The 3Cs: Wisconsin Badgers Bye Week Check-In

BadgerBlitz.com's weekly feature, "The 3 Cs," returns for the 2023 season. The staff takes a look at one thing we're curious, confident and concerned about during Wisconsin's bye week.

Staff writers Seamus Rohrer and Donnie Slusher each give their thoughts on the aforementioned topics for this week.

Rohrer: Like many people on the outside of the program looking in, I’m curious as to what’s going on with Maema Njongmeta. We can analyze Luke Fickell’s comments all we want; they’re winding and ultimately inconclusive.

“He was able to play,” Fickell said. “He was able to go. He wasn’t out, it wasn’t like he wasn’t on the depth chart, he was in there later in the game. We’re rolling through some situations and some things, and he didn’t play as much.”

The reality of college programs is that they can keep something from the public essentially whenever and for however long they want. We simply don’t know anything about the middle linebacker right now, although when Fickell takes the podium on Oct. 2 to preview Rutgers week, you can rest assured that he’ll get asked about Njongmeta.

The Badgers are lucky in that they have three genuine starting caliber middle linebackers. Still, Wisconsin better hope it can get Njongmeta’s services back as soon as possible, or the problems of a defense that’s already struggling will continue to get worse.

Slusher: I’m most curious to see if the bye week will bring clarity to Wisconsin’s receiver hierarchy.

This is a unit that received a major makeover in the offseason, welcoming four new players via the transfer portal. Bryson Green and Will Pauling earned a starting job almost immediately, while C.J. Williams and Quincy Burroughs have seen occasional action. These were all additions to a group that retained its two leaders from last year in Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell.

Yet, despite all this talent, none have made a significant impact throughout the first four games. Wisconsin’s three leading receivers, Dike, Pauling and Bell, currently sit at 11, 19 and 38, respectively, in the Big Ten receiving yards rankings. Pauling’s 78 yards against Washington State are the highest single-game total for a Badger receiver this year.

It could be a system issue. The Badgers have always been a run-first team, and that hasn’t changed, despite all the offseason additions. They currently sit at fifth in the Big Ten in rushing attempts, and third in rushing yards. However, it’s not like Phil Longo’s system doesn’t benefit receivers. He produced at least one 1,000-yard receiver in all four of his years as North Carolina’s offensive coordinator.

The lack of a singular threat could be viewed as an advantage, because the defense can’t game plan for just one player. But there’s pressure on this unit now following the loss of Chez Mellusi. They’re not a passing team, but they might have to become one. If that time comes when Tanner Mordecai will have to rely on one of his receivers to step up against a major Big Ten opponent, will they be ready?

Rohrer: In the spirit of the bye week, let’s think bigger picture. I’m confident that the Big Ten West will continue to be a dumpster fire this week, and that the division is Wisconsin’s to lose in its final year of existence.

The Badgers currently sit atop the West with a 1-0 conference record. Somehow, every other team in the division has suffered a conference loss. This week figures to be another rough week for the division.

Northwestern hosts Penn State. They’re 27-point underdogs at home. It was a valiant effort against Minnesota last week, but that’s the Gophers. This is quite possibly the best team James Franklin has ever coached in State College.

Likewise, Nebraska hosts Michigan. Despite their No. 2 ranking, the Wolverines haven’t looked like an unstoppable force this season. Still, the Cornhuskers are nowhere near ready to match Michigan’s physicality in the trenches.

Purdue hosts Illinois, with both teams already 0-1 in conference play. Neither team is striking fear into anyone’s heart this season, and one will start with a perhaps insurmountable 0-2 record in the Big Ten. Iowa hosts Michigan State after an embarrassing shutout at the hands of the Nittany Lions. With Mel Tucker gone and Brian Ferentz’s offense averaging well under 25 points, it’s been a forgettable season for both squads.

The Big Ten West may be gift-wrapped to Wisconsin this season, with the Iowa game in Madison looking like the most consequential of the year.

Slusher: I now feel confident saying that Tanner Mordecai was worthy of the hype, and more.

He transferred from SMU in the offseason and was immediately met with sky-high expectations. Not only due to his reputation and history, but because he was stepping into the most quarterback-centric Badgers offense perhaps ever. He was now able to play for Longo, who coached top NFL Draft prospect Drake Maye at North Carolina.

However, Mordecai didn’t come out and impress right away. He threw two interceptions and looked rusty in the first game against Buffalo, and the first half against Washington State. It wasn’t until the second half of Week 2 that he stepped up and became a true leader of the offense, single handedly leading them to multiple scoring drives and nearly completing the comeback. It’s hard to think of Badger quarterbacks since Russell Wilson who could’ve carried an offense at all in the absence of a running game.

Mordecai’s currently completing 66.4% of his passes and is on pace to throw for 2,628 yards. He’s thrown only two touchdowns, which is shockingly low for four games, but this is more the result of goal line play calling. After all, Wisconsin’s 14 rushing touchdowns lead the Big Ten by a considerable margin.

He’ll now have to carry even more of the workload given Mellusi’s recent injury. Wisconsin teams of years past have relied so heavily on the rushing game that a major injury like this usually feels catastrophic. It’s not as disastrous anymore. They have a real quarterback who can actually win games by throwing and not handing off. Not to mention that he’s also become a factor on the ground, with 36 carries and two rushing touchdowns this season.

Some fans were afraid to wrap their arms around a new quarterback after the Graham Mertz hype train fell off the tracks. This one seems warranted.

Rohrer: This is an easy one, but I’m highly concerned about the Badgers’ backup tailback situation.

On paper, Jackson Acker and Cade Yacamelli would appear to be a potential solid backup duo. My confidence isn’t necessarily lacking in regards to the abilities of Acker and Yacamelli, although both have essentially blank slates as college running backs. What I’m more concerned about is what the absence of Chez Mellusi will do to the offense.

Through four games, Wisconsin could rotate Braelon Allen and Mellusi interchangeably, and defenses would have no idea what’s coming. Both were equally dangerous running the football, and so there was no schematic “tell” depending on which running back was out there.

Now, the offensive staff must get creative to keep defenses guessing as they rotate backs. Allen can’t get the ball every time he’s on the field, but you also have to worry about keeping him fresh and healthy. Yacamelli isn’t exactly what you want out of a prototypical pass-protecting back, so that’s another tendency “tell” Wisconsin could fall victim to.

Phil Longo and Devon Spalding will have to collaborate and get creative in their deployment of running backs throughout the rest of the season.

Slusher: I’m most concerned with how Wisconsin’s run defense will survive in the Big Ten.

They struggled to stop Purdue’s rushing attack despite winning convincingly. Quarterback Hudson Card rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown, and had space in the pocket whenever he stepped up. Tyrone Tracy Jr. didn’t really get involved until the second half, but still finished with a touchdown and 84 rushing yards on 10.5 yards per carry.

This defense is mostly untested against the run, but that’s sure to change in the coming weeks. Immediately after the bye, they’ll face their first true threat at the tailback position in Rutgers’ Kyle Monongai, who’s currently second in the Big Ten in rushing yards with 384. He already has two games this season with over 140 rushing yards. They’ll later have to play Illinois, which currently have three players with over 100 rushing yards. Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson is waiting for them at the end of October, too.

They’ve already seen modest development from some of the newer starters, but they’re gonna need somebody to emerge in the front the way Hunter Wohler has become a leader in the secondary.

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