Badgers Bring #1 Defense to the “Shoe” To Take On The Buckeyes
By: Tony Thomas October 24, 2019
On Saturday, Wisconsin will visit the Ohio State Buckeyes at the “Shoe”. The Buckeyes hold a 59-18-5 record against the Badgers and Ohio State has won 6 in a row and 9 of the last ten meetings.
Wisconsin brings the #1 defense in the country to Columbus with a mission to stop QB Justin Fields, RB J.K. Dobbins, and the high powered Ohio State offense.
The Badgers lead the nation in:
- Scoring defense= 7.6 points per game
- Rushing defense= 58 yards allowed per game
- Pass defense= 135 yards per game
- Total defense= 194 yards per game
Wisconsin also has 27 sacks and 52 tackles for loss. Sr. LB Chris Orr has 8 sacks so far this season.
On offense, the Badgers are led by Jr. RB Johnathan Taylor, who earlier this year became only the 4th player in college football history to reach 5000 career rushing yards before their senior season.
On the season, Taylor has rushed for 957 yards and 15 TDs and is averaging 136 yards per game, good for #3 nationally.
QB Jack Coan has passed for 1383 yards, 9 TDs, and 2 INTs while completing 76% of his passes for Wisconsin.
And who do you think is the #2 ranked team defensively in the country? You guessed it, Ohio State.
The Buckeyes numbers on defense are impressive:
- Ranked #2 in total defense= 229 yards per game
- Ranked #2 in pass defense= 136 yards per game
- Ranked #2 in scoring defense= 8 points per game
- Ranked #9 in rushing defense= 92 yards per game
- Ranked 4th in sacks= 29
- Ranked #1 in tackles for loss= 66
- Ranked #6 in interceptions= 10
DL Chase Young has posted 9.5 sacks so far this season, #1 in the country in that category, and also has 10.5 tackles for loss. DB Jeff Okudah and DB Jordan Fuller have combined for 5 of the team’s 10 INTs.
But their offensive numbers are equally impressive:
- Ranked #5 in total offense= 526 yards per game
- Ranked #3 in rushing offense= 287 yards per game
- Ranked #3 in scoring offense= 49 points per game
As QB Justin Fields and RB J.K. Dobbins go, so goes the Buckeyes offense. Fields has thrown for 1492 yards, 22 TDs, and 1 INT.
Dobbins has rushed for 957 yards and 7 TDs, good enough for #4 in the country.
Two teams who deploy similar defenses and have posted a ton of production on that side of the ball.
One team that appears can score at will from anywhere on the field.
Wisconsin will be the toughest defense Ohio State has faced so far this season, a defense that has pitched shutouts in 4 of their 7 games this season.
Does Ohio State run the Badgers out of the stadium, or does Wisconsin stymie the vaunted Buckeye offense and escape the “Shoe” with what most certainly would be a hard-fought victory?
Something has got to give.
Thanks for reading.
Material for this article sourced from http://nebraska.rivals.com http://cleveland.com http://onlinegambling.com http://cfbstats.com http://sports-reference.com http://winsipedia.com http://sbnation.com
