The Wisconsin Badgers hope to return to winning ways this weekend in hosting its first opponent from outside the Big Ten Conference.
UW (0-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) misfired on three red-zone opportunities offensively and failed to contain enough explosive plays from a Penn State (1-0, 1-0) offense in the second half during a 16-10 loss on Saturday.
Now Wisconsin hosts MAC program Eastern Michigan (1-0) in an early Saturday evening contest (6 p.m. CT, FS1).
BadgerBlitz.com resumes our 3-2-1 series to break down three more things we learned leading up to Week 2, two questions we have before the Eagles arrive in Madison and one bold prediction for the weekend's non-conference clash.
THREE MORE THINGS WE LEARNED BEFORE WEEK 2
WISCONSIN APPLIED PRESSURE ON SATURDAY
I rewatched the game on Sunday evening, and though UW only registered two sacks and two quarterback hurries on the stats sheet, one could see the pressure generated by Jim Leonhard's defense.
One impressive effort came in the first half when Noah Burks stunted all the way across the Penn State line of scrimmage, from right tackle to left tackle, which allowed him and Nick Herbig to cause havoc from the left side of the line.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) reported 19 total pressures -- the two sacks, along with four hits and 13 hurries -- with Herbig leading the way with five. Burks and Jack Sanborn recorded three each.
"We're an aggressive defense and coach Leonhard's an aggressive DC, and we were playing aggressive out there," Sanborn said on Saturday. "Guys were playing fast, guys were playing free, and that kind of translated into us getting to the quarterback. Two sacks, but that first half felt like it could have been even more.
"I mean, we were getting to him, and that can only help a defense. You look at them, the first half numbers, those go hand-in-hand. ... I think there's a ton to build on, a ton to learn at the same time, but we got to get up moving to Week 2, and I'm excited for the rest of this season."
