The Wisconsin Badgers defense is going to have its hands full this weekend when they face TreVeyon Henderson and the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Henderson did not play in the 20-12 win for Ohio State over the 10th Penn State Nittany Lions this past weekend. Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day announced on Tuesday that he will be back this weekend against the Badgers.
Day said jokingly to Matt Galatzan of Sports Illustrated:
“I know I said that last week, and we didn’t quite get there. But we’re looking to have a really good week of practice.”
Henderson had an injury that didn’t allow him to play against Penn State. As a junior this season, TreVeyon Henderson has rushed for 295 yards on 44 carries and five touchdowns. He is averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Henderson has also caught three passes for 45 yards receiving and zero touchdowns. He is averaging 15.0 yards per reception.
The Badgers’ defensive focus won’t only be to try and slow down BIG10 Offensive Player of the Week Marvin Harrison Jr. but also try to stop the run game as well. Ohio State has so many athletes all over the field, and they have way more talent than the Wisconsin Badgers do.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have the third-ranked offense in the BIG10 this season, scoring 33.7 points per game, and the Wisconsin Badgers have the sixth-ranked defense in the BIG10 this season only giving up 18.3 points per game.
The Wisconsin Badgers Defense Can Very Well Give Up 100 Yards Rushing This Weekend to TreVeyon Henderson
Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) warms up before Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in Lafayette.
If the Badgers defense does not account for Henderson and trying to stop the run, it will be a long night for Luke Fickell and company. In the last game TreVeyon Henderson played against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he rushed for 104 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown. Henderson averaged 7.4 yards per carry in that game. He has only played in four games this year for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
He also scored the game-winning touchdown against Notre Dame as time expired. Last week, Ohio State had senior running back Miyan Williams get the load of the carries. He rushed for 62 yards rushing on 24 carries and a score.
Williams can very well get some carries this week, along with TreVeyon Henderson. If the Badgers get blown off the line of scrimmage against the Buckeyes offensive line, then not only can Henderson rush for 100 yards on them, but they could also give up over 100 yards receiving to Marvin Harrison Jr.
