MADISON - Coming off a big 42-7 win over Northwestern, and in the midst of preparing for Michigan State, media got a chance to speak with Bobby Engram.
He spoke for longer than usual, addressing the offensive performance, his relationship with Paul Chryst, freshman receiver Vinny Anthony, and more. Below, BadgerBlitz.com highlights the key takeaways.
Execution on third down
One of the reasons the Badgers' offense was so successful Saturday was a penchant for moving the sticks. While the defense held Northwestern to a lowly 3 of 13 on third downs, Wisconsin's offense picked up 10 of 14. On third-and-10 early in the second quarter, Graham Mertz dogged a free rusher, rolled to his right and completed a pass 20 yards downfield to Chimere Dike. On another play, Wisconsin picked up a third-and-two courtesy of a Braelon Allen touchdown pass to Chez Mellusi out of the wildcat.
"It's reps. Those are things that we've been repping since the spring, a lot of it carried over into fall camp, and we're always trying to formation, motion shift," Engram said. "You're always looking for new, but I think when guys feel comfortable with what they've done, they're gonna do it well....I thought you get into a rhythm in a game like that. Credit to those guys and how hard they played. They care."
It seems as if players are settling in to Engram's offense, and the comfort level he mentioned can only be getting higher every week. If Wisconsin can build on this offensive momentum, they can start to really pick up steam moving forward.