NFL Tickets
Starting the season with 3-1 record, including three straight wins after an opening game loss against LSU, the Wisconsin Badgers are looking to make a solid run toward a conference title for the first time under second-year head coach Gary Andersen. Wisconsin will start the conference season this week, but their toughest tests won’t come until later in the year.
The Northwestern Wildcats have suffered a lot in the past two seasons after their first 10-plus win season under head coach Pat Fitzgerald in 2012. Northwestern is just 2-2 on the season after losing their first two games, they won two straight, including an upset win over Penn State at home.
Wisconsin’s passing attack hasn’t been nearly as potent this season as it’s been in years past with first-year starter Tanner McEvoy under center as Joel Stave still recovers from injury. Wisconsin ranks just 115th in the nation in passing yards per game as McEvoy has struggled a bit, passing for just 605 yards and five touchdowns to go along with four interceptions through the first four games of the year. The dual-threat QB has been much more impressive running the ball for the fourth-best rushing attack in the nation, accounting for 276 yards and two scores on the ground. Melvin Gordon lead’s the strong run game, however, as he has 612 yards and eight touchdowns on 7.2 yards per carry. His future replacement, Corey Clement, has been solid, too, running the ball 56 times for 290 yards and three scores. Alex Erickson has been McEvoy’s saving grace in the receiving game as the only receiving with over 10 catches, racking up 21 for 256 yards and a touchdown.
Northwestern’s offense is nowhere near where it once was when it had two quarterbacks running the show — Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian. Now, Siemian is the lone man under center and he has struggled this season, completing just 59 percent of his passes for 872 yards and two touchdowns while throwing another four interceptions. Dan Vitale has been his favorite target, catching 18 passes for 216 yards while Cameron Dickerson and Kyle Prater have combined for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 20 catches this year. Expect senior wide out Tony Jones to have a big game this week as he’s due for one this year. Losing Venric Mark to a transfer has hurt this offense, but Justin Jackson and Treyvon Green have been trying to pick up the slack, combining for 348 yards and two touchdowns for the 108th-ranked rushing attack.
Defensively, the Wildcats have been somewhat efficient this season. Not many people give Northwestern credit for being solid on this side of the ball, ranking 46th in the nation in yards allowed per game as well as 19th in points allowed per game. Wisconsin has been much more impressive on this side of the ball, ranking seventh in the nation in total yards allowed per game while also ranking 11th in the nation in points allowed per contest. The crowd will be electric at Ryan Field as the Wildcats will look to upset the No. 17 Badgers.
Wisconsin will travel to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Oct. 4. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN 2.
PREDICTION: Wisconsin 31, Northwestern 17
Want to see the Wildcats host the Badgers in week six? Check out ScoreBig for tickets.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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