After dropping their conference opener to Iowa, the Wisconsin football team has rattled off two consecutive victories over Nebraska and Purdue. Now, they will travel to Champaign Saturday to go up against a steadily improving Illinois team, and here are three questions to consider as the weekend approaches.
What will Corey Clement’s role be?
Speculation is swirling around Badgers camp regarding lead back Corey Clement’s return to the field, as the junior continues to recover from sports hernia surgery.
As of Thursday, there is still no word on whether Clement will play or not, but UW head coach Paul Chryst relayed that the tailback will likely be a game-time decision.
Should Clement return, how much he will play will remain a big question. The running back was dressed in full pads last weekend against Purdue, but did not see the field, so a full workload seems unlikely to happen considering Clement hasn’t seen the field since the first week of September.
But the Wisconsin running game needs Clement more than ever this season, as the team currently ranks 12th in the Big Ten in rush offense and has failed to reach 100 total yards rushing in two of their last three games. On top of that, running back Taiwan Deal remains questionable for the weekend as he nurses an ankle injury.
Nevertheless, if Clement returns, easing him back into gameplay seems to be the most likely scenario.
Football: Corey Clement says status still unknown for Saturday
How many times will quarterback Joel Stave throw the football?
As a result of the poor performances out of the backfield, Stave has been forced to throw the ball a lot more than he ever has in his career.
Coming into this season, Stave had thrown the ball more than 35 times just twice in three years. In his last three games, the quarterback has throw the ball 38 times, 50 times and most recently 39 times against Iowa.
But high volume has not translated into good production, as in those three games, Stave has just three touchdowns to three interceptions. He has, however thrown for over 300 yards in two his last three games — something he was unable to do all of last season.
In the end, if the rushing attack is effective, Stave will be able to rest his arm in an effort to balance out the offensive attack. But if the running game continues to struggle, look for Stave to air it out often.
Which UW linebacker will dominate the middle of the field?
The top four leaders on Wisconsin in total tackles are the team’s linebackers, and that should come as no surprise to anyone as they have dominated in the middle all season.
Throughout the season, a different Badger linebacker has stepped up in a huge way and single handedly dominated each week. Whether it was redshirt freshman T.J. Edwards with his career-high 16 tackles against Purdue or senior Joe Schobert’s career day of eight tackles and three sacks against Iowa, a Wisconsin linebacker has stepped up in each and every game.
This weekend, it may be time for junior and emotional leader Vince Biegel to step up and take over against Illinois, as the linebacker has managed a total of just 10 tackles in his past three games.
But either way, it’s when these four play in unison as a collective unit that they are at their best and most effective.
Football: T.J. Edwards answers the bell and steps up in a big way
