Last year, Wisconsin's secondary was relatively inexperienced, with the exception of all-Big Ten cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu. Even with Ikegwuonu, the defensive backfield struggled and became prone to giving up the big play. Now Ikegwuonu is gone, but the Badgers are hoping last year's experience and a new addition in the secondary will help improve the unit.
On paper, Wisconsin's pass defense in 2007 looked decent. The Badgers were third in Big Ten play with 1,733 yards allowed. The third-place ranking is somewhat deceiving, though, as Wisconsin was just 50 yards ahead of Purdue, 53 ahead of Penn State and 54 ahead of Indiana. And the 1,733 yards allowed was a far cry from Ohio State and Michigan, who allowed 1,355 and 1,382 yards, respectively. In reality, the Badgers' pass defense in 2007 was in the middle of the pack in the conference, which is not good for a team hoping to contend for a Big Ten title.
The Badgers finished sixth in the Big Ten in overall scoring defense last year, finishing just behind an Iowa squad that won four conference games. This statistic should be taken with a grain of salt, considering it takes into account the performance of the down linemen and the linebackers, but should still be considered because the secondary is just as accountable as both the other units.
One of the more troubling tendencies of last year's unit was the propensity to allow the big play. Some notable ones through the air were a 71-yard touchdown against Minnesota, an 80-yard touchdown against Michigan State and a 97-yard touchdown against Michigan. Limiting these long plays that tend to quickly swing the momentum of a game is a focus for the defensive backs.
[It's] not a bend but don't break [defense], but I think our main thing was just to limit the big play,"" junior safety Shane Carter said after Sunday's practice.
The safety position seems bound to improve. Carter returns as the starting free safety. He was a bright spot for the Badgers last season with his Big Ten-leading seven interceptions. No other member of the Wisconsin defense was able to intercept more than one pass.
Sophomore Jay Valai and junior Aubrey Pleasant return as strong safeties. Last year, Pleasant started all 13 games at strong safety, but it was Valai who won the starting job for the game against Akron. The fact that Valai beat out a returning starter is impressive and speaks volumes about his abilities. If Valai does falter in the starting role, the Badgers know they have an experienced backup to step in.
Against Akron in Wisconsin's opener, head coach Bret Bielema started senior Allen Langford and freshman Mario Goins. According to Bielema, Langford and Goins have both separated themselves from the other Wisconsin cornerbacks as starters, but injured sophomore Aaron Henry could replace one of the two when he becomes healthy.
With just one game under Wisconsin's belt in 2008, it is difficult to assess the performance of the secondary so far, especially since the one opponent was not a traditionally successful football team. Carter gave his unit mixed reviews for their performance against Akron.
""On a positive note, there are a lot of young guys out there, and [communication-wise] we were all on the same page,"" Carter said. ""But on a negative, there were some plays that a good quarterback and good receiver would connect on that were left out there.""
Bielema noted that the secondary allowed the ball to get over their heads multiple times against Akron but, because of dropped balls and overthrows, Wisconsin was not hurt by the mistakes. If the defensive backs fail to play sharper, Wisconsin could get burned once its schedule strengthens.
This Saturday against Marshall - a team ranked No. 101 out of all 120 FBS teams in the CBSsports.com 120 - the pass defense may not be thoroughly tested. But after this weekend the schedule becomes drastically tougher with trips to No. 21 Fresno State and Michigan, followed by home games against No. 3 Ohio State and No. 19 Penn State. After these games the secondary will have a good idea of how effective they are.
