The Wisconsin football team displayed one of the strongest defensive units a season ago, but not without one major flaw.
The Badgers recorded 29 sacks a season ago which placed them towards the bottom of the Big Ten Conference in terms of pressure. It is possible to generate pressure without recording sacks, but the Wisconsin Badgers struggled to do both a season ago. With three of the five sack leaders from last season gone and a tough first performance against Western Michigan, Wisconsin will need to land some sacks against South Dakota.
Wisconsin Football Team Must Generate Pressure, Send More Blitzes Moving Forward
The Wisconsin Badgers football team is scheduled to play the Alabama Crimson Tide in two weeks, with another warm-up before. Wisconsin plays South Dakota this Saturday in a game the Badgers should easily win. While Wisconsin should not try anything new or different and risk a potential loss, the Badgers staff certainly needs to apply more pressure.
The Wisconsin football staff blitzed minimally in their first game of the season against the Western Michigan Broncos, blitzing 27.27% of the time. Wisconsin does not necessarily have the firepower up front to just send three or four man rushes all game and sack the quarterback. Rather, the Badgers must utilize their linebackers in order to create enough pressure to affect the opposing offense.
Wisconsin secured just 29 sacks last season which ranked eighth in the Big Ten Conference and outside of the top 50 schools in the country. The Badgers had a pretty potent defense a season ago allowing 20.15-points per game and 33 total touchdowns. If Wisconsin can generate pressure, their defense would arguably become one of the best units in the country.
Can the Wisconsin Badgers Football Staff Find Ways to Sack Jalen Milroe?
The Wisconsin football team faced an SEC opponent a season ago when they squared off against the LSU Tigers. The Tigers went on to win the ReliaQuest Bowl with backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, but a lot can be learned from the 35-31 loss. Wisconsin had no issue passing against one of the worst pass defense units in the country last season, but could not get anywhere near Nussmeier.
The Tigers recorded five sacks for over 30-yards lost compared the Badgers who recorded zero sacks against a talented offensive line. Wisconsin could not generate pressure and ultimately that led to Nussmeier picking apart a good, balanced defensive unit in the Badgers. When Wisconsin plays talented quarterbacks like Nussmeier in particular creating pressure and recording sacks becomes incredibly valuable.
Savvy quarterbacks are not going to be stopped through the air as they will find the open route once the defense lets up. Some quarterbacks, like future Wisconsin opponent and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, will create a play using their legs. Milroe is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and can hurt a defense in plenty of different ways.
The Wisconsin football team is going to have to pressure Milroe as much as they can to force him through his reads. If Milroe is given enough time to go through all of his progressions, the quarterback is bound to find a potential big play. The Badgers are going to have to work on their blitzing abilities against South Dakota in order to have a prepared defensive unit for the Alabama clash.
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