The fresh Wisconsin air only continues to lift my spirits as we enter a new season. A new light and new hope for this Badgers team. After the struggles of last season, the Badgers are still ranked 19th. But this team has the promise to move up in the rankings and have a stellar season. The best way for the Badgers to claw to the top is to beat the spread.
The Badgers start this season in Tampa, battling against the USF Bulls. The Bulls are starting their senior quarterback Blake Barnett and are looking to keep up the 30 points per game they averaged last season. Wisconsin is lead today by Jack Coan. This year there is a new plan to relieve Jonathan Taylor of some work by using the passing game more.
Now with this new gameplan, the Badgers can sling the ball and put up more than the 29.69 points averaged per game last season. While Jonathan Taylor is still an incredible specimen, mixing in more passing will take defenses out of the box and possibly allow for more rushing yards with fewer touches. Ah, ladies and gentlemen, we are starting football season, and there is no better feeling than the excitement and anticipation of today’s game. Just writing and thinking about the game is making my heart race, but let’s get back to the focus of the article.
The Badgers can climb to the highest of highs. Reach the top, make it to the promised land in the top four. But it will take some work. That work starts today as they are 13.5 point favorites on the road.
With the new light and hope on the offense, the Badgers can continue the Bulls’ 6-game losing streak. But can they score enough?
With the help of Kendrick Pryor, AJ Taylor, and the newly reinstated Cephus Quintez, Coan has multiple targets to put the pressure on the Bulls’ defense. Once this Badger team gets rolling, I have the utmost optimism that they will continue to raise points onto the scoreboard.
Two big things to watch for is Coan’s passing confidence and the Offensive line’s strength and commitment to getting Jonathan Taylor up and down the field. Defenses win games, but offenses cover spreads. This will not be the usual season opener at Camp Randall against a lesser opponent. The Bulls still finished last season at 7-6 and scored a considerable amount on offense.
The Badgers’ secondary struggled towards the end of last season with injuries, but this year they are returning healthy and ready to cover Burnett’s receivers. The defense has a big question mark for performance as the line and linebackers are relatively inexperienced. But have faith. Paul Chryst would not let players on the field if he were not confident they would help his team cover the spread.
Let us enter this season with optimism and excitement. The Badgers have a climb to make it to the top of the rankings, this team can grind all the way there. And the best route to do so is to cover the spread.
Sconnie Sports Talk