Who will be the X-Factors for the Badgers this weekend?
The Wisconsin Badgers are coming into Saturday’s game against the Northwestern Wildcats on a high note after blowing out their past two opponents: Purdue and Rutgers.
A win here for Wisconsin would bring them to 5-2, which would be huge going into the final part of their schedule against tougher conference opponents like Penn State and Oregon. Northwestern has been hard to beat on the road for the Badgers, but hasn’t looked great this season at home.
Here are three Badgers to watch in this matchup.
Tawee Walker
Tawee Walker has been incredible ever since he returned from his injury. Walker joined Badger legends Jonathan Taylor and Melvin Gordon as the only three Wisconsin running backs to have multiple touchdowns in three consecutive games. I expect him to continue his production in this game against Northwestern. The Wildcats have been solid against the run this season, but also haven’t faced a dynamic rusher like Walker yet.
Walker mentioned to us this week that these past few weeks of practices have been especially good for the team and running back room:
“I feel like we had our best practice the last two weeks. We had a great practice today. Just keep stacking the days and never get comfortable and just always, there’s always room for improvement and just keep it up here”.
The offensive line has been great all throughout the season and I expect them and Walker to work together to battle in the trenches and gain lots of yardage on the ground, especially in a stadium where wind plays an enormous factor.
Vinny Anthony
Vinny Anthony continues to have a connection with Braedyn Locke, unlike any other receiver on the team. While he didn’t score last week, he still had multiple long catches that set the Badgers up to score. Locke even joked that he sometimes has a mentality of “F– it, Vinny’s down there somewhere” when he throws the ball.
In their game against Indiana, the Hoosiers had multiple longer passes to speedy receivers who created plays after the catch. I expect Anthony to do the same and continue to be someone that Locke and this offense can rely on for big gains.
Anthony explained to us Tuesday that he’s made a conscious effort to be more physical as a receiver and to create more separation during routes:
“In practice, we always work on shedding and, like, knocking hands down and even in route, like, just. Cause you may, like, get separation, but knowing the hand is gonna come.”
Anthony has been the best wideout for Wisconsin this season and will continue his success this week in Evanston.
Darryl Peterson
Northwestern’s quarterback Jack Lausch is a lot more mobile than the quarterbacks Wisconsin has faced in the past few weeks. Lausch has run for 141 yards and a touchdown this year, which proves that he’s comfortable being mobile and creating plays with his legs.
Last week against Rutgers, Wisconsin didn’t garner as much pressure as they might have hoped against quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis as they might have hoped. One person who did a good job of making plays was linebacker Darryl Peterson. Peterson had a couple of huge tackles to limit Rutgers from gaining many yards at all on running plays from both Kaliakmanis and Monangai. Expect him to have a large role in this game against Northwestern when the Badgers face a quarterback who is much more mobile and comfortable with his legs.
I expect this game to be close as the spread suggests, but I do expect the Badgers to pull out a win on the road in Evanston.
If I had to give a score prediction, I’d say 27-13 Wisconsin in a game that was closer than the score looks.