Week 1 was almost a disaster. South Dakota is a real threat. We need a sign that Wisconsin is better than last year.

Looking Back: 

Western Michigan – 14
Wisconsin – 28

Wisconsin’s easiest game of the year, and they won by 14. The Badgers were favored by 24, yet were losing in the 4th quarter. That is unacceptable. Unfortunately, this offense looked a lot like last year’s offense. A subpar run game paired with a screen heavy passing attack. They did use different personnel groupings more than last year, so that’s something. There were often 2 RBs or 2 TEs on the field for about half the plays… It didn’t help.

The defense was great and terrible. The secondary was great. The run defense was terrible. Combine those two things, and the defense was terrible. Any team that has a run game with a pulse can run on this Badgers D-Line. Changes are required if Wisconsin wants to win more than 5 games this year.

Last week Wisconsin wasn’t good enough. They got the win, but there was no evidence that this team is measurably better than last year’s team. Fickell needs to make the necessary adjustments to prove why he got the coaching job in the first place. I’m not saying abandon the air raid experiment, but do something different.

Positive note – WR Trech Kekahuna (Redshirt Freshman) is amazing. 3 targets, 3 catches, all impressive. 

Looking forward

Game Preview: South Dakota

South Dakota at Wisconsin 

Where: Camp Randall Stadium

When: Saturday, 9/7 – 2:30 PM (CST)

How to Watch: FS1

Spread: N/A

O/U: N/A

South Dakota Coyotes 2023 Record: 10-3
Lost in FCS Quarter-Finals to North Dakota State

South Dakota is a lower division school playing in the FCS. But, they are ranked 6th in the FCS and all advanced metrics have them as a better team than Western Michigan. Even though there isn’t a point spread available for this game right now, it is likely that at kickoff Wisconsin will be favored by 10 to 15 points. 

What concerns me about Wisconsin:

South Dakota won last week by running the ball. The Coyotes had 85 passing yards and 266 rushing yards en route to a dominating 45-3 win (over an actual nobody, ESPN doesn’t even have the logo for the opponent). The formula South Dakota used last week is the formula to beat Wisconsin. The D-Line has to be better than week 1. 

What I want to see:

A 70 to 0 Wisconsin win. 300+ yards passing. Walker and Mellusi combine for 200+ rushing yards.

In reality, I just want the defense to stop the run and the Badgers passing game to exist. 

Prediction:

Wisconsin 31 
South Dakota 20

Wisconsin is paying South Dakota an unknown amount of money (probably about $1 Million) to play this game. Is the amount unfindable online because this game is actually losable? Who’s to say? Wisconsin finds a way to win in the second half after giving the crowd a heart attack by being down at halftime. 

If this prediction is true, there will be a sense of dread headed into Alabama week. 

Let’s just win by 70 so I can have a sliver of optimism about this season. 

#BuckyByAMillion

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This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene