If you don’t know by now, the University of Wisconsin-Madison football team is hosting a darn good team on Saturday. The Alabama Crimson Tide will be rolling into Camp Randall with one of the best offensive players in college football: Jalen Milroe.
The six-foot-two, 225-pound quarterback is a force to be reckoned with and is on everyone’s mind heading into the weekend’s contest. But, unfortunately, Wisconsin’s defense has more to worry about than just Milroe.
Ryan Williams, a 17-year-old true freshman wide receiver, has turned heads so far this season, torching the past two defenses he has faced. Williams caught two passes for two touchdowns and 139 yards in his first game against Western Kentucky. The following week, Williams pulled a nasty stiff arm out of his back pocket, resulting in a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown in their 42-16 win against the University of South Florida.
I could sit here for another couple hours and list off all the weapons this star-studded offense has but that would be no fun. Instead, we should dive into how the Badgers can try and stop Bama. Here are three keys Wisconsin’s defense will need to adopt for a chance to stop the Crimson Tide’s prolific offense.
Contain Jalen Milroe
I already mentioned Milroe is a great quarterback, but I didn’t touch on why he’s a threat to this Badgers defense. In the past, Wisconsin hasn’t fared well against elusive quarterbacks who can scramble at will. When the Badgers faced Washington State last year in week two, quarterback Cam Ward rushed for 70 yards against the Badgers.
Unluckily for Wisconsin’s defense, Milroe is exactly that.
In his first game against the Hilltoppers, the redshirt junior quarterback rushed 10 times for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns, according to Alabama's Athletic Page. In his second clash, Milroe took off for 47 rushing yards.
On the flip side, Milroe is susceptible to sacks when he tries to get too fancy, which is certainly a benefit for the Badgers. So, Wisconsin needs to put pressure on Milroe and make him feel uncomfortable. Ideally, the Badgers’ initial pass rush can get the job done and sack the dangerous quarterback.
In the event that our defensive line can’t get the job done to pressure Milroe, Wisconsin’s defense will need to exploit the quarterback blitz. In a perfect world, a Badger blitz would get to Milroe quickly, fluster him and drop him for a loss of yards.
It’s likely the Katy, Texas native will escape from the pocket if Wisconsin blitzes though. This is where Milroe has separated himself as an elite quarterback. His ability to make unscheduled throws on the run and plays with his legs makes him top tier.
The final thing the Badgers can do to contain Milroe with this defensive scheme is to have a quarterback spy. I’m not going to comment on who should be the spy, because the people I would want to be a spy play an important role in my next key.
A quarterback spy would hopefully be able to attack Milroe once he tries to break free from the pocket. If it appears the fourth-year quarterback is going to run, the Badgers’ spy needs to act quickly to address Milroe.
If Wisconsin’s defense can stop Milroe from running — or better yet, force sacks and turnovers — they will force him to make tough throws on the run. If Milroe succeeds in making these incredible throws, Alabama will win the game, and rightfully so.
Limit explosive plays
I think this key is pretty self explanatory.
Alabama is known for having a pretty good offense because they have the ability to rip defenses apart and take the life out of opposing stadiums with one explosive play.
Wisconsin can limit Alabama’s explosive, or ‘chunk,’ plays by playing a lot of zone defense. Wisconsin needs two high safeties for almost every play in case the Tide’s playmakers blow by our cornerbacks. If the Badger’s initial defense gets burned, the high safeties can swoop in to hopefully save the day.
One of the main goals of playing zone here is to let many of the plays happen in front of you. If Wisconsin limits big gains by allowing the Crimson Tide to work under them, that would be a massive success.
Sure, Alabama will eventually march down the field if the Badgers are mainly trying to prevent massive gains, but if we can slow Alabama’s offense down and force some field goals in the red zone, Wisconsin might have a chance.
There’s one threat we need to pay attention to in particular, and I hope you haven’t forgotten about him after all the Milroe talk. I’m of course again talking about the 17-year-old Williams.
I already mentioned his impressive stats through two games, so I won’t make the Wisconsin faithful read through them again, but I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping this star player in front of the defense. The Badgers should be fine with Williams racking up yards on shorter plays instead of him beating us over the top and scoring at ease.
Keep Camp Randall packed
This doesn’t necessarily relate to the players, but I’m going to make an argument for why it does.
As a student who has attended every game for the past three (going on four) years, I’ve noticed students have an issue filling up the stadium by kickoff and leaving after “Jump Around.” I can say with confidence that will not be the case for this matchup. I have full faith the student section will be packed early and will stay bumping past Jump Around if the game is close.
The game being close is a big caveat though. If we’re getting blown out at halftime, students likely won’t even stay to jump.
Keeping the game close will keep the fans in the stadium, and I’m pinning that on the defense even more than the offense. I still think Wisconsin’s offense struggles against Alabama’s stout defense, but it’s more important the defense keeps us in this game rather than the offense.
If Wisconsin’s defense can execute the first two keys successfully, I think my final key will fall into place. It’s no secret that Camp Randall is a hard environment to play in, and I think it's very possible the Tide’s offense gets flustered in the first half.
With all that being said, if the defense keeps the Badgers in the game, a raucous crowd will be kept in the game as well, and maybe, just maybe, the Badgers can pull off one of the biggest upsets in program history.
