As it stands, things are pretty tight at halftime in Camp Randall. Even though it feels like the Badgers have controlled the game, they only find themselves up 14-0 against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The first half flew by in under 90 minutes; here are our game notes in case you missed anything.
Badgers’ running game:
This is the Wisconsin offense we all know and love. The Badgers rushed the ball 26 times for 155 yards (5.96 YPC) and two touchdowns, with freshman running back Taiwan Deal already surpassing his previous career high of 84 yards with 102. The offensive line has consistently created holes, and the power-speed combination of Deal and Dare Ogunbowale has done a solid job moving the chains. Deal should continue to outpace Ogunbowale in carries if he continues to run like he has tonight.
Now nursing a two possession lead, look for Chryst to run the ball a lot in the second half. Wisconsin is winning the time of possession battle, holding the ball for about twice as long as Hawaii. Their two touchdowns came off long scoring drives in which they methodically ran the ball down the field. Whenever they emphasized passing on a drive, it stalled.
Stave only has eyes for Erickson:
Joel Stave is 7-8 for 74 yards when throwing to wide receiver Alex Erickson. He’s 1-6 for 11 yards when targeting anyone else. This needs to change. After all, Erickson is no Jared Abbrederis.
Badgers slowing down Hawaii’s uptempo offense:
Hawaii tries to run an uptempo offense with lots of intermediate passing routes and option reads, but so far they’ve struggled to move the ball. They’ve only mustered five yards rushing the football, which forced them to deploy an even more pass-heavy attack in the second quarter.
Their quarterback, USC-transfer Max Wittek, is 8-17 with 101 yards, most of which have come to senior wideout Quinton Pedroza. They’ve attacked the seams to moderate success, but safeties Michael Caputo and Leo Musso have done a solid job in coverage, breaking up several plays.
Along with Caputo, it’s been the Badgers linebackers who have starred. Vince Biegel and Joe Schobert have been everywhere, putting lots of pressure on Wittek in the first quarter. I expect Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to send a few more blitzes in the second half to keep this up.
Other notes:
-Inside linebacker Leon Jacobs lost his starting job after true freshman Chris Orr’s 14-tackle performance filling in last week. Jacobs made a nice tackle in the backfield, but has now been ruled out for the game with a foot injury
-The Badgers averaged starting each drive on their own 15 yard line. Hawaii’s punter Rigoberto Sanchez (awesome name) has done a solid job pinning them inside the twenty
-Wisconsin has 17 first downs. Hawaii has 6.
That’s all for now. Check back in after the game for our complete recap.