Jump to content

JIMMY THE GREEK SAYS


jimmythegreek
 Share

Recommended Posts

(9) Wisconsin -33 over Florida Atlantic:
The Badgers (1-0) got off to a mighty slow start in their home opener against Utah St last week in Madison but exploded in the Aggies 49-0 en route to a 59-10 upending of Utah St. Alex Hornibrook (15/23 244 3 TD) picked ao=part USU’s secondary and threw TD passes to 3 different receivers. Troy Fumagalli caught 5 passes for 125 yards and a score, while Quintez Cephus and Zander Neuville also each caught scoring passes. Wisconsin did their real damage on the ground rushing for 230 yards and 4 more scores led by Jonathan Taylor, and also recorded a pick 6 to paydirt on defense forcing 4 Utah St turnovers. Kent Myers (25/40 213 3 INT) was hurried out of the pocket and forced to make quick passes on relatively short drops, and the Aggies were limited to just 93 yards on the ground with their lone TD coming on a Lajuan Hunt 12 yard run early. Meanwhile, Zach Abey ran for 235 yards on 32 carries (7.3) and 2 scores while Joshua Walker (8-75 9.4) also scored twice as Navy crushed Florida Atlantic 42-19 at Boca Raton last week. The option happy Midshipmen tallied a total of 415 rushing yards with 5 TD and Abey even completed a 30 yard TD pass to Darryl Bonner, one of only 3 completed throws in 10 attempts. Daniel Parr (19/30 281 2 TD 1 INT) did most of his damage with the game already well in hand while the running game never got in gear held to just 87 yards overall. Both of these teams hook up this Saturday in Madison.

While Wisconsin especially in the second half wasn’t really tested by the normally up tempo Utah St offense, whatever tongue-lashing Paul Chryst gave his club in the second half certainly worked to near perfection. Hornibrook received plenty of time to operate and only faltered when his receivers made mistakes and dropped a couple of key passes and ran some early wrong routes. Against FAU, Wisconsin will get running right away, keep running, and then rely on the defense to stuff the Owl ground game cold. It shouldn’t take an entire half of football for the Badgers to crack the code as it did a week ago, and Hornibrook with the Wisconsin offense should be able to find their groove more efficiently. Taylor should once again receive the bulk of the legwork, especially with Bradrick Shaw injured and Chris James having a hard time in the opener. The real focus here is the Badgers’ dominance on defense was the main catalyst for the team during their week one demolition of Utah State. The key will be confidence to support a better than average sized and skilled front seven with speed and agility in the secondary. TJ Edawards has some tough shoes to fill now that TJ Watt has moved on while tackle Ryan Connelly and Chris Orr have good speed outside as well as agility to mow through opposing lines to put pressure on the QB.

The Lane Kiffin era at FAU has gotten off to a rocky start and things aren’t looking up any more than they did at home in week 1. Judging by the run defense not faring well against Navy creates a huge disparity in talent considering Wisconsin’s run game is so balanced and versatile between 3 active backs. While Parr showed signs under pressure he may be forced to operate at a quick pace especially against a worthwhile defense like Wisconsin. However being on the same page with his receivers is equally as important in establishing a ground game that will likely be at a disadvantage. Plagued by errors throughout the loss at Navy especially in communication with Parrs’ receivers, he threw three passes to top target Deandre McNeal, who caught 4 passes for 88 yards and a score in the loss, that were behind him, and later took the brunt of the blame due to play changing calls at the line. James Brunson also dropped a couple of passes and ran some incorrect routes which made it difficult for the Owls’ offense to get in gear. On defense, the injury situation is pretty miserable right now due to Ray Ellis being done for the year. Expectations are pretty low considering NT Jeremiah Taleni and LB Azzez Al Shair are the only two returning backs on a thin line capable of stopping the undermatched Owls. He was a body the Owls could not afford to lose on the d-line. The FAU offense immediately becomes more explosive with DeAndre Johnson on the field, however his main issue continues to be consistency especially in unfavorable matchups. FAU is also going to need some productive carries from Devin Singletary in order to keep Wisconsin’s defense at bay.

Wisconsin should have no problem scoring against the FAU defense, but coming out sharp is critical for the Badgers. Early mistakes and dropped passes might allow the Owls to hang around early, but in the end, Wisconsin simply has too much experience, speed and size on both sides of the ball where they will come out in dominating fashion early and not look back. This unit will only gel on the same page with chemistry going forward, and should be clicking on all cylinders when Big 10 play gets underway. For the Owls, unfortunately an expected long season will get even longer at least until they entertain C-USA foes. Their lack of experience combined with their young personnel will not stand up against the strength of the Badgers. Best of luck however you play!


YTD 1-1 .500
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...