Wisconsin Brings Their College Football Playoff Hopes to Bloomington

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Written By Alex Compton (@alexncompton_

Head Coach: Paul Chryst

Overall: 48-25 Sixth Year

At Wisconsin 29-6 (18-4) Third Year

Bowl Appearances at Wisconsin: 2 (2-0 record)

2017 Record: 8-0, Last Game 24-10 Win at Illinois

Bowl Appearances Since 2000: 16  (8-8)

Mascot: Badgers

Colors: Red and White

Outfitter: Under Armour

National Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 14

Heisman Winners: 2

Talking Points

1. IS WISCONSIN ELITE?

Yes, Wisconsin is undefeated, and yes that’s impressive. The Big Ten West is really not good, but that doesn’t mean Wisconsin is bad for beating up on those teams every week. Their wins this year are over Utah State, Florida Atlantic, BYU, Northwestern at home, Nebraska, Purdue, Maryland, and Illinois last week. After the trip to Bloomington this weekend, they play Iowa and Michigan at home before going to Minnesota. 12-0 is certainly on the table, and would take an upset to prevent it from happening. The Badgers are really good, but I think calling them one of the top teams in the country at this point is a bit of a shot in the dark. They won’t beat themselves, and play sound in all three phases of the game, but really have not been tested this year as a result of their schedule. Wisconsin is really sound, but I think they’re the third or fourth best team if they’re in the East. 

2. CAN IU BOUNCE BACK?

Well, IU laid an egg in College Park. There’s no other way to say it, and there’s no way to even sugarcoat it. Sitting at 3-5, an upset would obviously be massive for the Hoosiers this weekend as they try to make it a third straight postseason appearance. A loss puts the Hoosiers at 3-6, and IU would have to beat Illinois, Rutgers and Purdue in consecutive weeks to go bowling. Doable, but daunting with the inconsistency this team has played with at times this year. 

It’s hard to gauge exactly how this teams feels at this point in the year, because they seem to say the same thing every week. Players and coaches talk about how close isn’t good enough, and how this or that needs to be cleaned up, and how it’s the next guy up when someone goes down. After losing more players to injury on Saturday, IU is thin at just about every position on the field at the most important part of the season. The last real chance to “Breakthrough” comes this weekend, so I think the guys will be ready, but nobody will really know until noon on the 4th. 

3. ALL THREE PHASES

Who is going to show up for the Hoosiers this weekend? In all of IU’s losses this year, a couple of the units have completely let the team down and overshadowed great performances by other players and units. In College Park, the defense was okay, but the special teams play really killed the Hoosiers. The first plays that come to mind to me are the Oakes kicks out of bounds, the blocked extra point, and the blocked punt touchdown that let the Terps back into the game. To beat the Badgers, all three phases will have to show up on Saturday. There can’t be chunk plays given up by the defense, the offense will have to control the field and hold the ball, and special teams must contain UW and not give up any more points. If the Hoosiers can play all three phases and play them well, they will have a shot, just as they have in every game this year. Believe what you want, but IU has not been overmatched in one game this year besides the fourth quarter against OSU, so a sound game from all three phases will make things very interesting in Memorial Stadium this Saturday.