Last Saturday, Penn State ended a frustrating five-game losing skid to Captain Kirk and his Iowa Hawkeyes. All was somewhat good in Happy Valley following the victory. After all was said and done, the Nits actually unleashed a running game that had been somewhat non existent since the season-opener. The two-headed monster of Rodney Kinlaw and seldom used Evan Royster ripped apart a pretty decent Iowa defense to the tune of 256 rushing yards. The PSU defense yielded only 194 yards and didn’t give the undermanned Hawkeye offense much hope of crossing the goal line until the game was already in the bag; Derrick Williams didn’t get stuffed behind the line of scrimmage on a run or gadget play once; there was a Brett Brackett sighting; Jeremy Boone continued to impress with his punting, and Kevin Kelly booted a career-long 53-yarder. Now that PSU got a gorilla off its back and exorcised all previous demons against the Hawks, its time to invite a “wounded” animal into Happy Valley known as the Badger.
 
Wisconsin comes to Beaver Stadium ranked in the top 20, albeit closer to being out of the top 25 entirely than the top 10. It wasn’t long ago that the Badgers were a “chic pick” to win the Big 10 by many considering a combined 18 starters, including the kicker and punter, returned from a team that finished high up in the rankings in 2006. While boasting a 5-1 mark, Wisconsin has been living on borrowed time for the most part this year and this has perplexed not only Badger Nation. Barely beating UNLV, Iowa, and Michigan State left the nation unimpressed and Wisconsin was all the sudden the “most overrated team” in the country. All of that came to a crashing halt last weekend in Champaign when the Illini downed the Badgers 31-26, ending the nation’s longest winning streak. While the offense has been efficient, biggest problem for Wisconsin has been its underachieving defense. After all, this is the same team that gave up 31 points to The Citadel in Madison. The following is a position breakdown of Wisconsin.

Quarterback: What is odd about the 2007 edition of Wisconsin football is the view from under center. It seemed as though John Stocco was taking snaps for the Badgers back in the Nixon era. Now, enter his understudy of three years in Tyler Donovan (6-1, 193). Many thought Wisconsin would have a rough time this season given the fact Stocco improved greatly throughout the years, limited his mistakes, and provided quality leadership. Well, there hasn’t been much of a drop off as far as stats. Donovan has done an admirable job for the Badgers. The fifth-year senior has completed 103 of 171 passes for 1400 yards, or 233.3 yards per game. Donovan, who has been on target on over 60% of his passes, is coming off a solid day against the Illini in Champaign. In the loss to Illinois, he completed 27 attempts for 392 yards – most of that damage going to Travis Beckum, of which we will talk about later. Donovan’s back-up is seldom used Allan Everidge, a former starter at Kansas State prior to his transfer.

Running Back: All we need to know is one name – PJ Hill (5-11, 242) and the fate of this offense rests heavily on him. The sophomore is just a bull in the backfield. You know the type – the one that drags tacklers an extra five or six yards before going down. The pre-season all-Big 10 selection is off to another strong start rushing for 750 yards on 160 carries (125 yards per game) in six games. Although he isn’t called too frequently upon to catch a ball out of the backfield, the guy’s lone duty is to score when he touches the ball as his 10 rushing touchdowns can attest. A year ago, Brett Bielema questioned Hill’s durability and heart prior to the Penn State game. The freshman responded with 148 tough yards on 31 carries. Fast forward a year and rumors suggest Hill sustained a groin injury against Illinois. Depending on the seriousness of this “supposed” injury, the Badgers could be in SERIOUS trouble. If Hill isn’t up to the task, Wisconsin will be forced to use third string freshman Zach Brown, who has only carried the ball 12 times for 52 yards. The reason for this is Hill’s backup, former PSU recruit, Lance Smith, is unable to travel out of the state due to an “off the field” incident. The sophomore has 29 carries for 228 yards or 7.9 yards per carry in his four appearances at home. Wisconsin’s prized signee, John Clay, hasn’t played a snap.

