After a brutal two-week stretch at home, the University of Wisconsin football team readies itself for a matchup in Evanston, Ill., against lowly Northwestern. The No. 17 Badgers (3-1 Big Ten, 6-2 overall) are eager to bounce back from last Saturday's narrow loss to then-No. 15 Purdue, while the unranked Wildcats (1-2, 3-4) hope to bring their winning streak to a season-high two games.
With the news coming this week that senior quarterback Jim Sorgi is out at least until the Minnesota game following minor knee surgery, UW hands the controls over to junior quarterback Matt Schabert, who inherits not only the offense but also the respect and confidence of his teammates and coordinator.
\We need to execute what we usually do, and Matt's more than capable of handling what we throw at him, as he's shown over the past two weeks,"" offensive coordinator Brian White said.
In addition, Schabert walks into a situation where he does not need to be the star; not with junior running back Anthony Davis close to full strength, an extremely athletic offensive line protecting him and the wave of wide receivers that UW can send at opposing defenses. Add a Northwestern defense that allows nearly 500 yards per game to the equation, and it is not difficult to understand the team's confidence in its backup quarterback.
However thin on defense, the Wildcats do have several weapons to boast of on offense, starting with senior running back Jason Wright. The 210-lb. runner's importance to Northwestern's offense cannot be understated. Entering this weekend's game, he ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 720 rushing yards, third in the conference with 13 touchdowns and, in true workhorse fashion, second in carries. In Northwestern's most recent game, a win against Indiana, Wright took over the game, running for 138 yards and four touchdowns.
""He's a good, solid back,"" senior linebacker Jeff Mack said. ""There's no doubt about it.""
In addition to Wright, the Wildcats also feature sophomore quarterback Brett Basanez, who as a threat to throw and run is a perfect fit for NU Head Coach Randy Walker's spread offense, and consequently, a perfect fit to lead Northwestern in its best imitation of Purdue's performance last Saturday, a fact not lost on the Badgers.
""We're expecting a lot of similar things from last week,"" junior safety Jim Leonhard said. ""We know we're going to see whatever Purdue was successful with. They're going to come at us and at least see if we adjusted to it or not.""
After Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton's 411-yard performance, the Badgers insist that the only adjustments needed were a change back to what they had been doing before.
""We're just trying to play more physical,"" Leonhard said. ""There's not really a whole lot we had to change, we just had to get back to playing it right. We got away from the fundamentals a little bit on the short routes, otherwise they wouldn't have even had that.""
Added Mack, ""Our confidence level is good right now. We lost a tough one to Purdue, but the good thing about college football is that next Saturday you have a chance to redeem yourself.""
One player who does not need any redeeming is senior linebacker Alex Lewis who accounted for five sacks and 42 yards in tackles for a loss. If the defense can follow Lewis, Leonhard and Mack's lead, and if the offense performs the way it should against a porous Northwestern defense, UW should head into its bye week 4-1 in the Big Ten and in prime position to contend for the conference title.
