1. HIGH-POWER HOOSIERS
The Indiana Hoosiers may only be 4-5 on the season, but it definitely isn’t due to a lack of offense. The Hoosiers boast one of the most productive offenses in the entire nation, averaging over 325 passing yards and nearly 200 rushing yards per game.
They even managed to score 28 points against one of the nation’s best defenses, the Michigan State Spartans, though it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset.
The good news for the Badgers is that Indiana will most likely be without their top running back and reigning Big Ten offensive player of the week, Tevin Coleman, who suffered an ankle sprain in a win against Illinois.
It will be interesting to see how the Hoosiers adjust if they are missing one of their biggest offensive weapons.
2. BADGER OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
For as good as Indiana’s offense has been this year, their defense has been just the opposite.
The Hoosiers defense has been dreadful this year, allowing 519 yards per game, which ranks 120th in the nation. This is especially bad news for Indiana, as they are facing one of the Big Ten’s most productive offenses in the Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin, of course, has perhaps the nation’s best backfield tandem, with redshirt sophomore Melvin Gordon and senior James White both putting up impressive numbers. They’ve both run for 11 touchdowns this season and are averaging over 100 rushing yards per game, respectively.
Gordon has already eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the season, and White only needs 49 more yards to get there as well.
The Wisconsin passing game has been solid as well, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Joel Stave throwing for 16 touchdowns this season, six of which have gone to his favorite target, redshirt senior wide receiver Jared Abbrederis. Redshirt senior tight end Jacob Pedersen has also been a reliable option for Stave, recording 300 receiving yards and three touchdowns on the season.
3. MILESTONES FOR ABBREDERIS
Jared Abbrederis’ senior season has been phenomenal.He has cemented his place in the pantheon of Wisconsin football greats.
This weekend, Abbrederis will have a chance to reach a couple milestones for both the season and his career. With 2,908 career receiving yards, he currently trails only Lee Evans (3,468) and Brandon Williams (2,924) on the all-time list for the Badgers.
There’s an extremely good chance that Abbrederis will pass Williams on the career receiving yards list against the Hoosiers, and he could very well become only the second Badger to ever reach the 3,000 yard mark this Saturday.
He also only needs 151 more yards to reach 1,000 for the season, a feat that has been accomplished only three times previously in Wisconsin history.
Considering how poor Indiana’s defense has been this season, Abbrederis could potentially reach this mark as well this weekend.
4. STYLE POINTS
Wisconsin’s hopes of getting back to the Big Ten Championship Game for a third straight year are very dim, but they still have a shot of getting an at-large berth in a BCS bowl.
For that to happen, the no. 22 Badgers need to move into the top 14 of the BCS standings. While the debacle against Arizona State is probably the biggest factor in UW’s low ranking, a fairly easy schedule hasn’t done them any favors either.
Even if Wisconsin wins out to finish at 10-2, there is no guarantee they will be ranked high enough to get an at-large BCS bowl berth. So the Badgers not only need to keep winning: they need to win big.
With this is mind, don’t be surprised if coach Gary Andersen keeps the pedal down even if his team jumps out to an early lead, because they need all the style points they can get.
5. MORE OF THE SAME?
The Badgers will certainly be heavy favorites heading into Saturday’s game, and they will look to continue a recent trend of complete dominance over the Hoosiers.
Wisconsin has won eight straight against Indiana, with their last loss coming back in 2002. In recent years, the Badgers haven’t just won, they’ve won big.
In their last three meetings, Wisconsin has outscored the Hoosiers 204-41, including a memorable 83-20 beatdown back in 2010.
The Badgers have also won 24 out of their last 29 games in November going back to 2006, so history certainly doesn’t favor Indiana in their bid to pull off the big upset and keep their fading hopes of bowl eligibility alive.
