Fast Facts:
• Location: Camp Randall Stadium – Madison, WI (capacity: 80,321)
• Kickoff time: 8 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central, Saturday, October 16th
• Surface: FieldTurf
• Weather: High 59; Low 43, partly cloudy
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Team Name: Badgers; Mascot: Bucky
• Conference Affiliation: B1G West
• Head Coach: Paul Chryst (56-19 at Wisconsin)
• 2021 Record: 2-3
Program History:
The Badgers have one of the most storied programs in NCAA history. They are one of the few teams Army will play that started playing before the Black Knights. Wisconsin’s first football season was 1889. Historic Camp Randall stadium is the fourth oldest stadium still in use. It was built in 1917.
Wisconsin is one of 26 FBS programs to have won over 700 games in their history. The Badgers have had two Heisman trophy winners (Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne) and has 11 players in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, has been played 127 times, the most of any rivalry in college football. Wisconsin won one national championship (1942) and 14 Big 10 championships (the last was in 2012). They have won 5 division championships in the B1G West, including 3 under Paul Chryst (the last coming in 2019).
Series History:
This will be the first time Army has met Wisconsin on the gridiron.
Wisconsin Offense:
While the Badgers have played 3 ranked teams in Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame, it would be safe to say their offense has not met expectations this year. They didn’t score 20 points in any of those games, despite a highly touted senior quarterback, Graham Mertz. Mertz has had a sub-par year, going 72-129 for 781 yards. He has 2 touchdowns: 7 interceptions and has been sacked 7 times. The defenses they have played against are very highly ranked, but I don’t think anyone expected Wisconsin’s offensive line to under-perform the way they have so far this season. Even though Wisconsin won 24-0 today against a bad Illinois team, Mertz was unimpressive again. He went 10-19 for 100 yards with 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.
The running game has been a little better for the Badgers. Through the first four games, RB Chez Mellusi (Clemson transfer) has had 96 carries for 477 yards (almost 5 YPC) with 2 touchdowns. Wisconsin has had 4 running backs score touchdowns this year, and they are definitely a power, run first, offense with a large offensive line and good running backs. It will be the biggest challenge all year for Army’s 3rd ranked rush defense.
The Badgers’ leading receiver is senior WR Danny Davis III with 16 receptions for 193 yards. Imposing (6’5”, 244) senior TE Jake Ferguson is another threat for the Badgers offense with 15 catches for 108 yards. He will keep the Army safeties and linebackers busy all night.
The Badgers offense averages 18.5 PPG to rank 117/130 in FBS.
Wisconsin Defense:
The Badgers give up 25.5 points per game to rank 78th nationally. They surrender an average of 203.8 yards/game passing and a stingy 45.3 yards/game rushing against solid ranked competition. They give up 1.6 yards/carry on the ground. In fact, they are currently the only team in the country with a better rush defense than Army’s. They lead the nation and Army is second. Wisconsin’s defense has only forced 1 interception and 1 fumble so far this year.
Wisconsin’s leading tackler is Senior LB Jack Sanborn with 24 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.
Looking Back as we Look Ahead
In my Army Season Preview article, I was able to speak with the Publisher of Wisconsin’s Badger Blitz Rivals site, Jake Kocorowski, for some additional insight on Wisconsin’s 2021 team and the match-up against the Black Knights. I’ll include the content of that interview conducted by GBK here again.
GBK: What potential problems could a team like Army present for Wisconsin?
BadgerBlitz: I think with every defense in the nation, Army's offense will present a unique challenge for Jim Leonhard's unit. Leonhard told reporters in the spring that Wisconsin ran the nickel sub-package about 70% of the time last season, and that's a lot to do with the variations of offenses presently that utilize a spread look or 11-personnel.
However, I do think Wisconsin is more prepared for the Army offense than most programs. Leonhard runs a base 3-4 scheme, and the Badgers have all-conference caliber players on the line, led by Matt Henningsen and Keeanu Benton. UW also preaches discipline and playing one's "1/11th," but how they withstand a ground game that consistently punishes at the line of scrimmage and that holds many options in terms of ball carriers will be a fun storyline to watch later this year.
