The Wisconsin football team has officially begun their preparations for their upcoming game this week against the South Dakota Coyotes.
Wisconsin defeated the Western Michigan Broncos, 28-14, in a game highlighted by a costly special teams mishap on the Broncos behalf. The Badgers staff has aimed to correct their mistakes against the South Dakota Coyotes as the Alabama Crimson Tide challenge looms around the corner. Wisconsin has one more week to correct their mistakes and show true dominance before facing off against one of the top teams in the country.
Wisconsin Football Staff, Team Turning Attention Towards South Dakota Coyotes
The Wisconsin football team escaped their game against the Western Michigan Broncos with a 28-14 win after a slow start. The Badgers struggled against a team that arguably should have been a stroll in the park for the new-look team. However, coach Luke Fickell did not necessarily showcase the improved team he had been boasting about during training camp.
Fickell was critical of his team following the win and felt the Badgers did not necessarily reach a level of comfort on offense against the Broncos. The Badgers have another relatively easy game against the South Dakota Coyotes before the Alabama Crimson Tide visit town. The Tide are no joke this season even without coach Nick Sagan, scoring 63-points against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to open the season.
The Wisconsin offense erupted for 66-points in a win over New Mexico State during the 2022 season, but eclipsed at 38-points last season. The Wisconsin football staff aims to showcase a different, more aggressive offense against the Coyotes that perhaps will display more deep shots down the field. The Badgers could do just that against South Dakota, but will need to shutdown their offense to ensure an easy win.
What Does the Wisconsin Badgers Football Staff Need to Focus On Against the Coyotes?
In order for the Wisconsin football team to dominate the South Dakota Coyotes in their upcoming game, the defensive line will need to play their best game. The Coyotes run their offense through fullback Travis Theis, an MVFC All-Conference feature a season ago. Theis recorded 844-yards on the ground with six touchdowns to add.
Theis can also receive the ball out of the backfield, with 27 receptions and 155-yards a season ago for the Coyotes offense. Quarterback Aidan Bouman is a capable quarterback with a strong arm, but is not necessarily the go-to weapon for the Coyotes offense. Bouman recorded 15 touchdowns and over 2000-yards through the air last season, but it was the ground game that truly shined.
The Coyotes had another rusher behind Theis that carried the ball a great deal for the team throughout the season. Running back Charles Pierre Jr is the powerful counterpart to Theis out of the backfield, and carried the ball 77 times last season for five scores. True freshman LJ Phillips Jr recorded a touchdown in the 45-3 win the Coyotes had to kickoff the season and showed plenty of promise.
Despite being listed as a fullback, Theis does not fit the typical bulky and slow stereotype that surrounds the position. Theis has a burst of speed that allows him to run past defenders and also uses plenty of cuts and jukes to move his way downfield. The Wisconsin football team will need to key in on Theis and prevent him from getting into open space in order to shutdown the Coyotes offense.
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