MADISON, Wis. – The game was played almost six years ago, but sophomore right guard Beau Benzschawel said he remembers Wisconsin’s upset of then-No. 1 Ohio State pretty clearly. Benzschawel was sitting at about the 50-yard line thanks to his grandparents’ season tickets, a prime spot to take in David Gilreath’s shot across the bow, delivered on a 97-yard return of the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
Fast-forward 60 minutes of game time- unlike teammate T.J. Watt, Benzschawel said he didn’t rush the field at the conclusion of the game. “I was a little too young I guess,” Benzschawel said, “Didn’t want to get lost.” But the moment wasn’t lost on the now 6-foot-6, 321-pound Grafton, Wis., native.
“It was unreal,” Benzschawel said. “If we could make that happen again it would be awesome.”
To do that, though, Benzschawel and the rest of Wisconsin’s offensive line will have to play more like the 2010 version of their unit than they have so far this season. That’s a high bar to reach since all five of Wisconsin’s 2010 starters were future NFL draft picks and combined to help the Badgers average 4.3 yards per carry against the Buckeyes and 5.5 yards per carry on the season as a whole.
With this year’s Badgers currently averaging 3.7 yards per carry, they know they have a long way to go to get the running game clicking the way they’d like it to.
“Those guys knew that the team was going to go where the offensive line would take it,” Benzschawel said of the 2010 unit. “That’s something that we’re really trying to do and really trying to mature towards.”
Sophomore guard Michael Deiter said Tuesday after practice that while he was glad the offensive line kept battling in Wisconsin’s 14-7 loss to Michigan, there was still plenty for each starter to work on during their bye week. Above all Deiter said his position group needed to be more consistent, especially with their technique.
“There’s a lot of stuff that goes in to it,” Deiter said. “Just letting it go and playing football is something we haven’t done the last few weeks when it comes to the run game. We’ve worked on that the last two weeks, and that’s what we plan on doing Saturday.”
One particular technique the Badgers have focused on since their game against Michigan is correcting their pad level, which Benzschawel said was too high over the last few weeks for a variety of reasons, be it nagging injuries or the week-to-week toll of playing against some tough competition.
“That’s the biggest thing for us is just coming out low and getting under people,” Benzschawel said. “With the five game grind we had, plus camp, I think your legs get tired after a bit. I think that’s a real big thing for a lot of guys … something in the back of their mind saying ‘Hey, maybe if you don’t bend your legs so much your legs won’t hurt.’”
In that sense the Badgers’ bye week came at a good time, since it allowed even the healthy players to get off their legs for a bit and re-charge.
“(It) definitely helps those guys get back. It helps guys that are also … they’re grinding, but also for the guys that are taking every rep and stuff that’s really big,” Benzschawel said. “I think for everybody all around it’s just a good time to get your body back and gear up for the second half of the season.”
Ready or not, the rest of the season is almost here for the Badgers. With their big test against Ohio State up next, it won’t take long to figure out just how prepared their offensive line is for the tough games still ahead of them.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
