Week 9 Preview: Wisconsin

[Mavric]

two matchups i really REALLY like. our DB's vs their receivers. if we can find a way to cover Fumagalli out of the nickle, and free up linebackers for the run game, i think we can just simply man free cover their receivers. hornibrook isnt overly mobile, though he's able to move around. But if we can free our backers, we should be good. I just cant see how Wisconsin scored 20+ if we play well on defense.

I also like our receivers against their secondary now that Westerkamp is back. Westerkamp, Morgan, Reilly, Moore, Peirson-El. Spread these guys out. Force their backers out of the tackle box or force them into straight nickel and give our oline a chance to double team. And hopefully Tommy is on. if he hits some passes down the field early (10-20 yard range. not the yolo bombs), then it will quickly change the dynamic of Wisconsins defensive game plan. I jsut think if we spread it out, we'll give newby and chance to crease some big runs. Qb run game has to be big.

people don't want to admit it but we match up pretty dang well in this game.

I think we do match up well.

The issue is we have yet to show that we can really put together a full game.

Or a full half.

But have you seen anything from Wisconsin's offense that suggests if we dont play well in the first half, that theyd run out to a 28-7 type lead? i havent. Not saying some first half struggles couldnt result in a 14-0/17-3 type halftime deficit. Which to me, is still overcomeable (i think i made that word up. LOL) But wisconsin doesnt strike me as having this huge talent/atheticism advantage that suggests that if things dont go great early, that we get boat raced out of the gate.

I agree with all that. But it's more a matter of I don't think we've really played well for large stretches of probably every game. And that's been against fairly poor competition. Wisonsin isn't a world-beater - as I said I think we match up very well from a talent standpoint - but they'll easily be the best team we've played. And I don't think you can play poorly for long stretches and beat good teams.

My biggest concern is the matchup of rushing defenses. We had all kinds of problems running the ball against Purdue. Purdue is #124 in the country in yards per rush allowed. Wisconsin is #20. And if we can't run the ball very effectively, that means we have to throw more. And the more we have to throw, the better the odds are that we'll get Bad Tommy. I don't think they'd necessarily put together four 80 yard drives to get 28 points. But if we give them a couple short fields......

And the other side of that coin is we are not very good at stopping the run. We are #62 in the country in yards per attempt allowed despite only playing one team that was really a legitimate threat running the ball. This is definitely not the Wisconsin running game of old, but they still prefer to run if they can. If we can't slow down their running game, I don't think it will work out very well for us.

 

[Landlord]

people don't want to admit it but we match up pretty dang well in this game.

except for our offensive line that consists of like 6 walk-ons, some toothpicks and chickenwire

Don't forget the duct tape and super glue.

Wait we've got duct tape?!

Nebraska rolls 30-7. Mark it.

 

[Count 'Bility]

When you say play poorly for stretches Mav, youre talking about the offense right? Cuz havent seen really any long stretches of bad play from our defense. i think it's the type of game that if we start out really bad offensively, we can rely on the defense to keep us in it. But definitely all legit concerns from a Nebraska offense standpoint.

One things for sure. As if we dont already know. Im curious see how much we get to confirm that Westerkamp's presence is a factor. With and without the ball in his hands.

 

[Count 'Bility]

people don't want to admit it but we match up pretty dang well in this game.

except for our offensive line that consists of like 6 walk-ons, some toothpicks and chickenwire

Don't forget the duct tape and super glue.

Wait we've got duct tape?!

Nebraska rolls 30-7. Mark it.

make sure it's not the cheap ACE brand stuff first.

 

[Nebfanatic]

When you say play poorly for stretches Mav, youre talking about the offense right? Cuz havent seen really any long stretches of bad play from our defense. i think it's the type of game that if we start out really bad offensively, we can rely on the defense to keep us in it. But definitely all legit concerns from a Nebraska offense standpoint.

One things for sure. As if we dont already know. Im curious see how much we get to confirm that Westerkamp's presence is a factor. With and without the ball in his hands.

