The Badgers will conclude their up and down regular season Saturday when they welcome Cal Poly to Camp Randall. It's no cupcake game for Wisconsin as Cal Poly has gone 8-1 so far this season and is No. 3, just behind Appalachian State, in the rankings.
The Mustangs bring a high-powered offense with a unique twist. They play a triple option attack that includes two wide receivers and two slotbacks. It has been extremely effective this year for Cal Poly and has helped them average over 300 rushing yards per game. It could be a good challenge for the Badger defense, which after giving up 21 points to the Gophers in the first half last weekend, rebounded and held them to 11 in the second half.
Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Doeren is familiar with a lower division team getting ready for the big game. For two years he coached the secondary at Montana, a current FCS team, and helped lead them to a NCAA Division I-AA title.
I'm sure it's a big game for them, I've been in a school like that as a coach, and when you get an opportunity to play up a level, you're going to try to showcase your talents, and they've got a couple really good players."" Doeren said.
Cal Poly has been calling the matchup this weekend in Madison their Michigan vs. Appalachian State moment, but Doeren knows the Badgers aren't going to show up flat on Saturday, especially on senior day.
""For our guys this is their last game in Camp Randall. I don't know if you need to say anything other than that to the team to fire them up to play,"" he said. ""We've got a good core of seniors, [this game is] a very important thing for them.""
Wisconsin came into the year with high expectations but is now a long way from that preseason top ten ranking. A win over Cal Poly and a successful bowl game could leave the Badger nation with a good feeling. The juniors and underclassmen also want to make Saturday's game a triumphant farewell to the seniors.
Junior linebacker Jaevery McFadden hopes the team can pull through for the seniors and realizes the importance of their last game.
""[We need to] just try to finish on a good note, we're going to try to win this game Saturday for the seniors,"" McFadden said. ""I'm going to miss these seniors, I got a lot of good friends, but I hope the other guys, the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, play hard for me too in my last game. So that's what I'm going to do this game for the seniors.""
There are a couple of players the Badger defense needs to contain in order to slow down Cal Poly's high-tempo offense.
Senior wide receiver Ramses Barden may be one of the best unknown receivers in the nation. He has 55 receptions, 1066 yards and 15 touchdowns; numbers one could compare to some of the nation's better known top receivers such as Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant.
Senior quarterback Jonathan Dally is a double-threat with his passing and rushing ability. He has thrown for 20 touchdowns while running for eight. The Mustangs have won seven straight games while scoring 42 points or more.
McFadden is looking forward to the challenge and thinks Cal Poly is in for a surprise.
""They have a different kind of offense, but coach has a nice little game plan for us and we're going to try to execute it Saturday,"" McFadden said. ""I think we got something special for the Cal Poly offense.""
