Analysis of the Enemy: Wisconsin

What: The Ohio State University Buckeyes @ the Wisconsin Badgers

When: Saturday, October 16th; 7:15 p.m. EST.

Where: Camp Randall Stadium; Madison, Wisconsin.

Television: ABC/ESPN

Weather Forecast: High- 58 degrees; Low- 40 degrees; 10% chance of precipitation

Wisconsin is in its 5th season under Bret Bielema (43-15), with a 4-1 record after defeating the moribund Golden Gophers last weekend. Bielema has largely continued the success of his predecessor, Barry Alvarez, although he's done it in a much douchier way.

Statistically, this Wisconsin team is relying on its offensive performance to win games more than its defense, which is quite surprising. They are putting up an impressive amount of raw yardage on offense, and the adjusted numbers are much more favorable than they are for the defense.

Quarterback(s)

Scott Tolzien is very quietly putting together an impressive season. His 70% completion percentage is 9th best in the country, and he isn't turning the ball over. Wisconsin does not ask a lot of its quarterback, but their best offenses have always had talented players at the position, whether it be John Stocco, Jim Sorgi, or Brooks Bollinger. It appears that Tolzien is ready to take his place among them.

Offensive Line

The Badgers have both the lowest sack rate and the lowest negative play percentage of all Ohio State opponents so far this season. Wisconsin's offense is designed to avoid negative plays with their adherence to a power running game, and when it is combined with the efficient play of Scott Tolzien, the offense stays ahead of the chains and keeps down-and-distance manageable. These numbers are very impressive.

Running Backs

Wisconsin uses a three-headed monster of sorts at the tailback position, with mammoth John Clay (6''1, 255) bearing the brunt of the carries. Clay is the typical Wisconsin workhorse back, eschewing speed and big play ability for sheer size and a tough running style. He's the bruiser that offensive coordinator Paul Chryst likes to use when wearing down an opponent's front seven.He has, however, come under criticism the last few weeks for his lack of explosive plays on the season.

The emergence of true freshman James White- who is from the high school football factor of St. Thomas Aquinas- has provided the burst that Clay lacks, as his team leading 7.7 yards per carry proves. White's role has increased over the past few weeks, and it's a good bet that we will see him play a role on Saturday.

Sophomore Montee Ball was the James White of last season for Wisconsin, but has seen his use in the offense decrease as White's has risen. He usually averages a handful of carries a game, still, so it's worth knowing his name.

Wide Receivers + Tight Ends

If you recall, I usually attach the heavy personnel to the offensive line category, but because the tight ends are so intimately attached to the Wisconsin offensive strategy, they will be discussed along with the skill positions.

Tight end Lance Kendricks is the leading receiver in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Because of various injuries, David Gilreath and Nick Toon have missed time this season, and the Badgers have had few other players step up. Only redshirt freshman Jarred Abbrederis has made a significant impact, with senior Isaac Anderson playing a tertiary role. Redshirt freshman Jacob Pedersen has not had an active role in the offense, per se, but has 5 catches, two of which went for touchdowns. He's a redzone threat that is usually limited to blocking.

Obviously, as anyone who has ever watched a Wisconsin Badger football game from the past twenty years can attest, the offense wants to run the ball, and then hit you with play-action once you have overcompensated to stop the run. It is as much an ode to years gone past as it is an effective strategy for the talent they can recruit.

Defensive Front Seven

The Badger defensive line is book-ended by Louis Nzegqu and J.J. Watt. Watt is a wrecking ball at the strongside spot, earning early honors from scouts after his strong September. Patrick Butrym and Jordan Kohout man the middle for Wisconsin, and they clock in at 284 lbs. and 290 lbs., respectively. Wisconsin is not a team that forces pressure with just the front four; they usually involve some means of blitzing when they want to force the issue. And this segue-way leads us to the linebackers.

