MADISON – For the first time in almost 100 years, Alabama is coming to Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin will host the Crimson Tide at 11 a.m. Saturday. It will be the final nonconference game of the season for the Badgers and the oddsmakers see it as a tall task for the Badgers. Alabama, which is ranked fourth in the USA Today coaches poll, is an early 15 ½-point favorite.
This will be the third meeting between the programs. Alabama is 2-0 with a 35-17 win at the AdvoCare Classic in Arlington, Texas, in 2015 and a 15-0 victory at Camp Randall in 1928.
Here is the how the teams match up.
QUARTERBACKSWisconsin’s Tyler Van Dyke vs. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe
Van Dyke is a veteran who entered the second weekend of the season with 27 college starts, 7,661 passing yards and a 64% completion percentage. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 192 yards and ran for 21 yards and a touchdown in a 28-14 win over Western Michigan. Milroe, a junior, finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting last season, making him the award’s top returner. A career 65% passer, the second-year starter completed seven of nine passes for 200 yards and ran for 79 yards on 10 carries in a 63-0 season-opening win over Western Kentucky.
RUNNING BACKSWisconsin’s Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker vs. Alabama’s Justice Haynes and Jam Miller
Mellusi and Walker, seniors who have combined for 561 carries, have a sizable advantage in experience. Haynes was the Crimson Tide’s No. 3 back last season but he is an explosive runner who averaged a team-high 6.7 yards per carry. In Week 1 he needed just four carries to reach 102 yards, while Miller had 54 yards on five attempts.
More: Four ways the Wisconsin football team can change its fortunes in the red zone
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDSWisconsin’s Will Pauling, Bryson Green, Vinny Anthony, Trech Kekahuna, Riley Nowakowski and Tucker Ashcraft vs. Alabama’s Ryan Williams, Kendrick Law, Germie Bernard, CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts
Pauling, who lines up in the slot, is the Badgers’ top receiver, while Green and Anthony appeared to be improved players during spring ball and fall camp. Kekahuna, who missed most of last season due to injury, is a player whose role in the offense could grow. Nowakowski and Ashcraft are the team’s top two tight ends for the second straight season. Bernard, a transfer from Washington, is the Alabama’s most experienced target. He caught 34 passes last season. Williams, meanwhile, is an explosive freshman who was a five-star recruit. He had touchdowns of 84 and 55 yards against Western Kentucky. Ouzts and Dippre are sharing time at tight end for the second straight season.
OFFENSIVE LINEWisconsin’ s Jack Nelson, Joe Brunner, Jake Renfro, Joe Huber and Riley Mahlman vs. Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor, Tyler Booker, Parker Brailsford, Jaeden Roberts and Wilkin Formby
This might be the strongest position group for either team. Nelson (left tackle) is a four-year starter, while Mahlman (right tackle) and Huber (right guard) are three-year starters. The only first-year starter in the group is Brunner (left guard). For Alabama Booker, a guard, was an all-SEC selection last season and Brailsford, a center who transferred from Washington, was a second-team all-Pac 12 selection. Proctor missed the season opener due to a left shoulder injury but is expected to return at tackle for the UW game. Elijah Pritchett took his spot on the line and helped the unit chew up 600 yards of total offense, including 334 rushing, in Week 1 against Western Kentucky.
DEFENSIVE LINEWisconsin’s Curt Neal, Ben Barten and Cade McDonald vs. Alabama’s Tim Keenan III, Tim Smith and Jah’Marien Latham
The Badgers’ depth at this position is hurt by the loss of senior James Thompson, who is likely out of the season with an upper-body injury. UW plans to rotate six players, including freshman Dillan Johnson. Neal, a 6-0, 290-pound sophomore and redshirt seniors Barten (6-5, 305) and McDonald (6-6, 285) will be counted on to carry the largest load. Keenan and Smith started for the bulk of last season with Keenan posting 38 tackles.
More: Concern about the defensive line, downfield passing game lead our Wisconsin football Q&A
LINEBACKERSWisconsin’s Jake Chaney, Jaheim Thomas, Darryl Peterson, John Pius and Leon Lowery vs. Alabama’s Que Robinson, Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell
Chaney and Thomas man the inside for UW, while Peterson, Pius and Lowery are part of a rotation at outside linebacker. Chaney was the Badgers’ second-leading tackler last season. Thomas, a transfer from Arkansas, led the Razorbacks in tackles last season and finished with is 10 tackles in a 24-21 loss to Alabama. His six tackles in the season opener were the Badgers’ second-highest total. Lawson and Campbell ranked second and third on Alabama last season in tackles and shared the team lead with nine tackles in the season opener. Lawson was a consensus first-team all-SEC preseason pick.
SECONDARYWisconsin’s Hunter Wohler, Preston Zachman, Ricardo Hallman, Nyzier Fourqurean and Max Lofy vs. Alabama’s DeVonta Smith, Keon Sabb, Malachi Moore, Zabien Brown and Domani Jackson.
Cornerback and safety are two of the Badgers’ deepest positions. Wohler led the team in tackles last season and tied with Fourqurean for the team lead in Week 1. Hallman led lead FBS last season with seven interceptions. Smith is the only returning starter for Alabama. The unit has been bolstered by Sabb, a transfer from Michigan, and Domani Jackson, a transfer from USC. Sabb was named SEC player of the week after intercepting two passes in the opener.
SPECIALISTSWisconsin’s Nathanial Vakos, Atticus Bertrams, Vinny Anthony and Trech Kekahuna vs. Alabama’s Graham Nicholson, James Burnip, Cole Adams and Kendrick Law
Vakos, a Lou Groza Award semifinalist last season, went 2 for 3 on field goals last week, connecting from 33 and 23 yards and missing from 36. Bertrams is handling punts for the second straight year, while Anthony and Kekahuna can handle punt and kickoff returns. Nicholson came to Alabama from Miami (Ohio), where he was Groza Award winner and a first-team All-American. Burnip was a second-team all-SEC punter. Law averaged 23.8 yards per kick return last season
COACHESWisconsin’s Luke Fickell vs. Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer
Fickell, who in his second season at UW, has led the Badgers to a 9-6 record. His career mark is 72-31, which includes a 57-18 (.760) record in six seasons at Cincinnati, where he led the Bearcats to a College Football Playoff berth in 2021. DeBoer is no stranger to the national playoff, either. He led Washington to a national runner-up finish last season. His rise in the coaching ranks started at NAIA Sioux Falls in South Dakota, where he went 67-3 from 2005-09. He spent next decade as a Division I assistant before two years as head coach at Fresno State, where his teams went 12-6, and the last two seasons at Washington, which went 25-3 under his leadership.
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Publish date : 2024-09-08 01:02:00
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