After beginning the season 1-0, the Wisconsin Football team travels to Pullman Washington for a battle with the Washington State Cougars tomorrow night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 PM on ABC.
The Badgers are looking for revenge after falling to Wazzu at home last season 17-14. Can the Badgers get that revenge or will they fall on the road? Here is a preview of tomorrow’s game.
Wisconsin Football Preview #1- Can the Badgers contain Cam Ward?
Former FCS QB Cam Ward was dealing
Cam Ward threw for 451 yards and ran for 40 more while accounting for 4 TD’s in WSU’s 50-24 win over Colorado State
— NFL Draft Diamonds (@DraftDiamonds) September 3, 2023
Everything the Cougars do on offense will revolve around junior quarterback Cam Ward. Ward accounted for 451 yards of total offense last week in Wazzu’s 50-24 win over Colorado State. Ward didn’t even play the entire game so the stats could have been even better.
What are two things the Wisconsin Football defense did poorly last week against Buffalo? They didn’t generate any pressure on the quarterback and they were bad in open field tackling. If the defense plays the same ay they did at times last week, I guarantee Washington State wins this game.
You won’t be able to stop Cam Ward, but you have to know where he is at all times and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. Defensive Mike Tressel will have to decide if he will blitz often of if he will let his secondary dictate the defensive side of the ball.
Wisconsin Football Preview #2- Will Tanner Mordecai and the Passing Game be in Sync?
Overall, the passing game in the air raid offense looked like a work in progress as most expected last week. However, I was a little surprised and a little concerned with the lack of chances Tanner Mordecai took down the field. It could have been the Buffalo defense, but I only remember a few times where the Badgers took a legitimate shot down the field.
Because of how well the running game did last week, it will be interesting to see if Wazzu will sell on the passing game and stop the run or if they will let the Wisconsin Football offense run again. Either way, I would expect Tanner Mordecai to be a little more aggressive down the field. I am not sure if conservative quarterback play all game wins this.
Prediction
This was a hard game to predict early in the summer. I think this might be harder now. You can’t look past what Cam Ward and the Washington State offense did on the road last week. Colorado State is not a good team, but anytime you put up 50 points on the road, your offense is legit.
Turnovers and special teams were the reason Wisconsin lost last year. The Cougars scored all their points off either Wisconsin turnovers or good field position from special teams. I do think both squads are better than their 2022 roster was.
Based on last week, I am not sure how the Wisconsin defense can contain Cam Ward. Their tackling and pressure up front has to be much better and it will have to come against a better offense. They will have to force Ward to make tough plays and force a few turnovers. If not, I don’t see a way Wisconsin pulls out the road win.
I think Wisconsin can score on the Cougar defense. It’s okay for the passing game not to be in full sync yet, but Tanner Mordecai has to make better decisions with the ball after two unnecessary interceptions last week. This will be a big game early on for the new Wisconsin Football signal caller.
There’s likely to be a sell out crowd so the atmosphere will be incredible. Fortunately for the Badgers, they dealt with a crowd like this last week.
I see this as a back and forth game. At the end of the day, I think last year’s loss still stings for the players that came back. They were the better team all game. I think it’s close at the end, but Wisconsin gets a late turnover and wins in the final few minutes.
Wisconsin 28 Washington State 24
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