10/22/2016 football Edit

Pre-Snap Read: 3 Things To Watch Against Iowa

John Veldhuis • BadgerBlitz

Senior Writer

John Veldhuis has covered Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network since 2012.

IOWA CITY – The No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) will kick off the second part of their regular season at 11 a.m. CST at Kinnick Stadium against the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-2, 3-1), and BadgerBlitz.com’s John Veldhuis is in town to take in all the action from the Battle for the Heartland Trophy. His three pre-snap read is included below.

First Read: How does Wisconsin’s offensive line perform against Iowa’s front seven?

Wisconsin’s offensive line had an up and down performance against No. 2 Ohio State in their 30-23 overtime loss to the Buckeyes last weekend. For one thing, they did a good job opening running lanes for UW running back Corey Clement, who rushed for a season-high 164 yards in the game. But they struggled at times to keep quarterback Alex Hornibrook upright, and the Badgers couldn’t run the ball when they needed to in overtime. Iowa certainly has defensive talent of their own, but It’s not a stretch to say that Ohio State and Michigan have more athletes up front. This game should give us a chance to figure out if Wisconsin’s offensive line has improved since the start of the season, and how they’ll stack up against the rest of the Big Ten West as a whole.

Second Read: Can the interior of Wisconsin’s defense overcome an injury to Olive Sagapolu?

Sophomore nose tackle Olive Sagapolu can be a force in the middle of Wisconsin’s defense, where his size (6-foot-2, 332 pounds) makes him a perfect fit for the Badgers’ scheme. Sagapolu can demand a double-team from opposing offensive lines, which opens up pass rushing lanes for Wisconsin’s linebackers. But he’ll miss this weekend’s game with an arm injury, which means that freshmen linemen Billy Hirschfeld and Garrett Rand will have to step up and play well against Iowa’s running game. Sagapolu usually rotates out of Wisconsin’s nickel package, but the nose guard spot is key in their 3-4 base. If the Badgers struggle at the point of attack, it could spell trouble for UW as the game moves along.

Third Read: Can the Badgers make plays in the passing game- and avoid getting burned by Iowa’s Desmond King?

Corey Clement got on track last week with his big game against the Buckeyes, but the Badgers will almost certainly have to make some plays through the air if they want to snap their losing streak this weekend. That means that Alex Hornibrook will have to make smart decisions with the football, particularly so if he’s throwing to a receiver covered by Iowa cornerback Desmond King, who picked off eight passes last year on his way to winning the Jim Thorpe award as the country’s best defensive back. King has only picked off one pass so far this year, in part because teams have been hesitant to challenge him. If the Badgers are going to win this game, Hornibrook is going to have to take good care of the football, and not try to force passes in to windows that aren’t there.

John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.