There is no shortage of questions in regards to the Wisconsin football team’s (2-1) offense in the days leading up to Saturday’s non-conference finale against Texas-El Paso (1-2).
First, of course, is who will start at quarterback. Nobody budged on that question Tuesday, when offensive players and assistants regularly meet with reporters—though the quarterbacks were not made available this week.
It also remains to be seen how much redshirt junior wide receiver Jared Abbrederis will be able to contribute—if anything—as he recovers from a concussion suffered in the second quarter against Oregon State. Without him, UW wide receivers accounted for just two catches against Utah State Saturday in a 16-14 win.
To have these questions at such important positions could be seen as troublesome for the Badgers, considering the underperformance of the offense so far this year.
Wisconsin ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring offense (16.3 points per game), total offense (276 yards per game) and passing offense (156.3 yards per game) and No. 11 in rushing offense (119.7 yards per game). Those categories rank Nos. 113, 116, 94 and 114 in the nation, respectively.
Despite such significant struggles and despite the breadth of those struggles, redshirt junior Travis Frederick said he feels like the offense is making steady progress towards consistent production.
“A lot of people on the outside aren’t going to see it, because it comes down to a step here or a step there or where your hand placement is, but I do think we played a lot better than we had, obviously minus the penalties,” said Frederick, who himself was flagged twice against Utah State.
For the year, UW has averaged just 3.1 rushing yards per carry and 4.3 yards per play, but Frederick pointed to a six-play, 42-yard drive in the fourth quarter as a sign of where the unit is headed. Senior running back Montee Ball carried the ball on all six plays, capping the drive off with a 17-yard touchdown run.
“That whole drive was a good gain and a good gain and a good gain and then it popped,” Frederick said. “That’s what we’re used to and that’s kind of what I came into the season expecting, and it hasn’t been what we’ve had.”
Redshirt junior tight end Jacob Pedersen echoed the sentiment.
“When you’re watching film on that kind of stuff, and you see a play that got made for a two-yard gain and you see that if I would have stayed on my block it would have hit for 50, it kills you,” said Pedersen, who has been held to seven catches for 63 yards so far this year. “We’ve got a ton of plays where, boom, it’s the last guy that makes the play.”
While the Badgers have been close to big plays on several occasions, their longest running play of the year was a 20-yard run by junior James White. Ball was held to two yards or less on 9 of his 19 first-half carries against Utah State before averaging 4.7 yards per carry in the second half.
UTEP may provide an opportunity for the UW ground game to get on track. Through three games, the Miners have given up an average of 215.7 rushing yards per game.
It remains to be seen if the Badgers can really be so far off the mark statistically, but still so close to hitting a gold mine of production. However, if big plays are contagious Saturday would be a good time to start, with a trip to Lincoln, Neb. looming beyond UTEP.
“I have that mentality every game, but from looking on film and stuff I see the opportunity to make big plays,” Ball said. “I feel like this is going to be a really good game for us.”