I don't think he will come in and make a huge difference for our offense. He is extremely talented and a great WR but we are loaded at that position. Cethans return will be more noticeable as far as offensive production goes imo

 

[Mavric]

I wouldn't say we've played bad for long stretches on defense necessarily. But I think we've played some pretty poor offenses (for the most part) who haven't taken as much advantage of our weaknesses as better teams will. We give up some pretty easy throws that I think Wisconsin and tOSU will take more advantage of the next two weeks. And I don't like the looks of our run fits against a teams that is usually good at running the ball and has better linemen and a power back.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

When you say play poorly for stretches Mav, youre talking about the offense right? Cuz havent seen really any long stretches of bad play from our defense. i think it's the type of game that if we start out really bad offensively, we can rely on the defense to keep us in it. But definitely all legit concerns from a Nebraska offense standpoint.

One things for sure. As if we dont already know. Im curious see how much we get to confirm that Westerkamp's presence is a factor. With and without the ball in his hands.

I don't think he will come in and make a huge difference for our offense. He is extremely talented and a great WR but we are loaded at that position. Cethans return will be more noticeable as far as offensive production goes imo

Having Westerkamp back at the slot receiver enables Reilly go back out wide. Reilly has been good in Jordan's absence, but he is better suited for an outside receiver position.

 

[suh_fan93]

There's the LSU game but they just limped by Iowa and don't forget Georgia State (Wiscy won by 6 points...) but then they lose to (the) OSU by 3 and by 7 to Michigan so I'm not sure what to make of this team.

I wasn't expecting much of Wiscy before the season started. So far it seems like sometimes they show up well and other times they don't. This could be a much closer game than would appear but it also could also go the other direction. Wiscy is an odd team to gauge this year.

 

[Nebfanatic]

When you say play poorly for stretches Mav, youre talking about the offense right? Cuz havent seen really any long stretches of bad play from our defense. i think it's the type of game that if we start out really bad offensively, we can rely on the defense to keep us in it. But definitely all legit concerns from a Nebraska offense standpoint.

One things for sure. As if we dont already know. Im curious see how much we get to confirm that Westerkamp's presence is a factor. With and without the ball in his hands.

I don't think he will come in and make a huge difference for our offense. He is extremely talented and a great WR but we are loaded at that position. Cethans return will be more noticeable as far as offensive production goes imo

Having Westerkamp back at the slot receiver enables Reilly go back out wide. Reilly has been good in Jordan's absence, but he is better suited for an outside receiver position.

oh definitely having Westy back is a great addition! Not only is he better on pass plays in slot he is a better blocker than Reilly I think so that helps but I don't think having him adds a huge amount to our pass game (it would if Tommy was more accurate but gotta take what we have) and he doesn't provide a big contribution to our run game where we have struggled so much.
That being said I expect our offense to be slightly more effective with him back, to the point where we can score when we need to against a stout Wisconsin D

 

[gbr93]

For the life of me I cant figure out why people think a team like NU that hasnt shown they can reliably drive the ball downfield against anybody, is going to beat a team like Wisconsin with one of the toughest Defensive units in America on the road. Wisconsin also knows if they win out All of their goals are still on the table. There is no and I mean no logical reason to believe Nebraska is going to win this game. "Hope" is not a good strategy for a season. I prefer "run blocking"

What about an 18 play drive covering almost 10 minutes followed by an 11 play drive against Illinois when we needed them? 15 plays spanning over 7 minutes to ice the Indiana game? 9 plays over 4 minutes to go up 24-13 against Northwestern? You get my point. It seems to me that our offense is actually very reliable to drive the field and put points on the board when they have needed them the most. None, of these teams have the defense Wisconsin does, but I don't think it is overly optimistic to believe we will continue that trend against them either.