After losing star sophomore Chris Borland (Kettering, Ohio) to a shoulder injury, the Badgers were forced to reconfigure their linebacker group. Middle linebacker Mike Taylor and strongside linebacker Culmer St. Jean have held their positions through the transition, and senior Blake Sorensen has stepped in for the bulk of the duties in Borland's place on the weakside. Borland was an excellent pass rusher, however, and Sorensen is nowhere near as forceful, so Badger defensive coordinator Dave Doeren has compensated by moving weakside end David Gilbert to a rush linebacker position on passing downs. It's a similar role to Ohio State's "LEO" position, except it is more situational than constant.

Wisconsin has also substituted in redshirt freshman A.J. Fenton and redshirt junior Kevin Rouse

Defensive Secondary

Both of Wisconsin's corners, Niles Brinkley and Antonio Fenelus are sub-5''11, which should provide a height advantage for DeVier Posey on the outside. Wisconsin does not ask its corners to play a lot of man coverage, but they did use a very unique defensive scheme against Ohio State last season. It was very different from their normal modus operandi, which usually includes a heavy dose of Cover 2. I'm not going to spoil a future post here, but just recognize that Wisconsin's corners could be ripe for the picking on Saturday if they continue to employ the defensive coverage that they did against Ohio State last season.

The Badgers' safety play came under a little heat against Minnesota last weekend, but that should be cleared up with the return of strong safety Jay Valai. Valai, if you remember, is the player who knocked out Dane Sanzenbacker at Camp Randall in 2008. He is a physical presence in run defense, and the Badgers actually held him out of their game against Minnesota so that he'd be ready to play this weekend. Free safety Aaron Henry is in his first year at the position after being moved from cornerback in spring practice.

Special Teams

Special teams has been a weakness for Wisconsin the entire season. They've given up long returns on more than one occasion, including a punt return for a touchdown against Michigan State, and a 98 yard kick return against Arizona State that was saved by a shoestring tackle and the half expiring.

Freshman James White is probably their most explosive kick returner, but he is yet to break one for a touchdown; Ohio State's coverage units will have to be aware of his shiftiness.

Overview

Wisconsin is Wisconsin. They seem to perpetually be that same image of themselves, except this season they are a little bit sharper on the offensive side of the ball. Part of that could be related to competition- Michigan State has been their only quality opponent so far, with a sharp drop off to the next toughest, Arizona State.

Playing at Camp Randall is a huge advantage for the Badgers; they feed off their crowd energy possibly more than any other team in the country, and they are 25-3 in night games at Camp Randall since 1995. Notably, the Buckeyes are one of those 3, as they defeated the Badgers on an epic game-winning drive in 2008.

I believe you will see Ohio State alter their tempo against the Wisconsin defense. With the return of Jake Stoneburner, the Buckeyes now have a matchup advantage over Wisconsin that can be exploited through pace and alignment. College football's rules require the offense to give the defense time to match their substitutions before they snap the ball, but if no substitutions are made, no time has to be given. Ohio State can force a Wisconsin linebacker to cover Jake Stoneburner in space through this manipulation, and they can take it even further by detaching him from the line of scrimmage and splitting him out wide.

We all know how Wisconsin likes to play offense; ball control running with a pseudo-West Coast passing system comprised of short drops, half-rolls, and other simple passing mechanisms. In this way, they are more like Indiana than one would think- both schools want to control the game through high-percentage plays where there is little risk of a turnover. Wisconsin is especially good at not turning the ball over this season, and Ohio State is especially good at forcing turnovers this season. Whichever unit can continue their trend will have a large impact on the outcome of the game as a whole.

I also expect Jordan Hall or Jaamal Berry to break a touchdown on a punt or kick return. Wisconsin has been abysmal in coverage this year, and Hall and Berry have been close to housing one on multiple occasions.

This week is a great test for where this Ohio State football team is at this point in the season, and also for how they handle the expectations of being the number one ranked team in the country. You can learn a lot about your team in games like this one, and I have the feeling that we will be very proud of who these guys are on Saturday.