Off a statement win against Michigan, the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers face a key Big Ten West divisional foe in the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday inside Camp Randall Stadium.
Northwestern (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) comes off a 31-10 home loss to No. 25 Michigan State last weekend, and despite having a former five-star signal caller available in its arsenal, the offense has appeared to struggle early on.
Check out some key stats and our Q&A team preview with Louie Vaccher from Rivals.com's Wildcat Report.
KEY 2019 TEAM STATS
*Record: 1-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten
*Points per game: 15.7
*Opponents points per game: 20.7
*Rushing yards per game: 169.3
*Opponents rushing yards per game: 150.3
*Passing yards per game: 136.0
*Opponents' passing yards per game: 193.7
*Third-down conversions: 37.5%
*Opponents' third-down conversions: 40%
*Total turnovers created: 6 (one interception, five fumble recoveries)
*Total turnovers given up: 8 (six interceptions, two fumbles lost)
NAMES TO KNOW: OFFENSE
*Quarterback Hunter Johnson: 48.5 percent completion percentage, 308 yards, one touchdown pass, four interceptions
*Running back Drake Anderson: 45 rushes, 237 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, two touchdowns, long of 17 yards
*Running back Isaiah Bowser: 23 rushes, 93 yards, 4.0 yards per carry, long of 21
*Wide receiver Bennett Skowronek: 12 receptions, 141 yards, 11.8 yards per catch
NAMES TO KNOW: DEFENSE
*Defensive lineman Joe Gaziano: 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery
*Linebacker Chris Bergin: 27 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks
*Defensive back Travis Whillock: 24 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery
*Linebacker Paddy Fisher: 23 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, one interception, three pass breakups, two fumble recoveries
*Defensive back Greg Newsome II: 10 tackles, seven pass breakups, one fumble recovery
1. Northwestern starts its season with a 1-2 mark before making its way into Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday. Before we get deeper into the offense and defense, what have been the general impressions of Pat Fitzgerald's program through three games?
Vaccher: I think it’s safe to say that Northwestern has been disappointment so far this season. It’s not that they have a 1-2 record – losses to Stanford and Michigan State are nothing to be ashamed of. It’s just that the Wildcats haven’t looked good in those losses. And just about all of the struggles are on the offensive end, where Hunter Johnson has not only failed to live up to expectations, but has looked overwhelmed at times. The defense has been solid – though they’ve shown a tendency to surrender some explosive plays that needs to get fixed. Special teams have been solid. But the offense has scored just 17 points in eight quarters against Power Five opponents, and seven of those came in garbage time last week when the game was already decided. The running game has been productive the last two weeks, but the passing game has been a dumpster fire.
2. We always ask about injuries. Who's out, who could return, who's questionable, and what impact could that have on the Big Ten West clash this weekend?
Northwestern is fairly healthy this week. The biggest concern is starting cornerback Trae Williams. The fifth-year senior captain was sidelined against Michigan State and didn’t appear on the two-deep the program released on Monday. Redshirt freshman A.J. Hampton got the start in Williams’ absence against Michigan State and, not surprisingly, the Spartans picked on him. They were able to isolate wide receiver Cody White on Hampton at critical times for big plays, including a backbreaking touchdown 24 seconds before halftime.
Wide receiver and captain Bennett Skowronek was helped off the field against MSU with a leg injury that looked pretty serious at the time, but he was listed as the starter on Monday. Northwestern releases its official injury report on Thursday.
3. Offensively, the Wildcats have scored five touchdowns (four rushing, one passing), and quarterback Hunter Johnson has completed under 50 percent of his passes while also throwing four interceptions. Where has this unit struggled, where has there been improvement, and who are the names to know on this offense?
