UW

After an early season bye last Saturday, Wisconsin enters its second home contest this Saturday with still a fair amount of questions remaining and only two non-conference games left.

UW’s last time out was a rather non-event, as the Badgers took care of business in their final game against an Football Championship Subdivision opponent for the foreseeable future with a 37-3 domination of Western Illinois. Despite the rather comfortable margin of victory, not everything ran as smoothly as head coach Gary Andersen might have hoped for, especially in regards to the offense. Heisman hopeful Melvin Gordon rushed for just 38 yards on 17 carries, his lowest rushing total in the last two seasons.

A big reason for Gordon’s lack of success and UW’s mediocre day on the ground as a team had a lot to do with what the Leathernecks’ defense had planned, and how it adjusted in the first half. Wisconsin totaled just nine first half points in that game, and at times, Western Illinois stacked the box with up to 10 players, all but begging UW to try to beat it with the pass.

But the Leathernecks’ hope that quarterback Tanner McEvoy would have trouble throwing the ball backfired, and McEvoy eventually settled in and threw for 283 yards through the air and three touchdowns, his first three passing touchdowns of the year.

However, outside of McEvoy’s success, the Wisconsin offense sputtered throughout most of the game, and the rushing attack as a whole turned out a lackluster performance with only 112 total yards, excluding McEvoy. Considering the performance came against an FCS opponent too, it was that much more disappointing, as Wisconsin has typically run all over FCS opponents in the past without having to rely too much on the passing game.

However, this weekend’s game should provide more answers about the true identity of the offense with a quality opponent as Bowling Green. Although it was only one game, McEvoy’s ability to make throws and scramble should allow more space for Gordon and Clement in the backfield, as the two backs look to bounce back in a big way. But if McEvoy struggles to hit his throws and the Falcons load the box on Wisconsin again, it’ll be seen whether or not the Badgers can run the ball when it’s expected of them.

UW’s defense was solid two weekends ago, allowing only 54 rushing yards and has played much better all-around than the offense in the first two games.

Bowling Green

The Falcons have not won against the Badgers in three tries in series history, but this year’s team poses a very real threat to upset 19th-ranked UW.

Bowling Green comes to Madison with a 2-1 record this season, with its most recent win an impressive 45-42 outgunning of Indiana last weekend. Although Indiana has characteristically been one of the weaker teams in the Big Ten, Bowling Green’s win against a power conference team still carries a warning flag for others.

As last year’s Mid-American Conference champion, BGSU annihilated Northern Illinois 47-27 in the MAC Championship game last December. It has already showcased its offensive prowess in its first three games this season, even though the Falcons underwent a coaching change at the top with Dino Babers taking over the head coaching job. Bowling Green fell in their first game of the season on the road at Western Kentucky in a 59-31 loss, but have rebounded since then to score 48 and 45 points, respectively, in the last two games against Virginia Military Institute and Indiana.

Last weekend against the Hoosiers, the BGSU offense was rather pass-heavy with 73 total pass attempts, 46 of which were completed for a total of 395 yards. The Falcons also averaged 4.4 yards on the ground with 176 net yards rushing.

It’s clear that the offense can do big things for Bowling Green Saturday afternoon, but the key weakness for it this year has been the defense, which has allowed an average of 31 points per game. Western Kentucky’s explosion for 59 points skewed that number, but still, the Falcons have allowed over 40 points in two of three games this season.

If there’s one area that especially struggled on the defensive side of the ball for the Falcons, it has been the secondary. Despite an offense that averages over 300 yards through the air per game, Bowling Green has actually been out-gained by opponents’ passing games, yielding a per game average of 412 yards.

Despite a small sample size for the Falcons’ defense, those eye-popping numbers favor the Wisconsin offense, which has now demonstrated that it can have success in the passing game. Even if the Falcons can stop the run, their big weakness defending the pass could prove detrimental if they try to outgun the Badgers and win their second straight shootout.