Rutgers football game week opponent profile: Wisconsin
The Rutgers football team is back on the Banks on Saturday for a Big Ten battle against Wisconsin. The Scarlet Knights (4-1, 1-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, falling 14-7 to Nebraska. It was a tough game for Rutgers, who didn't get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter.
The Badgers (3-2, 1-1) will travel to Piscataway, filled with confidence after flexing their offensive muscle in a 52-6 routing of a struggling Purdue team on Saturday.
The Daily Targum sat down with Julien Payen, a sports editor at The Badger Herald, to preview Saturday's game.
Wisconsin has had a tumultuous start to its season, plagued by big losses on the offensive side of the ball. In its third game of the season against Alabama, the Badgers lost transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending ACL tear. With Miami last season, Van Dyke threw for 2,703 yards, 19 touchdowns and was a strong fit for the pass-first offense Wisconsin has.
With the injury, the Badgers have turned to Braedyn Locke, who has slid into the starting quarterback role quite nicely. Locke has thrown for 664 yards, five touchdowns and has a completion percentage of 55.4. Fans have high expectations for the redshirt sophomore quarterback after a career-high three-touchdown performance against the Boilermakers (1-4, 0-2).
“Braedyn Locke has stepped up, and I mean, I loved what I saw in that first quarter against USC," Payen said. "Braedyn Locke felt a lot more comfortable in the pocket and taking those deep shots … I saw a lot of improvement between what I saw against (Alabama) and the second half against USC, versus the first half of USC and that Purdue game."
Another blow to the Wisconsin defense has been the loss of its lead running back, Chez Mellusi, who rushed for three touchdowns in four games for the Badgers. Mellusi announced on Monday that he would leave the team to focus on his health after a career riddled with tough injuries.
In Mellusi's absence, two players have stepped up in the running back position — Tawee Walker and Cade Yacamelli. The duo has combined for 433 yards and seven touchdowns on the season.
"The first name that's going to come up is Tawee Walker. He was great against Purdue. I mean, (Wisconsin was) just feeding him the rock over and over," Payen said. "Other than that, Cade Yacamelli, in the games I've seen him in, I saw him against South Dakota against (Alabama) where he had a lot more touches, and I feel like he was just explosive and against Purdue, too."
Overall, Wisconsin's receiving room is full of talent, mixed with veterans and some younger players, leaving Locke with many options to throw to. One name to look out for is Trech Kekahuna, who had a breakout game last week, tallying a career-high 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns for the Badgers.
Wisconsin has been a strong defensive unit, giving up approximately 23 points per game. The Badgers' defense has also been strong at getting home to the quarterback, averaging two sacks per game. Wisconsin's defense shows its strength in the secondary, holding opposing quarterbacks to 181.2 passing yards per game.
As for Payne's prediction for Saturday's contest, "I'm going to be hopeful. I'm going to predict sort of a first-half USC, Purdue kind of performance out of the guys," he said. "I think we have a lot of confidence built up after that game. Obviously, Purdue aren't the strongest opponents, but to still have that kind of performance was really nice to see. I'm going to say 28-17 Wisconsin."
The Knights will look to get back on track with a win over the Badgers and stay unbeaten at SHI Stadium on Busch campus this season. Saturday's game will kickoff at noon and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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