Receivers: What appeared to be one of the better receiving corps in the Big 10 at the beginning of the year is turning into a MASH unit. The loss of Paul Hubbard (38 catches-627 yards in 2006) and most recently Luke Swan (25 catches-451 yards in 2007) for the year has left the Badgers with no choice but to rely on inexperienced freshmen and sophomores. Freshmen Kyle Jefferson (10 catches-191 yards) and David Gilreath (1 catch-10 yards) will be asked to carry the load against one of the best secondaries in the Big 10. Who knows? We could even have a Marcus Randle El (1 catch-9 yards) sighting.

Tight End: While the receiving corps is banged up and left with inexperience, the Badgers are in fine shape when it comes time to talk about this position. PSU fans love Andrew Quarless and have every right to have that feeling. He has the stuff that could make him a budding star. Well, Wisconsin might not only have the best tight end in the Big 10, but one of the best in the land in Travis Beckum (6-4, 219). The junior is Donovan’s top weapon with 41 catches for 485 yards, or nearly 12 yards per reception. Beckum is coming off a career day versus Illinois with 11 catches for 160 yards. He is a dynamic specimen that can catch, block, and even extend his boundaries with the unexpected gadget play. When Beckum isn’t in the game, redshirt sophomore Garrett Graham (13 catches, 162 yards) has produced.

Offensive Line: Wisconsin has annually produced one of the largest collections of offensive linemen in the country and this year’s group is no exception. Juniors Kraig Urbik (6-6, 332), Eric Vanden Heuvel (6-7, 325), and Andy Kemp (6-6, 324) are the bigs on the line. The “small guys” include freshman Gabe Carimi (6-8, 292) and senior Marcus Coleman (6-6, 295). That’s an average of 316.3 pounds an offensive linemen. Four of the aforementioned names are returning starters. Of course, there is one gaping hole on that line – the one created by the departure of all-everything Joe Thomas, who is earning a nice paycheck in the NFL. Carimi is his replacement at left tackle. This is the crew that helps pave the way for an average of 192 rushing yards per game. However, this unit is allowing two sacks per game, which is 65th in the country.

Defense

A year ago, Wisconsin boasted one of the nation’s top defenses – first in passing efficiency defense; second in scoring defense (12.1 ppg) and pass defense (138.3 ypg), and fifth in total defense (253.1 ypg). Fast forward to 2007 with seven returning starters back, the Badgers are 50th in scoring defense (22.8 ppg), 57th in total defense (368.8 ypg), and 62nd in rush defense (152.83). The Illinois duo of Mendenhall and Juice rushed for a combined 252 yards against the Badgers. Heck, even The Citadel almost put up 400 yards on them. The departures of two honorable mention all-Big 10 honorees in linebacker Mark Zalewski and defensive back Joe Stellmacher were somewhat of an after thought to many. Its evident their leadership left a gaping hole in the defense. In year’s past, the Badgers excelled with a heavy rush on the QB. Well, in 2007, things seem different at this juncture. After six games, Wisky is tied for 79th in QB sacks (2.5 spg) and tied for 79th in tackles for losses (5.67 pg). The opposition is scoring at a high rate when getting inside the red zone against the Badger defense – 14 of 21 for touchdowns. People, take note of this defense as it only has one starting senior on the unit.

DL: The names certainly haven’t changed much as far as the starters on the defensive line, as the familiar names of Nick Hayden (6-5, 311), Matt Shaughnessy (6-6, 234) and Jason Chapman (6-4, 282) (17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss) all have previous starting experience prior to 2007. Hayden is the lone senior starter on the Badger defense. The newcomer to the defensive line is Mike Newkirk (6-3, 268). Shaughnessy and Hayden have 24 and 23 tackles respectively and have posted 11.5 of Wisconsin’s 34 tackles for loss on the year.

