NFL
By: Melo Williams
The Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) head to West Lafayette to take on the Purdue Boilermakers (1-2) Friday night under the lights to kick off B1G conference play.
The Wisconsin Badgers football team is riding a one-game winning streak after beating Georgia Southern 35-14 last week at Camp Randall.
Wisconsin also has won 16 consecutive games in the series including nine straight in West Lafayette. The last time Purdue beat Wisconsin at home was in 1997 with Drew Brees and haven’t beaten the Badgers since 2004.
Deep Dive:
Offense: The Badgers offense has been a tale of two halves all season, up and down, and have yet to put together a complete game offensively.
Wisconsin Head Coach Luke Fickell must use what’s shown consistent positive results through the first three games in the second half, giving Braelon Allen the ball but getting him touches in the first half instead of waiting until the second half.
For Allen’s first two seasons, he was the centerpiece of the Badgers offense. Last year, he averaged 19.2 carries per game, rushing for over 100+ yards seven different times.
This season, Allen has 14 carries for 58 yards and no touchdowns in the 1st half this year. He posted 197 yards on 22 carries and four touchdowns in the second half of games.
I understand implementing a new system as the Badgers did with the Air Raid offense and trying to speed the process up of everyone learning it but it’s okay to still run the ball sticking to the identity of Badgers football.
Coach Fickell should let Braelon Allen run and wear down the Boilermaker’s defense. Fresno State rushed for 116 yards on 37 carries in Week 1, In Week 2 Purdue gave up only 11 yards on 22 carries against Virginia Tech, but gave up 271 yards total on the ground to Syracuse. Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader rushed 25 times for 195 yards averaging 7.8 yards per carry with 4 TDS on the day.
Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen have split carries so far this season and each back is averaging at least 6.5 yards a carry. Mellusi has 40 carries for 268 yards and four TDs while Allen has 36 carries for 255 yards and four TDs.
Badgers quarterback, Tanner Mordecai 68/101 (67.3%) 702 yards and two touchdowns, and two interceptions in three games so far this season for Wisconsin.
Mordecai knows where he wants to put the ball, but the receivers haven’t made it to those spots on time running their routes.
Mordecai’s arm strength is solid, but not exceptional and he struggles when the defense moves him off his spot or hurries his process. His accuracy suffers when he’s not getting the ball out quickly on slants and outs because he tends to throw off his back foot when under pressure.
The Badgers offense is looking good so far, averaging 440.7 total yards per game. Wisconsin ranks fourth in the B1G in that stat.
I look for Badgers head coach Luke Fickell to get quarterback Tanner Mordecai and his receivers some snaps to work on the timing and chemistry of learning the Air Raid offense.
Defense:
I expect the Badgers defense to take another leap of improvement this week though it’s against Purdue.
Deion Burks the 5’11 wide receiver is a player Badgers defensive coordinator Mike Tressel needs to put focus on this week.
Burks combines blazing speed with sticky hands and elite athleticism. He’ll be a matchup nightmare for whoever the Badgers line up across from him, especially being the Badgers play a lot of man coverage.
So far this season Burks has 9 catches, 222 yards, and 3 TDs.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. is the Boilermakers backup running back who can also have a huge impact on the outcome of tonight’s game. Tracy Jr. has four total touchdowns, one kickoff return, and three rushing scores. He’s special to dominate a game because he can impact the game in various ways.
If Hudson Card can get the Boilermakers offense rolling in the air, it could make for a long night for the Badgers defense.
So far the Badgers have looked OK, not the Badgers of old for sure, but that’s expected. It’s a new era, the new identity of Wisconsin football is currently being built with 1st-year head coach Luke Fickell.
Smashmouth football is out and the Air Raid offense is in offensively, defensively things will be similar or better at some point, but right now the Badger’s identity is defense.
“Rome wasn’t built in three weeks, but we’re hoping that Madison was built a little bit different right now in the first three weeks,” Fickell said.
Prediction:
Wisconsin wins 37-17
Series History:
Wisconsin leads the all-time series at 52-29-8 overall.
Follow Melo on Twitter and Instagram: @_MeloWilliams
