University of Wisconsin football Head Coach Barry Alvarez will seek his 100th win at UW as the No. 21 Badgers (0-0) take on the University of Central Florida Golden Knights (0-0) Saturday at Camp Randall.
The game was set to be UCF's first game under new head coach George O'Leary; instead, special teams coordinator Dave Huxtable will lead the Golden Knights while O'Leary attends his mother's funeral in New York. The passing of his mother is just another unfortunate event for O'Leary, who was hired as the head coach of Notre Dame in 2001 and then dismissed shortly thereafter for falsifying his resume. The former Georgia Tech coach has spent the last two years working with the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
Because this is the Golden Knights' first game since O'Leary took over, preparing a game plan has been slightly more challenging for the UW coaching staff. But according to UW offensive coordinator Brian White, the Badgers will be up to the task.
\Sometimes it is [hard to prepare for a new opposing coach],"" White said. ""But football is football, and it all comes back down to fundamentals. I don't envision that they're going to invent any scheme that we won't be able to adjust to or haven't seen.""
Wisconsin also has some new personnel in place, most notably sophomore quarterback John Stocco, who will be playing in his first game as a starter for the Badgers. While Stocco is new to his role as starter, he did gain some invaluable experience at the end of last season. When Stocco steps onto the field Saturday, it will be a moment eight months in the making, something he's been preparing for since the final whistle blew last season.
""I've been real excited, been waiting for a while, so I'm definitely ready,"" Stocco said.
Stocco's transition to the starting role should be made a great deal easier with the return of senior running back Anthony Davis, who missed much of last season due to a nagging ankle injury. A healthy Davis, along with talented sophomore Booker Stanley should keep some strain off the new man under center.
""We've got some great running backs,"" Stocco said. ""They definitely make my job a lot easier. They're all big-play backs. They can get big chunks of yardage, and you know, that helps me out a lot, takes a lot of pressure off me.""
Even though UCF was just 3-9 last season, they do feature several players who can make big plays. Leading the way is senior safety Atari Bigby. Stocco and company will also have to worry about senior linebacker Stanford Rhule, a candidate for the Butkus Award.
Offensively, the Golden Knights will rely on star senior running back Alex Haynes. The speedy Haynes is UCF's third all-time leading rusher and will likely leave the school on top of the list. The Badger defense has made it their priority to slowing the Knights' number one weapon.
""Shut down their all-time leading running back and then and all the rest will pretty much fall into place,"" senior defensive tackle Anttaj Hawthorne said.
If the Badgers can contain Haynes and figure out an aggressive UCF defensive, the Badgers should be able to add another blemish, a season-opening loss, to the already smeared resum?? of O'Leary.
