The No. 8 Wisconsin football team opens its Big Ten season on the road at Ann Arbor, Mich., against the Michigan Wolverines, and should be well rested after having a bye week last weekend.
The Badgers (3-0) are led offensively by senior quarterback Allan Evridge and junior running back P.J. Hill. Senior tight end Travis Beckum returned to the lineup against Fresno State, catching four passes for 51 yards, and is expected to once again be the main target in Wisconsin’s aerial attack.
Wisconsin will have a lot riding on the success of the running game, as Michigan’s defensive front four present a unique challenge to the UW, especially considering Hill’s less-than-spectacular numbers against quality opponents on the road.
“I’ve heard the staff bring up, you know, P.J. Hill’s rushing numbers versus certain opponents in his two-year career going into this season,” Bielema said. “I think that’s probably why, in Fresno State, you might have saw P.J. Hill, even though it wasn’t his most productive numbers, may have played his best game as a college football player here at Wisconsin last week versus Fresno State.”
The success of the running game may depend on the Badger’s ability to pass, something that UW has been working a lot on lately.
“In the secondary they are going to challenge us,” wide receiver coach DelVaughn Alexander said. “They are going to try and get a win there at home and get those fans involved, so it’s important for us to make plays, that we are consistent and that we understand what our job is first and that should take care of a lot of different things.”
With such a stellar defensive line, it will be imperative that Wisconsin control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Michigan has had its troubles holding onto the football, but when it has, freshman running back Sam McGuffie has proven he has the talent to be dangerous for any opposing defense. McGuffie leads the Wolverines with 241 yards on 50 carries, and is the biggest playmaker on a Wolverine squad that is unusually lacking this season.
Bielema is not counting Michigan out of this game, or the Big Ten season in general despite the period of transition they are currently in.
“Rich is very intuitive, very intelligent. He’s got the Michigan background and support that he needs to have, from a standpoint of getting any staff that he wanted in there,” he said. “So he’s been able to do some things long-term-wise that should be able to benefit them.”
On the defensive side for Wisconsin, the return of senior linebacker Jonathan Casillas to the starting lineup against Fresno State finally gave the Badgers a complete defensive roster. Considering Casillas’ talent and the level that fellow senior linebacker and team captain DeAndre Levy has been playing at this season, the two should once again team up to wreak havoc on the Big Ten.
The one glaring concern that Wisconsin has is the inability to win on the road against Michigan. Wisconsin is 2-16 versus the Wolverines in Big Ten season openers, and will try to start a new trend this Saturday.
“The biggest thing we have in front of us is an opportunity to go play Michigan at the Big House in an environment, in a stadium, that is storied in college football,” Bielema said.
The game is at 2:30 p.m., and will be broadcast on ABC.
