Football: No. 9 Wisconsin projected as heavy favorite against struggling Georgia State

Injuries across the board for the Badgers with Corey Clement listed as questionable for Saturday

by Chris Bumbaca

September 15, 2016

The University of Wisconsin football team is expected to discard Georgia State at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday like a can of Natural Light in a freshman dorm room.

The No. 9 Badgers (2-0) are favored over the Panthers (0-2) by 35.5 points and have a 98.4 percent chance of winning, according to ESPN.

UW released an extensive injury report on Thursday, revealing that the team will have to limp through Saturday’s contest, though it may not seem that way when the clock hits quadruple zeros.

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Senior running back Corey Clement is listed as questionable, and starting left guard redshirt freshman Jon Dietzen is out. Dietzen’s leg injury caused him to leave last week’s win over Akron early. Clement was limited in practice this week, playing in just the first half after a Zips defender tackle forced him to re-tape both of ankles on the bench.

Football: Third-down success on both sides of ball key for No. 9 Wisconsin moving forward

If Clement is not available, he will miss an opportunity to go up against one of the worst run defenses in the country. The Panthers have allowed an average of 394.5 points per game (ranking 128th in the country) on the ground through their first two games this season.The defense also concedes an average of 5.8 yards per carry.

“I thought that we were horrible,” Georgia State’s fifth-year head coach Trent Miles said on a conference call with reporters this week. “I didn’t think we played well. We didn’t play good football, [including the] fundamentals and basics of blocking and tackling and kicking and throwing and catching. We’ve got to fix that if we want to be a competitive football team.”

On the defensive side of the ball for the Badgers, the Wisconsin secondary continues to take hits. After learning that UW would lose Natrell Jamerson for four to six weeks Sunday, it appeared as though true freshman Caesar Williams could see some reps at the third corner spot. That won’t happen as he will be out Saturday. Expect junior Lubern Figaro or redshirt freshman Titus Booker to take his first meaningful snaps in Jamerson’s place.

True freshman wide receiver A.J. Taylor will return kicks for the Badgers Saturday, even after head coach Paul Chryst said earlier in the week that Clement was a “viable option” for the task. Clement was listed above Taylor at the kick returner spot on the team’s depth chart released Monday.

The Badger secondary’s biggest challenge Saturday, other than finding a suitable replacement for Jamerson, will be stopping Georgia State receiver Robert Davis. Davis ranks eighth among FBS active leaders in receiving yards (2,563) and 13 in receptions (166).

Also out for Saturday’s game are freshman defensive lineman Billy Hirschfield (leg), fifth-year senior wide receiver Reggie Love (infection) and redshirt freshman linebacker Nick Thomas (leg).

Georgia State is in just its fifth-year as a Division I FBS program. The Panthers managed only two wins in their first three years of existence but broke out last year with a (6-7) record to earn Miles the Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors along with an appearance in the Cure Bowl.