Keys to victory: Three Badgers on the defensive side of the ball

The days of Oregon dazzling onlookers with speed and finesse are gone. With a former offensive line coach leading the charge, these Ducks pack a punch.

Led by 2019 AP Pac-12 Coach of the Year Mario Cristobal, Oregon has won 14 of its last 16 games and pummeled No. 5 Utah in the conference championship game with 239 rushing yards and 37 points (the most against the Utes all season). With an NFL-caliber quarterback working behind one of the top offensive lines in college football, Oregon is a formidable final opponent for Wisconsin’s defense to prove its dominance against.

Here are three defensive players for Wisconsin who could play an important role in winning the 106th Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Let’s be honest, any one of Wisconsin’s linebackers could be listed here and there wouldn’t be much of an argument. Why? The Ducks are so balanced through the run and pass that it’s going to take all 11 defenders to slow them down. Orr has enjoyed a solid senior campaign with 11.5 sacks and a look at how UW’s defense functioned without him (second half of the conference title game) shows his importance.

Oregon is a group that wears down teams, as the Ducks lead the Pac-12 with 1,368 rushing yards in the second half this season and are sixth nationally with 5.73 yards per carry in the fourth quarter.

“They’re north-south (and) their running backs run hard,” Orr said. “They want to hit the hole going vertical. You hear Oregon and you think of all the speed and stuff. They have really good athletes, but they want to run it down your throat. The running backs are going to run behind their pads and churn out those four, five yards. As you can see in a of their games, guys are getting worn out by the time the fourth quarter comes and they are hitting home runs.”

How UW handles third downs early in the game will be critical and the Ducks are beatable on third down (42.5 percent conversion rate that ranks 37th nationally). The ability of Orr and UW’s linebackers to disrupt first and second down is vitally important.

Growing from a reserve role to starting the final six games of the season, Williams showed how talented of a corner he can be. Matched up against Minnesota All-Big Ten receiver Tyler Johnson, Williams recorded a career-high five passes defended in the Badgers’ thorough beating of the Gophers.

“He’s been handling his own,” safety Eric Burrell said of Williams. “Lately he’s been guarding the best receiver, whoever they’ve got. I like his work ethic. He always wants to get better. He’s been handling his own business like a professional.”

Senior quarterback Justin Herbert does a good job spreading passes around, as four Oregon receivers have at least 400 yards receiving. Williams will likely see a lot of Johnny Johnson III, who has 55 catches, 818 yards and seven touchdowns. Deep throws have been problematic at times for the Badgers this season, so how Williams and his defenders respond to adversity will be a major factor.

Herbert is also just one of four FBS quarterbacks since 2015 with 30 TD passes and five or less INTs in a season. Herbert has had two streaks of 100 or more pass attempts without an interception in 2019 alone. Williams will need to replicate his performance from Minneapolis to prevent the game from developing into a track meet.

Oregon's offensive line unit was one of four finalists for the Joe Moore Award, which is presented to the most outstanding offensive line unit in college football. Of the five-man group, there is nobody better in the nation than sophomore left tackle Penei Sewell.

The Outland Trophy winner, Sewell leads all offensive linemen with a 95.5 run-blocking grade and is second with a 92.2 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus. He allowed just seven pressures and no sacks on the QB this season on 465 pass-blocking snaps while delivering 57 knockdowns/pancakes. He’s also helped pave the way for sophomore tailback in CJ Verdell, who has rushed for over 2,100 yards in his first two seasons and scored thrice in the Pac-12 title game. Bottom line, he’s a behemoth.

Wisconsin has set a school record with 49 sacks entering Pasadena, the third-highest total in the nation and 30 more than last season. The big difference? A healthy Rand has been huge for UW in the trenches with his ability to lock up linemen and create holes for UW’s linebackers. Safe to say, if Wisconsin can’t control the line of scrimmage, this will be a long afternoon.