** 2020 Opponent Previews : Wisconsin (Game 2) **
- Thread starter Saunders
- Start date
Comish
Active member
The way 20/20 has been rolling, I wouldn't be surprised to see Lancaster county blow through the upper limits of the covered 19 local protocols .....thus prevent our hosting
MyBloodIsRed16
Active member
RedDenver
New member
Husker in WI
New member
I'm glad their first game is Friday, won't have to split attention and I'm really curious what they look like this year. As a Nebraska homer looking for reasons to be down on Wisconsin, there are some areas where they still have questions and I think their week 1 depth chart helped calm some fears on some but not all.
Concern Areas
[*]WR - Cephus was very good, and while Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor have flashed some talent, one or both needs to step up. There were rumblings of a few underclassmen starting to put it together, which would've alleviated some concerns on their side.
[*]LB - They churn out LBs, so it is a little controversial to say this was a concern. But their worst defensive year in recent memory (2018 - they were still pretty good) was marked by subpar LB and DL play. The DL has depth again, but there was a little back of the mind worry about replacing Orr and Baun.
So TL;DR, I still feel pretty good about slowing down their offense more than the past 2 years. Especially with it being their QBs second start, as talented as he is. But predictably, my hope that they would take a significant step back at LB was pretty much crushed by a couple young guys seizing spots. I think their DBs are good but nobody is a shut down guy, and hopefully we can take advantage of the youth at LB when they're on the field. Even after a down year we're a tough offense to prepare for, and a pretty big change from Illinois in game 1. Frost has a good track record with producing yards against their D, but this year it needs to turn into points.
Concern Areas
- RB - yes, they always have a great running game. But last year Taylor averaged 6.3 YPC, the other backs 4.8. That was on ~120 carries for the others, so not a negligible sample size. 2018 the backups did a better job getting close YPC wise, but 2017 was similar - the backups had good but not great production.
Depth Chart - it's the guys they had last year, Watson and Groshek. Neither strike me as game breakers like Taylor, so those 2 winning the job isn't a great sign for them IMO. Quite possible a younger guy emerges still, but if it's those 2 plus Guerendo - I feel ok about trying to limit them.
[*]WR - Cephus was very good, and while Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor have flashed some talent, one or both needs to step up. There were rumblings of a few underclassmen starting to put it together, which would've alleviated some concerns on their side.
Depth Chart - The 2 guys behind Davis and Pryor are walk-ons with a combined 9 career receptions. They also have a combined 9 career tackles, which I find interesting. They're being referred to as blocking WRs which is hilarious because the one dude is 5'7. Obviously I'm selling them a little short here (lol), but they aren't impact guys. Best case was a guy like Taj Mustapha, AJ Abbott, or Chimere Dike forcing their way into the 2-deep. That didn't happen, so all the eggs are in the Davis/Pryor taking it to the next level basket. At least early in the year when we get them.
[*]LB - They churn out LBs, so it is a little controversial to say this was a concern. But their worst defensive year in recent memory (2018 - they were still pretty good) was marked by subpar LB and DL play. The DL has depth again, but there was a little back of the mind worry about replacing Orr and Baun.
Depth Chart ILB - They're comfortable with the Orr replacement, Leo Chenal. Dude is a freaking truck. He won't immediately have Orr's impact, but he will feel like exactly the kind of LB they constantly produce. If their other guy from last year's two-deep (Maskalunas) took the spot next to Sanborn I'd feel better, but Chenal is a monster and seems like he stepped up.
- Depth Chart OLB - I'll preface this by saying that while they were touting Baun leading up to last year, he was not great in 2018. So quite possible that one of these guys takes a similar leap from meh to all-american. But I also don't hear anyone talking them up the same way, with one exception. Starting the holdovers from last year (Burks and Green-May) isn't a great sign for them. Burks has been unspectacular, and Green-May is one of those talent guys who hasn't put it together. He's also been hurt, so maybe he does as a 5th year healthy guy - but I'm thinking he is what he is at this point. But he is only an OR starter, and the other guy is a highly touted true freshman, Nick Herbig. Without that I'd be concerned if I were a Badger fan, but similar to Chenal this feels like exactly what they always do - find an absolute stud who will be a thorn in our side for years. Herbig and Chenal scare me.
So TL;DR, I still feel pretty good about slowing down their offense more than the past 2 years. Especially with it being their QBs second start, as talented as he is. But predictably, my hope that they would take a significant step back at LB was pretty much crushed by a couple young guys seizing spots. I think their DBs are good but nobody is a shut down guy, and hopefully we can take advantage of the youth at LB when they're on the field. Even after a down year we're a tough offense to prepare for, and a pretty big change from Illinois in game 1. Frost has a good track record with producing yards against their D, but this year it needs to turn into points.
Undone
New member
Agreed. I will probably throw my shoe at the TV if we don't blitz a bunch in that game.
Interesting that their first game is against Illinois who upset them last year. I would love to watch Lovie's talented linebackers get some tough, physical sacks on Mertz and rattle his brain a little bit.
*Edit: But why would I be wearing shoes while watching the game...hmmm...
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