Life after AD? BC!
Junior running back Brian Calhoun was fantastic against Bowling Green. He ran the ball 43 times for 258 yards and five touchdowns en route to being named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Calhoun accounted for 59 percent of the team's total offense and currently leads the Big Ten in rushing, all-purpose yards and scoring. The question is, can he keep it up? There are tougher defenses than Bowling Green down the road. Temple typically plays a 4-2-5 defensive scheme, but they will surely bring defenders up to the line to stop Calhoun from running wild. He also carried the ball more than 40 times, which raises some questions about durability. During the past two seasons, Anthony Davis was capable of putting up big numbers but was oftem injured. If Calhoun can stay healthy and produce half of what he did against Bowling Green, the Badger offense should do just fine.
Trench warfare
After losing three starters to the NFL, many worried about how the offensive line would perform this year. Those questions were answered Saturday. The line, led by junior tackle Joe Thomas-with the help of senior fullback Matt Bernstein-opened up huge lanes for the Badger backs as they rushed for nearly 400 yards. Head coach Barry Alvarez showed tremendous confidence in the line. With the Badgers up two scores in the fourth quarter, he decided to go for it on fourth-and-one from the Badger 40-yard-line. The line was up to the challenge, securing the first down, which sealed the victory. The strength of Temple's defense lies in its experienced defensive line, but Arizona State was able to gain 300 yards on the ground against them last week. The Badgers will need to control the trenches again this weekend.
Second(ary) chances
The Badger secondary was decimated Saturday by the Bowling Green passing attack. Quarterback Omar Jacobs completed 30 passes for 458 yards and five TDs. Three different receivers had 100 yards receiving. Alvarez was not happy with the play of his defensive backs and promised things would improve this week.
\We broke down fundamentally on a number of things,"" he said. ""A couple of our guys, I don't know why they did practice. They could have done what they did just by showing up on Saturday. That's disappointing.""
The strength of Temple's attack is in their passing game. Quarterback Mike McGann is a fifth-year senior and has passed for more than 4,500 yards in his career and threw for more than 200 yards in the team's opener. If the backs don't pick up their play, Alvarez has hinted that he will start giving some of the younger backs opportunities. This could already be seen in the depth charts released this week, in which freshman Allen Langford and junior Joe Stellmacher are listed as starters above seniors Levonne Rowan and Johnny White, at cornerback and safety, respectively.
Overlooking the Owls
Just about everyone has the Sept. 24 matchup with Michigan circled on their calendars. The Wolverines have not come to Camp Randall Stadium since 2001, when they won 20-17. Next weekend, the Badgers travel to North Carolina, which could be a very tough road game. Wisconsin cannot make the mistake of looking ahead. The Badgers must take advantage of games against non-conference opponents because these games could end up being the difference between playing a bowl game or sitting home on New Year's Day. The Badgers have been guilty of looking ahead before. Last year, many people were talking Rose Bowl when the Badgers went into East Lansing and lost 49-14 to Michigan State. Do not forget the 23-5 loss to UNLV in 2003 or the 63-32 loss to Indiana in 2002, which took place the week before a battle with No. 2 Ohio State.
Temple of doom
Recent history has not been kind to the Temple Owls. The team has gone 3-20 the past two years and was kicked out of the Big East following last season. The prognosis for this season does not look bright either. The Owls have one of the toughest schedules in the entire country. They opened their season at No. 20 Arizona State, and also play four Atlantic Coast Conference teams-Miami, Maryland, Virginia and Clemson-as well as Bowling Green and Navy. The team received a huge blow in the offseason when their two best players, linebacker Rian Wallace and quarterback Walter Washington, both went pro. Then, Aug. 29 the school announced seven players were academically ineligible, including senior running back Tim Brown. He was sorely missed, as the ground game only picked up 1.8 yards per carry in Temple's 63-16 loss to ASU on Saturday.