GBK: Army TE Coach Matt Drinkall has described Army's power running game as being very similar to Wisconsin's - just from a different formation. With so many teams going to wide-open spread offenses, what has made Wisconsin so successful in the recent past with more of an "old school" power offense like Army's?
BadgerBlitz: Wisconsin's best offenses have been those that boasted a decent balance of the vaunted ground game and a passing game (especially with play action) that keeps defenses honest from stacking the box with eight or nine players. UW's 2011 and 2019 teams instantly come to mind.
That being said, the bread and butter is the ground game. It's an intricate part of the identity that makes up the offense. Wisconsin's projected offensive line ranges from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-7 and all weigh over 300 pounds. They're big, most of the time versatile, young men (associate head coach/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph cross trains many at different positions), and despite their size, the guards can pull but everyone can pass protect as well.
Then there's the running backs they recruit that turn into game-changers. It's been a formula that's worked for the Badgers since Barry Alvarez took over as head coach for the 1990 season.
GBK: What are QB Graham Mertz's biggest strengths and what problems does he pose for opposing defenses?
BadgerBlitz: Mertz's biggest strengths really are that he can make essentially every throw you'd want out of a college quarterback, and his confidence. Just watching him during practices (and games) since he came to UW, he can throw a touch pass where needed, but also drive the ball down the field for a deep out with accuracy. He can hit a receiver in stride 40, 50 yards down the field off of play action without the wide out needing to adjust, but also thread the needle over the middle.
Mertz can be the full package that way, and he has that aura of aforementioned confidence you want in a quarterback. He knows he has to continually improve, but he still believes in himself to get the job done.
GBK: Who do the Badgers expect to carry the load as their workhorse RB this year, and will it be business as usual for one of the best running games in America
BadgerBlitz: Reporters have seen just one practice so far this fall camp, which was on Tuesday, but right now the leading contenders are Jalen Berger and Clemson transfer Chez Mellusi. Berger led the team in rushing yards last year, but in the four games he played, he only received 15 carries in each contest. How he develops further this year under new assistant (and former Dallas Cowboys running backs coach) Gary Brown will be a storyline in the group.
Mellusi comes to Madison from his time with the Tigers, and Brown told reporters last week that he thinks the Naples, Fla., native is a three-down back. He showed some flash during Tuesday's practice in getting to the edge and using his speed to gain yards.
Really though, the group is still a question mark. Injuries in the spring whittled down the tailback room significantly, so can Isaac Guerendo, Brady Schipper, Julius Davis and four incoming freshmen -- including the intriguing four-star signee, Braelon Allen -- provide depth in the room?
Prediction:
ESPN FPI gives Wisconsin a 76.8% chance of winning.
This is really an interesting match-up in a lot of ways. Both teams like to run the ball. No one is better in the nation at stopping the run than Wisconsin and Army. Wisconsin certainly hasn’t lit the world on fire this season, and they have a turnover-prone quarterback in Graham Mertz.
Their offensive line, while huge and athletic, has been under fire all season. This could lead to a big game for the nation’s sack leader, Andre Carter. Carter is athletic enough to play with the big boys like Wisconsin.
Army has typically played “up” for big games against P5 opponents the last four years, taking both Oklahoma and Michigan to overtime before losing late. You can bet that Army will leave everything on the field to try and stay in and win this one against an athletically superior opponent.
This game could actually be decided by who throws the ball most effectively since it looks like it will be a low-scoring slugfest in the trenches with both teams’ propensity to run the ball and stop the run. Which team will be able to get off a couple of key play-action passes?
Army was upset by Ball State on the road. A couple of big reasons for that upset were giving up explosive plays (like the opening kick return and Ball State’s opening pass play for a touchdown on offense) and that they lost the turnover battle 2-0.
For Army to win this one, I think they’ll need to create at least 2 turnovers (I count blocked kicks) and not turn the ball over at all on offense. They’ll also need to limit explosive plays to 3 or less. They also must be better on 3rd down to keep the Wisconsin offense off the field. They won’t beat anyone with the conversion rate they had against Ball State. The other huge question mark for this game is who will be under Center for Army. If it’s Christian Anderson and he’s healthy, I believe they have a very good chance at pulling the upset.
If it’s anyone else, it could be an uphill battle as Wisconsin will stack the box and try and stuff Army’s running game.
Wisconsin – 24
Army - 14
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