On paper, the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers’ (2-0) home-opening matchup against the Akron Zips (1-1) was going to be an easy win.
However, in the week leading up to the game, head coach Paul Chryst didn’t let his team feel that way, never allowing his players to get complacent or underestimate their opponent.
It’s cliche, but Chryst lives for cliches, and the Badgers prepared for this game just as hard as they do for every game, regardless of the opponent. Their dedication to the every-game-matters mentality resulted in a 54-10 victory of borderline domination.
“We have to approach every game as if we’re not in the rankings at all,” redshirt senior running back Corey Clement said. “We had that mentality of not being in the Top 25 AP poll, and I think this is going to be a great season.”
Clement helped set the tone from the start, cruising to a 113-yard, two-touchdown performance on 21 carries before he rolled his left ankle in the third quarter. He said he could have gone back into the game, but the team was able to be extra cautious with a big lead.
Wisconsin refused to take the foot off of the gas in the running game early, not allowing any opportunity for Akron to start to form any kind of a comeback. There was no complacency or sense of security before the game was over.
“It was nice to get the run game going early to fall back on, and it opens up the pass game for us,” redshirt sophomore center Michael Dieter said. “People try to put more guys in the box, and it allows you to take shots downfield.”
What allowed the Wisconsin offense to stick to the running game was the strong showing from their defense. None of the Zips’ first five drives went longer than four plays, and over the first 28 minutes of the game, Akron possessed the ball for just under five minutes.
Part of the problem for the Zips was their refusal to run the ball early on. Junior quarterback Thomas Woodson did not hand the ball off a single time in the first quarter, and redshirt senior running back Warren Ball only carried it six times in the first half, coughing it up on his longest run of the day after breaking away downfield for 38 yards.
“Our play is a product of the great front seven we have,” redshirt senior safety Leo Musso said. “Those guys get after it up there, and we really just kind of reap the benefits of how great they are.”
The Zips avoided the run game partly because of the success they’ve had through the air. Woodson threw for 407 yards and six touchdowns last week against Virginia Military Institute as part of an effective downfield passing attack that the Zips were trying to execute against the Badgers.
Wisconsin was not going to underestimate Woodson and his talented receivers, and this defense effectively shut them down. The Zips pulled their junior quarterback once the score got out of hand, and Woodson finished just 9-of-19 for 108 yards and three interceptions.
He could only get his offense into the red zone once, and he only moved the ball past midfield twice all game.
“They challenged us more than we got in the first game [against LSU],” junior cornerback Derrick Tindal said. “I felt like we held on pretty well. They had great receivers, but we were just staying within our technique, and it was working for us.”
Akron scored its only touchdown on a second-quarter punt-return to the house. Special teams was really the only phase for Wisconsin that wasn’t completely lights-out. Its defense held the Zips down, and the offense smothered the visiting team by dominating the clock.
“We’re a defense who’s always hungry to get better. We’ll never tell you that we played our best game,” Musso said. “There’s always things that we can improve on, and that’s the truth.”
That’s the key to how the Badgers avoided any kind of a letdown after their win over LSU. It’s one thing to say that they treat every opponent the same, but this Wisconsin team truly does buy in and believe it, and that’s how they’re able to remain so consistent from week-to-week under Chryst, no matter who they play.
