What: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Northwestern Wildcats
Where: Camp Randall Stadium (Madison, WI)
When: November 21, 2:30 PM CT
TV: BTN; Radio: Badger Sports Network
Odds: WISC -10
Coming off a much needed bye week, Wisconsin football is back at Camp Randall Saturday afternoon with a top-25 matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats. Northwestern trails the all-time series against Wisconsin (34-57-5), but beat Wisconsin last season, 20-14. This time around, it will be a battle between Wisconsin’s #1 scoring defense in the country and the #12 defense in Northwestern on Senior Day in Madison.
It’s going to be a game with some pretty snowy conditions, and the university sent out this note on Thursday for fans to prepare.
Thank You, Seniors
The Badgers will say goodbye to the following seniors in their last home game, many of which have been dynamic players at Wisconsin and could move on to the next level (Marz, Caputo, Watt, Traylor, and Schobert).
- #2 QB Joel Stave (Greenfield, WI – Whitnall High School)
- #3 S/WR Tanner McEvoy (Hillsdale, NJ – Bergen Catholic High School)
- #5 CB Darius Hillary (Cincinnati, OH – Sycamore High School)
- #7 S Michael Caputo (Imperial, PA – West Allegheny High School)
- #9 WR Jordan Fredrick (Madison, WI – Madison Memorial High School)
- #11 CB T.J Reynard (Virginia Beach, VA – Greenbrier Christian High School)
- #26 FB Derek Straus (Waunakee, WI – Waunakee High School)
- #29 CB Terrance Floyd (Boynton Beach, FL – Santaluces High School)
- #34 FB Derek Watt (Pewaukee, WI – Pewaukee High School)
- #41 OLB Jesse Hayes (Cincinnati, OH – Moeller High School)
- #46 TE Austin Traylor (Columbus, OH – Walnut Ridge High School)
- #58 Joe Schobert (Waukesha, WI – Waukesha West High School)
- #61 LT Tyler März (Springfield, MN – Springfield High School)
- #82 WR A.J. Jordan (Dayton, OH – Trotwood Madison High School)
- #86 WR Alex Erickson (Darlington, WI – Darlington High School)
- #90 P Drew Meyer (Hartland, WI – Arrowhead High School)
- #93 DE Jake Keefer (Woodville, WI – Baldwin-Woodville High School)
- #97 K Jack Russell (Waunakee, WI – Waunakee High School)
Injury Report: Wisconsin
LB Chris Orr – OUT
WR Robert Wheelwright – OUT
RB Corey Clement – QUESTIONABLE
TE Austin Traylor – QUESTIONABLE
DE Arthur Goldberg – PROBABLE
Keys to Victory
1. Stop Justin Jackson. Jackson, Northwestern’s starting running back and arguably their best player, has run for over 1000 yards already with a 4.6 yards per carry average and two rushing touchdowns. The sophomore is a talented back, and the Northwestern offense really only goes as far as he takes them. As you’ll read more about below, Northwestern’s quarterback Clayton Thorson is not much of a threat with his arm, so stopping Jackson with the ball can go a long way for a defense.
2. Will Clement play? If not, who will step up? Despite suffering a cut on his hand in a freak accident at his off-campus residence during the bye week, Paul Chryst affirmed this week that running back Corey Clement’s hand injury is not limiting him. Instead, Clement is still not 100% recovered from his groin injury, which forced him to sit out against Maryland. If Clement can play, he will provide an instant spark as we saw against Rutgers, which would be huge for the Badgers against a tough Northwestern defense. Taiwan Deal, Dare Ogunbowale, and Alec Ingold have done an admirable job filling in for Clement, but the Badgers want Clement in this game if they want to come out with a decisive victory. In the end, I doubt he plays due to his questionable status and the snowy conditions, and I see Deal actually stepping up.
3. Contain Thorson. Redshirt freshman quarterback Clayton Thorson leads an offense that loves to run the ball. Thorson has thrown for 1259 yards this year with 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, but he’s more impressively run for 360 yards on 75 carries and 5 touchdowns. Similar to some of the quarterbacks the Badgers have played in recent weeks, Thorson is not going to kill you with his arm, but you need to contain any big running plays from happening. This task will be handed to the linebackers, who will once again be without usual starting inside linebacker Chris Orr. Jack Cichy will need to step up like he has the past few weeks, and Vince Biegel and Joe Schobert will need to get pressure on Thorson and keep him in the pocket.
4. Stave’s play action passing. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave takes a lot of heat, but he’s really been playing solid football for the Badgers this season besides his performance against Iowa. What’s been successful for Stave throughout his career has been the play action pass, and I think the Badgers need to utilize that this week. Play action success requires an effective running game, however, so the Badgers need to establish the run early on in order to open up the passing game. It’s going to be a tough game to throw the ball with the winter conditions, but if Stave can limit his turnovers and make key throws to Alex Erickson and the returning Austin Traylor, the Badgers should feel pretty good about their chances to put up enough points.
5. Time of possession and first downs. In close games like this one with top-tier defenses, it’s all about who gets more time with the ball. Converting third down conversions and moving down the field will ultimately decide the outcome of this game. And of course, the snow may impact the game a little bit.
Image via UW-Madison.