaining game on the schedule. Instead, the Badgers have continued to think in terms of their season-long motto, looking to go 1-0 each week.
“You’ve heard all of them talk about 1-0,” Alvarez said. “And as simple as that may sound, they have lived by it.”