Edit: Also, forgot the 11 play 80 yard drive covering 5 minutes to take the lead against Oregon

 

[Nebfanatic]

I wouldn't say we've played bad for long stretches on defense necessarily. But I think we've played some pretty poor offenses (for the most part) who haven't taken as much advantage of our weaknesses as better teams will. We give up some pretty easy throws that I think Wisconsin and tOSU will take more advantage of the next two weeks. And I don't like the looks of our run fits against a teams that is usually good at running the ball and has better linemen and a power back.

to be fair Blough really did take advantage of those easy throws in the first half last week. I mean he hit 80%, that's crazy. But obviously Purdue can't do what those other teams can do on the ground either.

 

[Mavric]

I wouldn't say we've played bad for long stretches on defense necessarily. But I think we've played some pretty poor offenses (for the most part) who haven't taken as much advantage of our weaknesses as better teams will. We give up some pretty easy throws that I think Wisconsin and tOSU will take more advantage of the next two weeks. And I don't like the looks of our run fits against a teams that is usually good at running the ball and has better linemen and a power back.

to be fair Blough really did take advantage of those easy throws in the first half last week. I mean he hit 80%, that's crazy. But obviously Purdue can't do what those other teams can do on the ground either.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Had about 250 yards worth as well. But they couldn't keep it up partially because we played better and partially because our offense held the ball for 20 minutes in the second half so they didn't have many chances.

 

[BaytownHusker]

One thing that is going to help us out some is they have have lost their #1 tackler and LB for the season. Cichey or how ever you spell it.. Hes out.

But it does seem like they always have another nice LB to step in.

 

[TGHusker]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2016/10/24/uw-linebacker-cichy-miss-remainder-season/92659662/

Here is the link

 

[lo country]

two matchups i really REALLY like. our DB's vs their receivers. if we can find a way to cover Fumagalli out of the nickle, and free up linebackers for the run game, i think we can just simply man free cover their receivers. hornibrook isnt overly mobile, though he's able to move around. But if we can free our backers, we should be good. I just cant see how Wisconsin scored 20+ if we play well on defense.

I also like our receivers against their secondary now that Westerkamp is back. Westerkamp, Morgan, Reilly, Moore, Peirson-El. Spread these guys out. Force their backers out of the tackle box or force them into straight nickel and give our oline a chance to double team. And hopefully Tommy is on. if he hits some passes down the field early (10-20 yard range. not the yolo bombs), then it will quickly change the dynamic of Wisconsins defensive game plan. I jsut think if we spread it out, we'll give newby and chance to crease some big runs. Qb run game has to be big.

How much is Tommie's injury bothering him? Will it be a factor. It seems like he has been throwing off of his back foot the last 2 games - thus bad throws. Missed a sure long TD throw against Purdue. Is it his injury or returning to bad habits? I hope he can spread the wealth this week to the receivers and open the door in the running game. We'll need it as Wisc LBs are fast and active.

it seems that way. But on that TD run, he sure looked fine.
I just cant help but think we've been saving him for this stretch. not running him more than we've had to. Just something that sticks out in my eyes last couple games is the overall lack of read options, RPO's and the designed qb runs. Knowing we can win those games with them. And when we lose that threat in the eyes of the defense, obviously it makes it easier to defend. i just wonder if Langs cuts him loose Saturday night like he did the Oregon game. Get back to playing 11 on 11.

His running looked fine to me as well. Throwing off the back foot was simply Tommy being Tommy. BUT, when he stepped into those throws, they were on a rope and money.

Like you said, we need to rely heavily on the RPO plays. Make their LB's sit back and wait, not just come straight up field. Get them leaning one way and go the other. Through our first 5 games, I thought Langs did a great job of exploiting the various defensive schemes. Not taking what we wanted or what they gave, but calling plays to nullify or slow JP their schemes. That will be key IMO.

Defensively we have got to get pressure Hornibrook and set the edge. Make Clement and Co, cut back inside. We can't let their RB's hit the edge and go. And for the love of all that's dear, watch the RB or TE dragging underneath. I'd also really, really, really, really like to see more press coverage at the LOS to disrupt their passing game. Their OL is typical Wisky OL....If we can't get pressure quickly, at least slow the receivers release to give the DL time to get in there.

I think this game is winnable.