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** 2020 Opponent Previews : Wisconsin (Game 2) **


Saunders

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2 minutes ago, Mavric said:

Won't affect us as the game is in Lincoln.  Unless they can't play at all.

 

 

The way 20/20 has been rolling, I wouldn't be surprised to see Lancaster county blow through the upper limits of the covered 19 local protocols .....thus prevent our hosting

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  • 2 weeks later...


I'm glad their first game is Friday, won't have to split attention and I'm really curious what they look like this year. As a Nebraska homer looking for reasons to be down on Wisconsin, there are some areas where they still have questions and I think their week 1 depth chart helped calm some fears on some but not all.

 

Concern Areas

  • RB - yes, they always have a great running game. But last year Taylor averaged 6.3 YPC, the other backs 4.8. That was on ~120 carries for the others, so not a negligible sample size. 2018 the backups did a better job getting close YPC wise, but 2017 was similar - the backups had good but not great production.
    • Depth Chart - it's the guys they had last year, Watson and Groshek. Neither strike me as game breakers like Taylor, so those 2 winning the job isn't a great sign for them IMO. Quite possible a younger guy emerges still, but if it's those 2 plus Guerendo - I feel ok about trying to limit them.
  • WR - Cephus was very good, and while Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor have flashed some talent, one or both needs to step up. There were rumblings of a few underclassmen starting to put it together, which would've alleviated some concerns on their side.
    • Depth Chart - The 2 guys behind Davis and Pryor are walk-ons with a combined 9 career receptions. They also have a combined 9 career tackles, which I find interesting. They're being referred to as blocking WRs which is hilarious because the one dude is 5'7. Obviously I'm selling them a little short here (lol), but they aren't impact guys. Best case was a guy like Taj Mustapha, AJ Abbott, or Chimere Dike forcing their way into the 2-deep. That didn't happen, so all the eggs are in the Davis/Pryor taking it to the next level basket. At least early in the year when we get them.
  • LB - They churn out LBs, so it is a little controversial to say this was a concern. But their worst defensive year in recent memory (2018 - they were still pretty good) was marked by subpar LB and DL play. The DL has depth again, but there was a little back of the mind worry about replacing Orr and Baun.
    • Depth Chart ILB - They're comfortable with the Orr replacement, Leo Chenal. Dude is a freaking truck. He won't immediately have Orr's impact, but he will feel like exactly the kind of LB they constantly produce. If their other guy from last year's two-deep (Maskalunas) took the spot next to Sanborn I'd feel better, but Chenal is a monster and seems like he stepped up.
    • Depth Chart OLB - I'll preface this by saying that while they were touting Baun leading up to last year, he was not great in 2018. So quite possible that one of these guys takes a similar leap from meh to all-american. But I also don't hear anyone talking them up the same way, with one exception. Starting the holdovers from last year (Burks and Green-May) isn't a great sign for them. Burks has been unspectacular, and Green-May is one of those talent guys who hasn't put it together. He's also been hurt, so maybe he does as a 5th year healthy guy - but I'm thinking he is what he is at this point. But he is only an OR starter, and the other guy is a highly touted true freshman, Nick Herbig. Without that I'd be concerned if I were a Badger fan, but similar to Chenal this feels like exactly what they always do - find an absolute stud who will be a thorn in our side for years. Herbig and Chenal scare me.

So TL;DR, I still feel pretty good about slowing down their offense more than the past 2 years. Especially with it being their QBs second start, as talented as he is. But predictably, my hope that they would take a significant step back at LB was pretty much crushed by a couple young guys seizing spots. I think their DBs are good but nobody is a shut down guy, and hopefully we can take advantage of the youth at LB when they're on the field. Even after a down year we're a tough offense to prepare for, and a pretty big change from Illinois in game 1. Frost has a good track record with producing yards against their D, but this year it needs to turn into points.

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56 minutes ago, Husker in WI said:

So TL;DR, I still feel pretty good about slowing down their offense more than the past 2 years. Especially with it being their QBs second start, as talented as he is.

 

Agreed. I will probably throw my shoe at the TV if we don't blitz a bunch in that game.

 

Interesting that their first game is against Illinois who upset them last year. I would love to watch Lovie's talented linebackers get some tough, physical sacks on Mertz and rattle his brain a little bit.

 

*Edit: But why would I be wearing shoes while watching the game...hmmm...

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On 10/21/2020 at 2:17 PM, Undone said:

 

Agreed. I will probably throw my shoe at the TV if we don't blitz a bunch in that game.

 

Interesting that their first game is against Illinois who upset them last year. I would love to watch Lovie's talented linebackers get some tough, physical sacks on Mertz and rattle his brain a little bit.

 

*Edit: But why would I be wearing shoes while watching the game...hmmm...

Well the opposite of this happened lol. Maybe in the second half

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