Fall camps for college football programs kick off in under a month. With the sport returning soon, BadgerBlitz.com dives into who Wisconsin will face on the field during the 2021 season.
Each preview breaks down an opponent, including last year's stats and who's back (and not back) on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Plus, we receive insight from those who cover the respective programs.
Wisconsin's 2021 Schedule
*Sept. 4 -- vs. Penn State
*Sept. 11 -- vs. Eastern Michigan
*Sept. 18 -- BYE
*Sept. 25 -- vs. Notre Dame (at Soldier Field)
*Oct. 2 -- vs. Michigan
*Oct. 9 -- at Illinois
*Oct. 16 -- vs. Army
*Oct. 23 -- at Purdue
*Oct. 30 -- vs. Iowa
*Nov. 6 -- at Rutgers
*Nov. 13 -- vs. Northwestern
*Nov. 20 -- vs. Nebraska
*Nov. 27 -- at Minnesota
ARMY
Wisconsin's last non-conference matchup of the 2021 season comes in mid-October against a very intriguing Army squad. Jeff Monken's program won nine games last season, including defeating both Air Force and Navy before falling to West Virginia in the Autozone Liberty Bowl.
Army brings back a variety of contributors on both sides of the ball from their 2020 campaign, and UW should receive a decent test before finishing the rest of the Big Ten schedule.
QUICK ARMY FACTS FROM 2020
*Record: 9-3
*Points per game: 26.8
*Opponents points per game: 14.8
*Rushing yards per game: 273.0
*Opponents rushing yards per game: 114.6
*Passing yards per game: 44.8
*Opponents' passing yards per game: 160.8
*Third-down conversions: 45.2%
*Opponents' third-down conversions: 37.0%
*Total turnovers created: 20 (14 interceptions, six fumble recoveries)
*Total turnovers given up: 14 (six interceptions, eight fumbles)
*Sacks: 19
*Sacks allowed: 9
QUICK LOOK ON OFFENSE
Army's triple-option, flexbone offense should pose an intriguing challenge for Wisconsin's defense, which racked up nearly 275 yards on the ground per contest behind center Connor Bishop. The program returns its top four rushers, including quarterback Tyhier Tyler (578 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, five touchdowns in 2020), and running backs Jakobi Buchanan (474, 4.3, six) and Tyrell Robinson (424 yards, 7.1 yards per carry).
The quarterback situation should be interesting for Army, as both Tyler and Christian Anderson (419 rushing yards, four touchdowns in 2020) return, but according to Gordon Larson from Go Black Knights, three other signal callers (Cade Ballard, Jemel Jones and Jabari Laws) could all be in the mix as well.
No player caught more than seven passes last season.
*Key returners: RB Anthony Adkins, WR Isaiah Alston, QB Christian Anderson, QB Cade Ballard, OL Connor Bishop (2020 PFF Grade 68.2), RB Jakobi Buchanan, TE Chris Cameron, OL Connor Finucane, QB Jemel Jones, OL Noah Knapp (2020 PFF Grade 76.9), QB Jabari Laws, WR Michael Roberts, RB Tyrell Robinson, QB Tyhier Tyler, slotback Brandon Walters
*Key additions: N/A
*Key departures: OL Mike Johnson (2020 PFF Grade 88.1), OL Luke McCleery (2020 PFF Grade 74.5), FB Sandon McCoy
More from GoBlackKnights.com
QUICK LOOK ON DEFENSE
Army will need to replace linebackers Jon Rhattigan (78 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions in 2020) and Amadeo West (28 tackles, six tackles for loss, two sacks), but its defense brings back key players in its unit. Linebacker Arik Smith tied Rhattigan for the team lead in tackles and tackles for loss while contributing 3.5 sacks last year.
The secondary returns defensive backs Cedrick Cunningham, Jr. (70 tackles in 2020) and Malkelm Morrison -- who combined for 15 tackles for loss during the successful 9-3 season -- along with cornerback Jabari Moore who led the team in interceptions (three).
The defensive line sees Nolan Cockrill (seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks in 2020) and Ryan Duran III (2.5 sacks) come back as well.
*Key returners: DL Kwabena Bonsu, DB Marquel Broughton, DL Nolan Cockrill, DB Cedrick Cunningham, Jr., DL Ryan Duran III, DB Cameron Jones, LB Spencer Jones, DB Julian McDuffie, CB Jabari Moore, DB Malkelm Morrison, LB Arik Smith
*Key additions: N/A
*Key departures: LB Jon Rhattigan, LB Amadeo West
Q&A WITH GO BLACK KNIGHTS
Gordon Larson from Go Black Knights of the Rivals.com network answered a few of our questions before fall camp begins.
What is the position to watch during fall camp?
The competition for quarterback is, by far, the most interesting position battle to watch in fall camp. The Black Knights have five quarterbacks with starting experience returning, including Jabari Laws, who was expected to start at quarterback at the start of 2020 but was sidelined for the season when he re-injured his leg.
The second most interesting thing we're watching for is the makeup of the starting offensive line. Army lost four starters from last year's team but has several returning linemen with significant snap counts. A couple of sophomores have a good chance to crack the lineup this year as noted below.
Entering fall camp, who could be a surprise for the team?
I think the most pleasant surprise will be if Jabari Laws is 100% and stays healthy. Most Army fans are not expecting him to return and survive the season uninjured.
Wilson Catoe could be a surprise at fullback if he cracks the starting lineup at the deepest position on the team. Catoe is a senior who was an inside linebacker until he requested to move to offense in the spring. Army already has four returning fullbacks with significant snaps, so breaking into that rotation will be a tall order for Catoe.
This season goes well if ...
Army retains the Commander-in-Chiefs trophy by beating Navy and Air Force and earns a bid to a post-season bowl bid. Looking at the schedule most forecasters expect Army West Point to win about eight games. Anything over that number would be a plus. The most optimistic fans are hoping for a spot in the Top 25, and its showing against Wisconsin would be a major factor in achieving that goal. The strong showing against Oklahoma propelled Army into the Top 25 in 2018, even though it lost the game in overtime. One of the goals that Jeff Monken has yet to achieve is a win over a top 25 opponent, so beating Wisconsin would fill out his resume. He will play to win.
This season goes off the rails if ...
Army doesn't earn a bowl bid and/or loses the Navy game. A loss to Air Force would be a major disappointment, but beating Navy is always the No. 1 goal of the season and traditionally any season with a win over Navy is considered a success and a season with a loss is considered a failure. With the expectation of winning eight games this season, missing a bowl bid would be highly disappointing to Army fans as well. They have gone from hoping for a bowl bid prior to 2016 to expecting a bowl bid in the past four years.
*Thanks to Gordon Larson from Go Black Knights for confirming the key returners, additions and departures -- which were initially put together looking at last year's stats and PFF grades, along with the aforementioned linked articles.