As I explained earlier, the passing game is the glaring weakness of the offense. The Wildcats rank 123rd in the nation in passing offense and 130th – that’s dead last – in passing efficiency. Johnson has been erratic. He has shown flashes of the reason he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and signed with Clemson, including a beautiful 50-yard touchdown pass against UNLV. But he has been inaccurate and has made some poor decisions, leading to some of those picks. Last week, he completed 15 of 26 passes, which is pretty good, but for just 88 yards, for a paltry average of 3.4 yards per attempt. Now, we can’t pin all the blame on Johnson, because his wide receivers haven’t helped him out very much. There have been several glaring drops – including a couple throws that would’ve been touchdowns against UNLV – and they haven’t been able to get much separation against press coverage.
Skowronek, if healthy, is Johnson’s primary target, and he leads the team in catches (12) and receiving yards (141). He’s a physical 6-foot-4 possession receiver who knows how to use his size to high-point the ball. The Wildcats don’t really have a burner, but Riley Lees, Kyric McGowan and J.J. Jefferson are speedy guys who Northwestern will use to stretch the field, if possible. Isaiah Bowser, last year’s leading rusher, has been pretty quiet this season, and he missed the UNLV game with an injury after getting hurt against Stanford. But Drake Anderson, a redshirt freshman and the son of former Wildcat great Damien Anderson, has been very impressive the last couple weeks, running for 234 yards and two touchdowns. A speedy, quick-cut kind of back, he can offer some lightning to the thunder of Bowser’s power running style.
4. On the other side of the ball, Mike Hankwitz's defense has allowed under three touchdowns and under 350 yards per contest so far. We know about defensive lineman Joe Gaziano and linebacker Paddy Fisher, but how do they influence the defense so well? Who else has stood out early on?
Northwestern’s strength on defense is the front seven. Gaziano is one of those rare defensive ends who can anchor the edge against the run and also get after the quarterback. He was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after his monster game against UNLV, when he had nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Fisher is just a tackling machine, though he his numbers have been slightly down (for him) this year. At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, he is big enough to play between the tackles, but he also has the speed and nose for the ball to make plays from sideline to sideline.
Other guys to watch: Greg Newsome is Northwestern’s best cover corner as a sophomore and really has a bright future. 'SAM' linebacker Chris Bergin, a former walk-on, leads the team in tackles with 27. Safety J.R. Pace may be the best athlete on the defense; he is a ballhawk who led the team in interceptions last year and can also come up and lay the lumber in run support.
5. Where do you think Northwestern could give Wisconsin some trouble on Saturday, and vice versa, where could the Badgers tame the Wildcats?
The Wildcats really opened some eyes last year when they outrushed Jonathan Taylor and Wisconsin to claim an impressive two-touchdown win. I think Northwestern will have some success containing – not stopping, but containing – the Badgers’ ground game. Their goal will be to force Jack Coan to beat them through the air. Now, that’s easier said than done – especially after watching Taylor trample all over Michigan last week – but it’s really the Wildcats’ only hope. They will have to hold Wisconsin far below its average of 48.3 points per game because it’s going to be tough sledding for NU’s offense on Saturday.
The offensive side of the ball is a scary proposition right now for the Wildcats. Because Northwestern hasn’t shown the ability to throw the ball downfield with any consistency, Wisconsin will drop their safeties close to the line of scrimmage to stuff the run and force Johnson to make accurate throws from the pocket. Unless the passing game magically finds its mojo this week, that’s going to be a difficult proposition. If Johnson can hit a big play over the top – preferably early in the game – to loosen up the defense, they might have a shot to hang in there. But if they play like they did against Stanford or Michigan State, they’re in deep, deep trouble and the game could get away from them in a hurry.
6. Game prediction, and why?
I can make a case for Northwestern’s defense holding its own against the Badgers, but not the offense. In a hostile environment and without any threat of a passing game, I just can’t see how Johnson and the Wildcats can score enough points to win – unless the defense can force a few turnovers and score a couple touchdowns on its own. I think the Wildcat defense keeps them in the game for a while, but eventually, the Badgers wear them down. I say it will be somewhere around Wisconsin 30 Northwestern 13.
