Madison — Following an improbable comeback victory against Illinois, Wisconsin gets set to host the No. 3 team in the land, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
As the Badgers look for a massive upset, what are the hottest questions surrounding the football program?
CAN THE OFFENSE CONSISTENTLY PLAY LIKE IT DID IN THE SECOND HALF?
Against Illinois, Wisconsin's offense only played well when it was backed into a corner. If and when they get to that point against the Buckeyes on Saturday, it'll likely already be too late to author another comeback.
In Champaign, the Badgers' first half consisted of three punts, a fumble and a turnover on downs before finally punching in a two-minute drill touchdown. The second half? Following a punt on its first drive, Wisconsin scored three straight times, a field goal and back-to-back touchdowns, to complete the come-from-behind win.
It's won't be nearly as easy to flip the switch against Ohio State. This Buckeyes defense is extremely stout. They pass the eye test, like when they limited Penn State's extremely potent offense to 12 points last Saturday. They also pass the numbers test — 3rd nationally in scoring defense, 4th nationally in total defense, 6th nationally in passing defense, and so on. They're led by a dynamic linebacker tandem of Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers.
Braedyn Locke and the offense showed a very real, tangible additional gear when they needed it most against Illinois. To have a chance against a national title contending team like Ohio State, they'll need to play with that same intensity and drive for all four quarters.
One key will be staying out of third-and-long situations. Early in the game in Champaign, the obvious passing downs stalled many a Wisconsin drive. They'll need to win on early downs to keep the Buckeyes formidable defense off balance. What's more, they need to hit on more chunk plays to flip the field — the Badgers' longest play from scrimmage against Illinois was a 32-yard pass to a wide open Will Pauling on third down that looked like a busted coverage. Locke showed a willingness to take shots down the field, and the gunslinger will need to continue to be aggressive Saturday night in Madison.
HOW FAR HAS THIS DEFENSE COME IN A YEAR?
It wasn't pretty when these two teams met in Columbus a year ago. The offense sputtered early, putting all of the pressure on the Badgers' defense to keep them in the game. They were woefully unprepared.
"You talk just alignment, assignment football, we were all over the map in that game," ex-Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said after last year's beatdown at the hands of the Buckeyes.
"We had some guys that kinda got shell-shocked early, and it took them a really long time to get out of it," he continued. "We had a little bit of guys seeing ghosts."
It showed. Wisconsin's secondary in particular got absolutely shredded by CJ Stroud and company, with players looking completely lost assignment-wise time and time again.
A year later, it's a much different defense in Madison. Many of the same players still populate the roster, but Mike Tressel has implemented his more secondary-centric scheme with...mixed results. The Badgers actually do boast a decent scoring defense at 18.3 points-per-game (20th in the FBS) but have had their share of issues.
Last week, it was tackling and quarterback contain that nearly lost Wisconsin the game. Often times, the two issues combined — they let Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer out of the pocket, and then couldn't get him to the ground when they had a shot to wrap up.
If you thought Altmyer looked shifty against this Badgers' defense, wait until you see Marvin Harrison Jr. or Miyan Williams.
CAN WISCONSIN LIMIT THE MISTAKES THAT PLAGUED THEM A WEEK AGO?
Wisconsin has a shot to shock the world and topple the unbeaten Buckeyes on Saturday night in Madison. It would appear highly unlikely, but not completely out of the question. In order to do so, however, they're going to need to play nearly flawless football, and the first step in doing so is cleaning up the mind-numbing mistakes from a week ago.
Where should we start? How about the litany of unforced errors — a botched field goal attempt, false starts along the offensive line and drops from the wide receiver group. It goes without saying that the Badgers will need all the points they can get Saturday, so any sort of failed field goal simply can't occur. But the other errors seem to correlate to a lack of focus, and Wisconsin will need to be completely dialed in against the No. 3 team in the country. Granted, the false starts and drops were mostly isolated to the first half, but against these Buckeyes, self-inflicted wounds like that will be too severe to recover from.
There was also the fumble from Locke, who lost the football while trying to step up and leave the pocket. It was a tough break for the quarterback because through the air, he protected the football very well. Turnovers will clearly be something for the Badgers to avoid at all costs.
This is the kind of game in which one misstep could spell disaster.
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