On a brisk, rainy Madison day, the Badgers go into halftime leading 27-3 over a lowly Rutgers team. Corey Clement returned today from sports hernia surgery and is looking great so far, rushing six times for 47 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Joel Stave also returned from an injury at Illinois, and is 8 for 17 with 156 yards and a touchdown to Alex Erickson. Here are our halftime notes.
Presence of Corey Clement. Wisconsin was riddled with injuries last week – Stave, Clement, Deal, Wheelwright, and Austin Traylor were all out at one point. Clement had been sidelined since the first game of the season against Alabama, and even went to Germany to receive special treatment for a sports hernia. But now, all signs point to Clement being healthy and available for the rest of the season. His second rush of the game went for a 12 yard touchdown, and he also added a 21 yard touchdown late in the 2nd quarter. However, Clement did not enter the game as the starter, and is still ceding most snaps to Dare Ogunbowale. The snap count so far is: Ogunbowale 23, Clement 7, Ingold 2. Clement is 6 for 47 and 2 TD’s, Ogunbowale 6 for 29.
Inclement weather affecting the game. It seems as if Madison is doomed to experience at least one bad game weather-wise per season, and if so, this is definitely it. The high for the game – 49 – was announced to a mostly empty stadium just minutes before kickoff. The student section remains about half empty, especially sections K and L. General admission remains about half full as well. The weather has also played a role in low passing numbers on both ends. Rutgers QB Chris Laviano is 3 for 9 with 25 yards and a pick, while Joel Stave is 8 for 17 for 156 yards and a touchdown. The 47% completion percentage for Stave would be his lowest in a full game this season.
Strong play by Wisconsin defense. Much like they have all year, the Badgers are using a balanced attack to get past the Rutgers line early and often. Michael Caputo has 8 tackles to lead the team, and OLB Jack Cichy has 6 in his first start. Tanner McEvoy made a nice pick on a long pass by Laviano for the only turnover so far in this game. Joe Schobert has been having a relatively quiet game, recording only 2 tackles and 1 quarterback hit. Still, pressure on the line has forced five Rutgers drives of less than 20 yards out of 6 total.
Punt game making a difference. Starting position has played a definite role in the Badgers’ big lead. Starting position so far has been as follows:
Wisconsin: OWN 35, RUTG 41, OWN 26, RUTG 34, OWN 39, RUTG 28, OWN 29
Rutgers: OWN 14, OWN 42, OWN 18, OWN 30, OWN 4, WISC 46
Rutgers punter Joey Roth has only averaged 29 yards per punt before the return, against Drew Meyer’s 40.5.