Know Your Opponent: No.18 Wisconsin Badgers

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Head Coach: Paul Chryst

Overall: 6th Season, 54-17 (.761) Overall

Bowl Appearances at Wisconsin: 5

2019 Record: 10-4 (7-2, Big Ten West)

Bowl Appearances Since 2000: 19 (10-9)

Mascot: Buckingham U. Badger

Colors: Cardinal and White

Outfitter: Under Armour

National Titles: 1 Claimed (1942), 2 Unclaimed (1906, 1928)

Conference Titles: 14

Heisman Winners: Alan Ameche (1954), Ron Dayne (1999)

2020 Record: 2-1

Last Week: CANCELLED vs Minnesota, COVID Outbreak at Minnesota

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Graham Mertz (55-84 passing (65.5%), 605 yards, 8 TDs, 3 INTs)

Rushing: Jalen Berger (30 rushes, 180 yards, 6.0 YPC, 1 TD)

Receiving: Jake Ferguson (18 receptions, 181 yards, 4 TDs)

Tackles: Jack Sanborn (20 tackles, 12 solo, 1.0 Sack)

Stat of the Week: Wisconsin has beaten Indiana in its last 10 meetings and all but one of those victories were by double digits.

Wisconsin’s Talking Points

1. Just happy to be playing.

After starting off the season with a dominant 45-7 victory against Illinois, the Badgers have struggled to get games played consistently. They were the first team with a COVID outbreak in the Big Ten, which forced them to pause all activities and cancel their next two games while getting the virus under control. They were then able to get two games in, defeating Michigan but losing to Northwestern, before Paul Bunyan’s Axe game against Minnesota was cancelled because of an outbreak with the Gophers. We’re now heading into week seven of the Big Ten season, the penultimate game of the regular season, and the Badgers are just happy to be able to play in their fourth game.

“Excited to get with the guys last week, excited to start prep for Indiana,” said head coach Paul Chryst during media availability Monday. “I do know that when we do get these opportunities, you’re grateful for them. We’re hopeful and looking forward to playing against a very good Indiana team this week.”

2. Graham Mertz and Jalen Berger drive this offense.

Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz set the college football world ablaze when he opened the Big Ten season with a five-touchdown, 20 of 21 performance. Wisconsin has been one of the most consistently good programs of the 21st century, though they were never equipped with such a stud quarterback. But after testing positive for COVID-19 days after the opener and only being able to compete in two games since, the freshman Mertz has come back down to earth a bit. He was good enough to manage the game against Michigan, and showed he was a freshman in the loss against Northwestern. How he’ll perform in his fourth game of the season, against an Indiana defense that has forced at least two interceptions in each of its games, is yet to be seen.

What Wisconsin has always been able to rely on, however, is a strong running back. That position was a question mark heading into the season after Jonathan Taylor’s graduation, but the role is appearing to have been filled by another freshman, Jalen Berger. Berger made his debut with the Badgers in the second game of the season and made the most of the opportunity, carrying the ball 15 times for 87 yards. He tallied another 15 carries for 93 yards against Northwestern, despite the offense never finding its groove against the Wildcats’ stingy defense. The question appears to have been answered with Berger.

"He has been productive every time he has gotten the ball," running backs coach John Settle said. "We didn't play him against Illinois because we didn't think he was ready. I promised him and his parents that I wouldn't put him out there if he wasn't ready. The next thing I know, before Michigan, he was chomping at the bit, he was ready to go. Watching him from the sidelines the last two games, it was like watching him on film. He was going to be tough to bring down, he was going to run behind his pads and break tackles.”

3. Prepping for Jack Tuttle

Indiana star quarterback Michael Penix Jr went down with a leg injury in the third quarter of the win against Maryland. It was announced Monday that Penix would be out for the remainder of the season after once again tearing his right ACL, the same ACL he tore in his first season with the Hoosiers. Now, Paul Chryst and staff are tasked with prepping for a bit of an unknown, backup quarterback Jack Tuttle.

“You try to do your best and obviously when you don’t have as much film it makes it a little more challenging, and yet you see enough and you know what they’re trying to do offensively,” said Chryst. “Obviously the quarterback’s been playing at a high level … You’ve just got to do your best in your preparation.”

Chryst may have left a few details out, as he does have a bit of a background with Tuttle. The former 4-star recruit was offered by the Badgers in May of 2016 and twice unofficially visited, in July and November of the same year. Tuttle ultimately committed to Utah in 2018 before transferring to the Hoosiers.

He’ll make his first career start this Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium after not recording game action with the Utes, and playing just in mop-up duty the past two seasons with the Hoosiers.