Wisconsin clawed and tangled with Army for 60 minutes on Saturday night inside Camp Randall Stadium, eventually overcoming the Black Knights' triple-option offense in a 20-14 win. Now, UW turns its attention from a run-dominant scheme to a program that boasts one of the nation's best wide receivers and an aerial attack that has previously given the defense challenges.
BadgerBlitz.com returns with its "3-2-1" Monday column, highlighting three additional things we learned from Wisconsin (3-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) this weekend, two questions leading into Purdue (4-2, 2-1) week, and one bold prediction for Saturday's matchup.
THREE ADDITIONAL THINGS WE LEARNED THIS WEEKEND
1) The ground game appears to be coming along again; however, it's passing attack is still inconsistent
Right now, Wisconsin averages 207 yards per game on the ground, and it gained 198 against Army last weekend (the Black Knights allowed and average of 54 per game heading into the matchup).
It appears UW has found a one-two punch of Chez Mellusi (543 rushing yards, 4.8 yards per carry) and Braelon Allen (288, 6.3) at tailback, especially now with Jalen Berger dismissed from the program and Isaac Guerendo (left leg) out for the season. Both Mellusi and Allen have scored three touchdowns each, while the latter posted his second consecutive 100-yard rushing effort in Saturday's win.
Head coach Paul Chryst was asked by a reporter if he thought the program had "found something" regarding its ground game, especially since Allen has come on of late
"That's a big part of it, right?" Chryst said. "That if we can do that, and again, I still think there's more to be done. Certainly, I feel we got a really good defense, and I think we're starting to put together some games where you can run the ball, but you're going to need to be a little bit more consistent in throwing it.
"I thought we had some opportunities and there were times we made some plays and others thought that we didn't take advantage of what might have been there. We got to keep going on that, but I appreciate the resilience of the group."
That seems to be where Wisconsin is at the moment with its offense, as its traditional bread and butter has been more reliable. I still feel optimistic about the passing game. Throughout each game, there have been opportunities to make plays through the air, and I feel the past two weeks, maybe those chances have been more obvious.
That said, that area of the offense needs to execute when given those chances.
