Coming off their first win of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers routed the Eastern Michigan Eagles in a 54-10 win on Saturday.
Despite a slow start where the Badgers found themselves in a 7-0 hole, they proceeded to put their foot on the gas and never took it off. The defense forced their first three turnovers of the season and Tyrell Henry set the program record for 14 receptions in a game, helping the Badgers score 28 unanswered points in the second quarter.
The Badgers will now face their first conference test of the season as they travel to Happy Valley to face the No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday. As of now, the Nittany Lions are one of three ranked teams the Badgers have yet to play this year.
The game will show how far the Badgers have come since their Notre Dame loss. Penn State is 3-0 after nonconference wins against Marshall, Temple and Buffalo.
Penn State’s team this year is led by new Head Coach Matt Campbell and senior quarterback Rocco Becht — one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football with over 10,000 career passing yards.
The Badgers must limit self-inflicted wounds in a loud environment
Playing on the road in the Big 10 is never easy — especially when a team has to travel to Beaver Stadium, a venue that can seat over 100,000. With large levels of noise expected, it’s going to be important the Badgers prepare for a loud environment during practice this week. Specifically, in-game communication will be key between coaches and players.
“This will be our first time going on the road…where it will be a hostile environment in the Big Ten. We have to be prepared for a lot of different things. There is no place that can be a wilder, crazier, louder environment than Happy Valley,” Fickell said in a press conference on Sept. 21.
Against the Nittany Lions, the Badgers should strive to play mistake-free football. This includes not committing any turnovers and limiting penalties, which they have averaged over five per game so far.
Committing turnovers could be dangerous against a Penn State team that has a dynamic offense featuring sophomore receiver Koby Howard, who has 344 receiving yards this season and seventh in the country.
Keep getting the ball to Tyrell Henry
The senior slot receiver is an electric player to watch who seems to be becoming more of a threat to opposing defenses every game. Through three games, Henry is 20th in the country in receiving yards — 293 — and tied for 11th with 22 receptions.
Against Penn State, continuing to prioritize getting the ball to Henry will be crucial, considering his breakaway speed and contributions so far to Wisconsin’s scoring and offensive success. Whether it’s screen passes in the backfield or home-run hitting plays, Henry will be heavily involved in a big game for the Badgers.
Wide receiver Chris Brooks Jr and Eugene Hilton as well as tight end Jacob Harris who is coming off a strong performance have all emerged as crucial players for the team. They’ll have to continue getting open to help quarterback Colton Joseph be a threat through the air.
Continue to work on the run game
While their running game is slightly improved from last season, the Badgers are still only averaging 139 rushing yards per game, which ranks in the bottom half of FBS. Against Eastern Michigan, quarterback Colton Joseph accumulated 46 yards on the ground and a score, but the other running backs only ran for 75 yards on 20 carries, averaging 3.75 yards per carry.
Although the Badgers should continue to use Joseph’s legs by running zone reads to confuse the defense, the running backs will have to contribute more through accumulating bigger-chunk plays.
Leading rusher Abu Sama III didn’t see the field against Eastern Michigan due to rest, but his explosive playmaking ability is critical to the Badgers’ run game. With a full week of practice, Sama should see lots of touches against Penn State and will help the Badgers become a more consistent run offense. Lookout for running backs Darrion Dupree, Nate Palmer and Bryan Jackson as other options in the backfield.
There should not be nerves, you are the underdog
The Badgers need to capitalize on the fact that they’ve already been tested by playing No. 3 Notre Dame in week 1.
The experience Wisconsin has against high-level competition needs to be used to their benefit. This includes continuing to use the loss against the Fighting Irish to fuel growth and focus on what they learned from playing against one of the best teams in the country.
Penn State hasn’t been tested, as their three wins have come against non-power 4 teams who combine for a 4-5 record. With good preparation in practice this week and already having a difficult game under their belt, the Badgers should understand the mindset and mentality needed going into this game against a top-15 team.
This will serve as Matt Campbell’s first true test as Penn State’s head coach. The Badgers need to be aggressive and to set the tone early in order to force Campbell to make hard decisions.
