All-Out Blitz Week 2: Wisconsin vs. Washington State

BadgerBlitz.com brings back its All-Out Blitz weekly series, where you can find everything you need to know about Wisconsin's next opponent. We look at UW's second non-conference foe in Washington State, who the Badgers will travel to face for a Saturday evening primetime showdown (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC).

QUICK PROGRAM FACTS

Head Coach: Jake Dickert (11-9 at Washington State)

Washington State All Time Record: 570–574–45 (.498)

2022 Record: 1-0

Rankings: N/A

Series vs. Wisconsin: 1-1

The Washington State offense is led by quarterback Cameron Ward, who began his career at Incarnate Word, an FCS Southland Conference Team, before he transferred to the Cougars. Ward is coming off of a junior season where he threw 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions, finishing fifth in passing yards amongst Pac-12 quarterbacks with 3,232.

Ward received a gift during the offseason in the form of Ben Arbuckle, a 27-year-old offensive coordinator whose Western Kentucky team finished sixth nationally in yards per game and 15th in points per game. In Arbuckle’s offense, Division II transfer quarterback Austin Reed finished first in the country in total passing yards.

Unfortunately for Ward, he lost his top four leaders in receiving yards from last year. Running back Nakia Watson finished 2022 with more receiving yards and touchdowns than any other returning receiver. It didn’t seem to matter in their season opener, as Ward finished with 451 yards and three touchdowns through the air, completing 37 of 49 passes.

Looking for new targets, the quarterback relied on veteran Lincoln Victor, a fifth-year senior with only 644 career receiving yards prior to last week. He had the best game of his career, catching 11 balls for 168 yards. Josh Kelly, a transfer from Fresno State, also contributed with nine receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. It was a community effort apart from those two, as five players caught at least three balls.

Ward will be throwing against an experienced Badger secondary, a position group that often thrives under the leadership of Luke Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel. Last week, they held Buffalo quarterback Cole Snyder to 194 passing yards and two touchdowns. His OK stats may reflect positively on the secondary, but there were multiple instances where they made significant mistakes and suffered the consequences. The longest completion of the game went for 51 yards and was the result of Wisconsin’s failure to cover a slot fade. Not to mention, Snyder’s two touchdowns went to uncovered receivers in the end zone.

Against Buffalo, the Badger defense had to game plan for both Snyder and a solid group of running backs. The Cougars offense is more talented, but there won’t be any confusion. They know Washington State will pass. Beyond his incredible performance through the air, Ward also led the team in rushing attempts and yards, carrying the ball 13 times for 40 yards and a touchdown. Yet, Ward was the only Cougar who really contributed on the ground. Four different running backs carried the ball between four and seven times, none finishing with more than 15 yards. Watson was the team’s leading rusher last year and could only really get involved in the passing game — a likely sign of this offense’s direction under Arbuckle.

This Badgers front likely won’t have to worry about defending the run and should instead turn their attention toward applying some pressure, after failing to sack Snyder last week. Edge rusher Darryl Peterson still finished with four pressures, and three other Badgers finished with three, according to Pro Football Focus. The inability to bring Snyder down ultimately didn’t cost them, but Ward is a far better quarterback and can kill the Badgers if they don’t contain him.

The Badgers offense, unlike Washington State, seems to revolve around its running game. Braelon Allen has been the undisputed focal point of the offense for two years and nothing seems to be changing anytime soon. Except now, his running mate, Chez Mellusi, looks to be playing better than ever, rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in the opener.

They’ll face a tougher opponent this week in Washington State, whose front allowed just 37 yards on the ground last week against Colorado State. The Rams were playing from behind and had to pass, but still couldn’t do much of anything. The Cougars defense played a near-perfect game until the Rams scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter against backups. They held starting quarterback Clay Millen to 110 passing yards and an interception. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was subbed in down 29-3 after Millen suffered an injury, and immediately threw an interception of his own before putting up decent stats when the game was already lost. In spite of the defensive overload, Rams receiver Justus Ross-Simmons stood out, catching five balls for 123 yards and a touchdown.

The Cougars will play a talented group of Wisconsin pieces who are still learning how to play together. Tanner Mordecai hopefully shook off all his rust in the season opener against Buffalo after he made a few rough mistakes and throwing two interceptions. He did still show some flashes of what Badgers fans were hoping for, throwing a bullet to Chimere Dike for his only touchdown of the day and a perfect deep pass to Skyler Bell that was dropped. Still, it will take time for Mordecai to get familiar with his new offense and new teammates. Receiver Bryson Green came via the transfer portal from Oklahoma State. He’s listed as the top receiver on the depth chart but only caught four balls for 23 yards last week. Starting slot receiver Will Pauling also showed up via the transfer portal and actually had a solid debut, catching five balls for 55 yards.

The biggest threat to Wisconsin’s passing game isn’t in the secondary, but rather on the edge. The Cougars’ edge rushing pair of Ron Stone Jr. and Brennan Jackson make up what is likely the best unit on the team. Stone Jr. finished with 34 tackles and two sacks last season. Jackson had a stellar 2022, with 41 tackles, 12 for loss and six sacks, and also led the team in pressures last week with four, according to Pro Football Focus. Both were named second-team all-Pac-12 last season and were selected to the preseason second-team all-Pac-12 prior to the start of the year.

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