After steamrolling Purdue in a 37-0 victory last weekend, the Wisconsin football team is prepared for a trip to Bloomington, Ind., to face the Indiana Hoosiers. But despite winning in shutout fashion against the Boilermakers, the Badgers insist they have yet to play up to their own high standards.
For junior guard John Moffitt, the win felt good, but his team’s performance wasn’t perfect.
“[The win] was satisfying, but we could have capitalized on a few more plays,” Moffitt said. “I think there were definitely some plays left out there.”
Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst agreed.
“Yeah, we did some good things, but there is a lot we can get better at,” Chryst said.
With last week’s victory behind them, the Badgers are eager to get back on the field to build on the momentum the shutout victory created. In order to do that, the Badgers will need to perform well away from Camp Randall, a challenge junior quarterback Scott Tolzien is looking forward to.
“It seems like forever since we’ve been on the road,” Tolzien said. “It’s kind of fun (on) away games — it’s just the guys on the sideline and you feel like it’s you against everyone else.”
The guys standing on the opposing sideline will be the Indiana Hoosiers, a team that has hung tough with the Big Ten’s elite.
“The thing that stands out is that they’ve battled some really good teams,” Tolzien said. “They’re talented and we have just got to take it like any other week.”
The Hoosiers nearly upended Michigan in Ann Arbor, played the Buckeyes tough at home and were on the verge of crushing Iowa’s national title hopes last week at Kinnick Stadium. The problem for head coach Bill Lynch’s squad is that all of the upset bids broke down in the second half — the story of the 2009 Hoosiers.
But does this IU team look better than the versions UW has seen in years past?
“Yeah definitely,” junior wide receiver David Gilreath said. “When I watched them against Ohio State, they looked good and they should have beat Iowa. They look a lot better.”
It was Gilreath who exploded for 168 rushing yards and two touchdowns in last year’s meeting with the Hoosiers. The end-around, a staple of the UW offense, gave IU fits, and Gilreath took full advantage. This time around, however, the speedy wideout doesn’t expect to see so much running room.
“I definitely expect them to game plan for it more, but honestly it’s a hard play to stop,” Gilreath said.
Indiana’s preparation for the end-around is essential, but there is one thing above all else that UW opponents, and the Hoosiers specifically, must be ready to face — the power running game.
In last season’s matchup, John Clay and P.J. Hill both rumbled for over 100 yards on the ground en route to a 55-20 Badger victory.
Indiana needs a stronger performance from its defensive line, and after studying the Hoosiers on film, senior captain Garrett Graham revealed that it’s the men in the trenches for IU that stick out.
“They have tough linebackers but their defensive ends have really jumped out,” Graham said. “They are probably their best players on defense and it’s going to be a battle all game.”
Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton, the playmaking defensive ends for IU, lead the team in tackles for loss, and they will both be counted on to slow down the potent UW rushing attack.
Moffitt and the rest of the offensive line have also taken notice of IU’s improved play on the defensive side of the ball.
“Their ends are their strength and I think their tackles are good too — [defensive tackle] Larry Black is a good nose tackle,” Moffitt said. “I think they are playing, from last year to this year, a lot better on defense.”
For the Badgers, the plan is to keep things simple as they attempt to finish out the 2009 season on a high note. Graham and his teammates are focused on putting together another solid performance and they are ready for the battle-tested IU squad that awaits.
“We’ve been there before, so we know what the environment is like, we know what to expect,” Graham said. “We’re just going to go in there and do what we do.”