Wisconsin football: Three questions for Week 3 vs. New Mexico State

Following a setback final week versus Washington State, the Wisconsin Badgers need to get again on monitor this Saturday towards the New Mexico State Aggies.

Wisconsin is a heavy favourite once more this weekend, and the Badgers are hoping to make use of the competition as a confidence builder with Ohio State looming on the schedule for Week 4. 

With that in thoughts, here’s a have a look at three key questions for Wisconsin’s matchup with New Mexico State.

Can the Badgers clear up the penalties on offense?

One of many major storylines that emerged from final week’s loss to Washington State was the variety of vital penalties Wisconsin had. 

General, the Badgers had 11 complete penalties for over 100 yards. Much more obtrusive, the offense was the responsible get together on 9 penalties, with six by the offensive line alone. 

The penalties constantly wiped away massive performs for Wisconsin and had been one of many key causes the Badgers had been unable to transform over 400 yards of offense into greater than 14 factors. 

After every week of apply and a concentrate on remedying the difficulty, it will likely be fascinating to see if Wisconsin can put collectively a comparatively clear recreation. 

New Mexico State is among the lower-tier groups within the FBS, that means that is the kind of contest the place Wisconsin would want to make a number of errors to finally lose the sport. With harder opponents upcoming, taking part in a much less sloppy recreation would go a great distance in serving to the crew transfer on from the Washington State loss and assist construct higher habits for the long run. 

What’s going to the kicking recreation appear to be this weekend?

Up so far, Arkansas switch Vito Calvaruso has dealt with all the sector aim kicks, whereas Jack Van Dyke has been the kickoff specialist. 

Nevertheless, after final weekend, it will likely be fascinating to see how the Badgers method the kicking recreation. 

Calvaruso missed each of his makes an attempt towards Washington State and neither kick was near correct. After lacking most of fall camp, Wisconsin has a succesful backup in Nate Van Zelst, who was the No. 1 kicker all through many of the spring and fall with Calvaruso out with a quad harm. Van Zelst is only a redshirt freshman and doesn’t have practically as sturdy of a leg as Calvaruso, but when there are continued struggles early towards New Mexico State, Van Zelst might get a chance. 

After shedding a detailed recreation wherein two missed discipline objectives might have been the distinction, the stress is on Calvaruso to kick the ball effectively this Saturday. 

Kickoff specialist Jack Van Dyke can be seeking to kick the ball a bit higher this weekend after solely recording one touchback on three kickoffs versus Washington State. The Cougars had a 73-yard return on the opening kickoff of the second half, which performed an enormous position in swinging momentum of their favor. Van Dyke beforehand booted 5-of-7 by means of the top zone towards Illinois State, so he has the leg to drive touchbacks on a extra constant foundation.  

General, particular groups should be higher on the entire, however the kicking recreation could be an amazing begin. 

Will the offensive line put all of it collectively?

The Wisconsin offense has been well-balanced this yr, with the dashing assault (197.5 yards per recreation) and passing recreation (223 yards per recreation) equally impactful by means of the primary two video games. 

Nevertheless, exterior of Braelon Allen’s 96-yard run towards Illinois State, the Wisconsin operating recreation has not been all that sturdy. As an alternative, the passing recreation discovered extra success towards Washington State, because the Cougars packed the field to cease the run. 

By means of two video games, if Allen’s lengthy landing run is eliminated, Wisconsin is averaging solely 3.74 yards per rush try, a far cry from what’s historically anticipated in Madison. 

Whereas beginning proper deal with Riley Mahlman’s absence probably performs a task within the struggles, the actual fact stays that the offensive line must generate extra push up entrance to get the dashing assault going. Moreover, as acknowledged earlier, the group additionally wants to chop down on penalties and errors. 

Towards an inferior opponent, the offensive line ought to come out and push New Mexico State round. The Badgers must get again to a spot the place the offensive line dictates the sport, and this weekend might act as a confidence builder earlier than Massive Ten play kicks off. 

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