No Appalachian State repeats
Much like the now nationally famous Mountaineers, the Bulldogs of the Citadel hail from the Southern Conference of the FCS and likewise have built their team around a senior quarterback and, by Division I-AA standards, an explosive offense. After winning their first two games over much lesser opponents by a cumulative score 111-14, the Bulldogs come to Camp Randall looking to put a scare into the No. 7 ranked Badgers, their only Division I opponent of the year.
Bulldogs senior quarterback Duran Lawson, who has passed for over 207 yards and gained over 55 on the ground in each of his first two games, will provide a similar look to what UNLV's signal caller Travis Dixon showed last week, moving around and out of the pocket while also looking for the opportunities to make plays himself. While the Badgers defense struggled with Dixon for most of the game, they came up big when it mattered most, sacking him twice on UNLV's futile last drive and clinching a Badger victory.
As long as junior Matt Shaughnessy and the boys up front get consistent pressure and contain Lawson's ability to make plays, it should be tough for the Bulldogs to get any sort of offense going without their senior quarterback leading the charge.
Run them into the ground
No matter how many Division I-AA opponents Citadel goes on to beat this year, it is assured the duo of P.J. Hill and Lance Smith will clearly be the best they see all year. Coming off a huge 147 yard game against UNLV, Wisconsin needs another strong effort from their premiere running back in order to spread the offense, as seen on Donovan's game-winner last week, and make it very difficult for the overmatched Bulldogs to establish any kind of defensive momentum in the first half.
After his away game suspension, Smith looks to repeat his performance against Wazzu where his shifty running style was very effective and provided a nice change of pace from Hill's downhill running attack. If both of these guys get going early, this game could be over by halftime and more carries will go to heralded freshmen backs John Clay and Zach Brown, one of whom needs to step up and prove he is a worthy backup for the road games when Smith is stuck in Madison. This isn't the most pertinent matter, but down the line when Wisconsin goes on the road to vaunted Big Ten venues in Columbus and Happy Valley, a clear cut backup that has won head coach Brett Bielema's confidence will be needed to keep Hill fresh.
Big Ten tune up
Although it is not a good idea to look past any team, as everyone learned from Appalachian State's upset at Michigan, in reality this is an opportunity to get everyone on the same page and playing solid Wisconsin football. That means pounding the ball with the two-headed monster of Hill and Smith, playing very stingy defense against a physically overmatched Division I-AA Citadel offense, and the occasional big downfield play from Donovan, who has certainly shown a knack for clutch plays in the last two games, whether on foot or through the air.
If Wisconsin comes out early, executes and demoralizes Citadel, they should be able to roll on Saturday afternoon and look forward to Iowa while resting some of the starters. If the Badgers let Citadel hang around, that could result in fatigue for the starters or even worse. There is no doubt that Bielema will have his boys mentally ready to play, unlike a certain coach in Ann Arbor, and Wisconsin should be 3-0 going into a big Saturday night matchup against the Hawkeyes.
Get D in order
By no means has the Wisconsin defense played poorly in the first two games of the season, but to be a legitimate national title contender and the Big Ten favorite, this defense has to play at the National Championship level of which they are fully capable. While the Badgers did hold UNLV to only 13 points, Dixon was a thorn in the Badgers side all night until they were able to stymie him with two crucial sacks during the last drive.
Although Citadel's offensive talent doesn't measure up to what UNLV had, this game gives the defense the chance to start hitting on all cylinders before they enter the Big Ten schedule and face more potent offenses.
Find Hubb's"" eplacement
After losing senior Paul Hubbard to a knee sprain in the UNLV game that will keep him out up to eight weeks, Donovan needs to find a reliable third receiver to complement established targets junior Travis Beckum and senior Luke Swan.
The trio of freshman Kyle Jefferson, junior Marcus Randle El and sophomore Xavier Harris will get more opportunities to stake their claim to this role during the Citadel game. If they make the most of these additional snaps, it will make the Badger offense much more potent down the road and that much stronger when Hubbard, hopefully, returns late in the Big Ten schedule.