LB: Wisconsin’s starting linebacker trio features two juniors and one sophomore. Jonathan Casillas (6-2, 214) leads the team in stops with 43, while fellow junior DeAndre Levy (6-3, 220) has 31 tackles. Sophomore Elijah Hodge (6-1, 217), the brother of former Iowa All-American Abdul Hodge, has blossomed in his first year of starting with 39 tackles, including 4.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Secondary: Two veterans and two newcomers to the starting lineup figure to get the nod this weekend against the Lions. Junior CB Jack Ikegwuonu (6-1, 203) was a preseason all-Big 10 honoree, while Allen Langford (5-11, 191) checks in as the other corner. Sophomores Aubrey Pleasant (6-0, 206) and Shane Carter (6-2, 205) are the newcomers. Both players have more stops than the veterans, both with 26. Pleasant has two sacks from the safety position, while Carter has both Badger interceptions.

Special Teams: Wisconsin has one of the best kickers in the country in Taylor Mehlhaff. The senior is 9 of 11 in the early going in attempts and is a Groza Award candidate. Punting duties rest with fellow senior Ken DeBauche, who is averaging 39.9 yards per punt and has pinned opponents inside their own 20 five times this year. David Gilreath is a dangerous kick-off returner, averaging 22.7 yards per kick return.

What to look for:

When talking about Wisconsin offensively, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you to look for a steady, make that a heavy dose of PJ Hill and Travis Beckum. They are the two keys that make this offense click. Wisconsin ranks second in the country in time of possession (33:56). Look for Bielema and crew to try to manage the clock once again in order to help keep the suspect Badger defense off the field. Although Tyler Donovan is having a steady season and shows the poise of a veteran quarterback, he isn’t supposed to be the focus. The QB at Wisconsin isn’t asked to do much. If rumors suggest Hill isn’t healthy are true, Donovan will have to be more of a focal point, which might not be a good thing for the Badgers, given their rash of injuries to the receivers.

For PSU defensively, look for them to stop the run first. Hill is the key player that makes this offense click. Stop him and you put pressure on a first-year starting quarterback to make plays in a hostile environment that has brought better quarterbacks to their knees.

Offensively for PSU, the coaching staff probably has its eyes focused on the 152.6 rushing yards per game the Badgers allow and will look for the normal plan to occur – try to get the running game going which opens up the pass. Keep in mind, that number was significantly impacted by the exploits by Mendenhall and Williams last weekend in Champaign. Instead, the staff may want to consider opening with the pass to test those two new safeties. Wisconsin hasn’t seen a more talented group of receivers all year. That in turn should open up holes for Kinlaw and Royster.

Defensively, look for Wisconsin to come after Morelli and force him into mistakes. We talk about the ineptness of the PSU offense relative to turnovers. Well, PSU is 91st in the country in turnover margin (-0.67). Believe it or not, Wisconsin is worse being in a tie for 98th (-0.83). The Badgers don’t force too many turnovers, four in six games, but have seen the tape and the games everyone of us has seen. They know they can maybe get some unforced turnovers go their way.

Two Interesting Facts: In nine of the last 11 meetings, at least one of these teams has been ranked. Wisconsin is 5-0 all-time against PSU when the Lions aren’t ranked.

Prediction: Let me preface this by saying provided Morelli doesn’t make mistakes and PSU doesn’t have any major gaffes, the Lions have a very good chance at upsetting #19 Wisconsin. This game could go either way. The game for both teams hinges on the health of a running back (Hill) and the play of the quarterback (Morelli). PSU has some mismatches in its favor, but needs to go after them early to set the tone. Expect somewhat of an ugly game in which no one takes command. I expect the atmosphere of Beaver Stadium to rattle Donovan a bit and PSU takes advantage of a few miscues. Look for PSU to win its 19th of its last 20 at home this Saturday, but it won’t be pretty.


PSU 20, Wisconsin 13