Football: No. 10 Wisconsin takes on Akron in first official home game

After massive jump in polls, No. 10 Badgers look to validate top-10 inclusion with dominant performance this weekend

by Chris Bumbaca

September 8, 2016

The University of Wisconsin football team will host Akron this Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in the official home opener of the 2016 season.

Akron, of the MAC, won its opener 47-32 over the Virginia Military Institute. Junior quarterback Thomas Woodson completed 72 percent of his passes (23-for-32) while on his way to throwing for 409 yards and six touchdowns.

This high-powered air raid within the Zips’ (1-0) spread offense should be the greatest test for a Badgers defense that held then-No. 5 Louisiana State University to only seven points on offense last weekend.

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“Offensively, they’ll [Akron] spread you out,” UW head coach Paul Chryst said. “Their quarterback has got a really strong arm but [he’s] also a good runner.”

It’s a much different type of offense than that of LSU’s, which Wisconsin held to 131 passing yards last Saturday. The Tigers run a more downhill, pro-style offense, while Akron will try to create one-on-one matchups on the outside.

Tackling in those situations will be key, Chryst said.

Another important part of the Akron offensive attack is Warren Ball, a senior running back who transferred from Ohio State after graduating with one year of eligibility remaining. Ball rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against VMI last week.

Akron’s Thomas Woodson is also a mobile quarterback and UW can’t lose track of him in the running game, redshirt junior outside linebacker T.J. Watt said.

“He can run,” Watt said. “At the end of the day, you got to account for him.”

The Zips are led by head coach Terry Bowden, the son of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who is now retired.

Wisconsin boasts an (30-2) all-time record against the MAC, with both of those losses coming nearly 30 years ago at the hands of Northern Illinois and Western Michigan in the same 1988 season. Coincidentally, that was Chryst’s senior season during his playing days.

Chryst’s other connection to the MAC is that of his brother, Rick Chryst, who served as commissioner of the conference from 1999-2009.