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The 3 Cs: South Florida

BadgerBlitz.com's weekly feature, "The 3 Cs," returns for the 2019 season. The staff takes a look at one thing we're curious, confident and concerned about heading into Wisconsin's season-opener against the South Florida Bulls.

Editor and recruiting analyst Jon McNamara and senior writer Jake Kocorowski each give their thoughts on the aforementioned topics for this week's contest.

CURIOUS

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Garrett Rand
Garrett Rand (Jake Kocorowski)

Kocorowski: I am extremely intrigued by how a healthy Garrett Rand and Isaiahh Loudermilk could influence Wisconsin’s defense starting Friday night. Last season, the former missed all 13 games due to an injury suffered in the summer, while the latter only played in nine contests. UW’s defensive line, with a year more experience across the board, has more depth. However, those two could provide a significant boost to the front seven in eating up blocks to allow the linebackers to hit their assigned gaps to make plays. Not only that, but I want to see how the duo also performs in pass rushing situations if called upon.

McNamara: I'm curious to see two youngsters on defense who earned starting jobs this fall: redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Izayah Green-May and redshirt freshman safety Reggie Pearson. At 6-foot-6 and 221 pounds, Green May brings intriguing length and interesting skill-set to the position. This fall, he jumped ahead of Noah Burks on the depth chart and is set to make his first collegiate start Friday. Pearson, 5-foot-10, 197 pounds, is a physical defensive back who put together a great fall camp. Both are players I'll be keeping a close eye on against South Florida.

CONFIDENT

Jonathan Taylor
Jonathan Taylor

Kocorowski: Easiest call here is Wisconsin’s rushing attack with Jonathan Taylor and Co. Last season, South Florida gave up 247.5 yards per contest. On the flip side, UW was a top 10 unit rushing the ball, averaging over 270 yards per game. According to USF’s game notes for Friday’s contest, the depth chart shows a 4-3 defensive look. Will the Bulls sell out against the run and try to stop the Doak Walker Award-winning and Heisman-caliber back?

We’ve talked about UW’s apparent improvements in the passing game throughout fall camp. We’ll see if there’s balance and if the aerial attack keeps USF’s defense honest, but it all starts with Taylor and the reloaded offensive line.

McNamara: It's tough not to go with Taylor here, especially against a Bulls defense that struggles against the run. The junior tailback is one of the most exciting players in college football and he's running behind a line that, in my opinion, will exceed expectations in 2019. If quarterback Jack Coan can connect on a few passes early against South Florida, Taylor could see some favorable fronts and put up big-time numbers Friday evening.

CONCERNED

Kocorowski: Maybe it’s not as much concerning as in DEFCON 1, but it will be worth watching just what South Florida’s offense -- under new offensive coordinator Kerwin Bell -- will try to do against Jim Leonhard’s defense. Bell’s offense at Division II Valdosta State averaged 52 points per game last season, and though we don’t know just yet how that will correlate over to FBS football and USF’s personnel, Wisconsin will have to adapt to any unexpected formations and plays the Bulls deploy. First games are always tricky in this regard, especially with a new coordinator in town to face.

McNamara: Though the coaching staff has essentially had all of fall camp to prepare for this issue, I'm concerned about Wisconsin's lack of depth at tight end. Redshirt sophomore Jake Ferguson is likely the only player from the group whom you trust playing in a game at this point, though I do think you'll see redshirt senior David Moorman help in jumbo packages. The concern is that the offense will have to be adjusted too much in order to address this deficit. We'll see if how much it impacts Friday's contest.

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