BadgerBlitz.com continues its weekly "Five Burning Questions" series as the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers welcome the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines to Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday.
Miss last week's bye week edition? Check it out here.
1. After a strong start, how do the Wisconsin Badgers look coming back to the field from a week off?
UW produced explosive and dominant results in its first two games of the 2019 season, starting off with a 2-0 record, scoring 110 points while allowing zero.
Quarterback Jack Coan appears to be light years ahead of where he was last season with a 76.3 completion percentage and averaging 282 yards per game. The revamped passing game has produced trouble for South Florida and Central Michigan, led by wide receiver Quintez Cephus (nine receptions, 169 yards, two receiving touchdowns). Junior running back Jonathan Taylor has eight total touchdowns (five rushing, three receiving) along with two 100-yard rushing games.
The defense has held opponents to 4-of-28 on third down conversions and 215 total yards, and outside linebacker Zack Baun already has notched two sacks early on this season.
This week Wisconsin opens up Big Ten play against a better opponent in Michigan. Despite the home field advantage, just how do both sides of the ball react to the Wolverines? How the preliminary and updated injury reports look on Monday and Thursday, respectively, this week after the bye will also be worth perusing when available.
2. For that matter, how will Michigan look coming off the bye after squeaking by Army less than two weeks ago?
Maybe this is the biggest question when looking more broadly in this game. It took two overtimes for Jim Harbaugh's team to escape with a home win against Army, where the offense gained just 340 yards and put 28 points up on the scoreboard.
Defensively, coordinator Don Brown's unit has allowed just 29 percent of opponent's third downs converted and 272 yards per game. However, the team has also given up 21 points in both games inside "The Big House," and if not for a false start by Army's fullback in the third quarter near the goal line, the Wolverines would have been in even bigger trouble in clawing their way back for the potential win.
Will the time off allow the Michigan offense to get its footing more in understanding and executing Josh Gattis' scheme? Does the defense begin to turn more into the dominant force that was seen last season against the Badgers?
3. Which recruits show up for the 11 a.m. CT kickoff?
Quick plug for being a part of the BadgerBlitz.com subscribing community, as Jon McNamara has already detailed out some of the 2021 football recruits in our Badgers' Den forum. We will continue to report on who is showing up to the festivities on Saturday morning with the 11 a.m. CT kickoff, so stay tuned for that. To wet your appetite, some big-time names like Hunter Wohler, Bryan Sanborn and T.J. Bollers, among many others, are expected to be in Madison.
A win against No. 11 Michigan with an enthusiastic Camp Randall Stadium crowd could definitely turn some heads for the next recruiting class.
To note on the basketball side next week, 2021 standouts Matthew Mors, Brandon Angel and Chucky Hepburn will officially visit Wisconsin. Jon's already set up an early thread in our Badgers' Den for the Sept. 28 weekend as well.
4. Does Jack Coan continue his strong start to 2019 against a stronger opponent?
This is a more direct question that adds on to our first one in this article, but it is hard to ignore what the junior signal caller has done early on. He already eclipsed his passing yards total (564 to 515) and matched his touchdown pass total (five) from 2018 and has not yet committed a turnover through the air.
Coan responded to missing two deep passes in the season-opener against South Florida with 36- and 46-yard touchdown throws to Cephus against Central Michigan. He has the command of the offense, and the majority of his throws are accurate or allow receivers to make plays.
Will the degree of success he has had continue against Michigan? The Wolverines rank No. 10 in the nation in passing yards allowed (138.5), No. 28 in third-down conversion defense (29 percent) and No. 41 in team pass defense efficiency (117.10). With Brown's defense giving up just 133.5 yards on the ground per contest, No. 17 will need to be called upon to make plays in Wisconsin's aerial attack.
5. Are we focusing too much on the offense and not enough on the defense heading into this week?
I have been wondering this for the past two weeks. The main storyline really has been Coan, Taylor and Wisconsin achieving more than offensive balance the first couple of games during this 2019 season. For that matter, rightfully so with its potent wide receivers group with Cephus, Danny Davis, Kendric Pryor and A.J. Taylor making plays. Not to mention, there is redshirt sophomore Jake Ferguson, who already has six receptions for 71 yards.
Yet the defense just has been downright astounding so far, and I do not like to use an adjective like that unless it is warranted. Despite the open weekend, Jim Leonhard's unit still leads the FBS in team passing efficiency allowed (58.98), third-down conversions allowed (14.3 percent), total defense (107.5 yards per game), rushing yards allowed (20.5 per contest), passing yards allowed (87 per game), and of course, scoring defense (0.0 points per contest).
These numbers will likely change against a better Michigan team than what both South Florida and Central Michigan showed UW. However, if Baun, Chris Orr and the defensive unit lock down the Wolverines, they will get even more attention that they rightfully deserve.
