The season is on the line.
This is not a time for mincing words for the UW football team. Mired in a slump that has the team in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since the 1995 season, the Badgers find themselves facing a make-or-break situation against the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday morning at Camp Randall.
Wisconsin is currently three victories shy of the minimum seven wins required to play in a bowl game, meaning the team must win all of its remaining games to extend the season into winter break.
“It’s a must-win,” junior Al Johnson said. “We have to take this one to stay in the hunt for a bowl game. The team need to win this.”
Standing in the way on Saturday will be a quality Hawkeye team. Sporting a 4-3 record, Iowa is coming off a tough 32-26 home loss to Big Ten leader Michigan last weekend. But the Hawkeyes’ postseason hopes remain very much alive.
The Badgers have owned Iowa recently, winning the last four contests between the teams — a span in which the Hawkeyes have managed to muster a mere five points per game. But this is a new year, and the two teams that play on Saturday will be very different than those of the past.
Despite not possessing a lot of flash, the Hawkeye offense has been very effective this season. Iowa has only been held under 24 points once on the year (a 23-14 loss to Purdue), and can strike from several areas.
The Hawkeye offense is led by senior quarterback Kyle McCann, who boasts an outstanding efficiency rating of 140.1. McCann has thrown 11 touchdowns on the year, five of which have gone to his favorite target, senior wideout Kahlil Hill. Hill has 33 catches for 446 yards and has reached the end zone five times this season. McCann also has dangerous targets in Dallas Clark and C.J. Jones (a combined 48 catches, 635 yards and four touchdowns).
The key to the Iowa ground game is senior running back Ladell Betts, who has amassed 528 yards and five touchdowns on the season and is the second-leading rusher in Hawkeye history. Betts’ backup, Aaron Greving, has made the most of his chances this season, averaging six yards per carry and picking five touchdowns on only 20 carries this year.
With the ability to strike from several places, Iowa appears to match up well with a Badger defense that has fallen into an absolute tailspin. After convincing performances against Virginia, Penn State and Western Kentucky, the Wisconsin defense has been giving up points in droves, especially in the last two weeks, two back-to-back 42-point games which kept the Badgers out of the win column and put the team’s collective back against the wall.
The defense has been beset by injuries throughout the season. However, its early successes were not simply a freak of nature; there is still plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball. How that talent performs will have a big say in whether or not the team’s postseason dreams continue onto next weekend.
While the defense has struggled, the offense has at least been able to hold its own. The key to the Badgers could be whether or not quarterback Brooks Bollinger is able to play. Good things seem to happen to the Badgers the more playing time Bollinger gets, and his health is even more vital this week — backup Jim Sorgi is unlikely to play with a concussion. If Bollinger, who is still reeling from a groin injury suffered against Illinois, cannot go, redshirt freshman Matt Schabert should get the nod. Schabert performed well in relief of Sorgi last weekend. Even though that performance came against one of the weakest pass defenses in the conference, if it comes down to Schabert getting the start, he will have the full confidence of his teammates.
“After the way [Schabert] handled himself last week,” Johnson said. “I have total faith in his ability to lead us.”
With running back Anthony Davis and wideout Lee Evans proving week in and week out that both are legitimate playmakers, Wisconsin leaves no doubt that it possesses the weapons to score at any time. If the offensive line gets the quarterbacks adequate time to throw and continues to open nice holes for Davis, the game — as well as Wisconsin’s postseason fate — will likely be placed on the shoulders of the defense and its ability to stop the Hawkeye attack.
“The shape of the game will set early, depending on which defense does a better job stopping the other team’s offense,” Johnson said. “The tone and tempo of the game will be dictated by the defenses.”
