Game 2—@Wisconsin Badgers

[LZIp]

My thoughts are that this helps..

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/23/wisconsin-losing-starting-center-dan-voltz-to-retirement/

 

[zipsoutsider]

Projected Wisconsin Depth Chart

[LZIp]

4 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

Projected Wisconsin Depth Chart

I consider myself a pretty diehard college football fan, and I've honestly never heard of a single one of their players. This game seems ripe for the taking. Who cares about the program's history. I'll bet LSU stomps them for sure.

Edited August 24, 2016 by LZIp

[zipsoutsider]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

I consider myself a pretty diehard college football fan, and I've honestly never heard of a single one of their players. This game seems ripe for the taking. Who cares about the program's history. I'll bet LSU stomps them for sure.

I hope LSU doesn't stomp them. They will be hungrier to take out their anger. Let it be close game.

[skip-zip]

This might be some encouragement.  We played a decent game there in 2003.  Charlie threw for 372 yards.  

 

I wonder if anyone else remember this like me.  I was listening to this game on the radio, and I recall Wisconsin stopping us a the goal line on a 4th down, and they throwing a long 99 yard pass on the next play to put the game away.

 

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/boxscore?id=4566&type=1

[zipsoutsider]

    

Quote

 

26 minutes ago, UA1987 said:

Looks like our starting 5 on the OL are as follows based on the clip (I may have Ritz and Erickson on the wrong side?):

 

LT - LTT 6'7" 315

LG - Ritz 6'5" 300

C - Gauthney 6'1" 290

RG - Erickson 6'3" 300

RT - Letulli 6'5" 345    

 

 

Wisconson has a comparable OL, with the exception at center, where, their center is a very big guy. They are also very young.

LT: Ramczyk 6'6" 305 (JR)

LG: Kapoi 6'3" 334 (SO)

C: Dieter 6'6" 325 (SO)

RG: Benzschawel 6'6" 321 (SO) (has sat out due to shoulder during practice)

RT: 6'6" 313 (SO)

 

 

 

[Zipgrad01]

8 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

    

 

Wisconson has a comparable OL, with the exception at center, where, their center is a very big guy. They are also very young.

LT: Ramczyk 6'6" 305 (JR)

LG: Kapoi 6'3" 334 (SO)

C: Dieter 6'6" 325 (SO)

RG: Benzschawel 6'6" 321 (SO) (has sat out due to shoulder during practice)

RT: 6'6" 313 (SO)

 

 

 

You make no sense. You say this years line is significantly larger than last years and we average 1/2" and 7 pounds more per man. Their line is 1" and 10 pounds more than our significantly larger line, yet it is "comparable". 

[zipsoutsider]

7 minutes ago, Zipgrad01 said:

You make no sense. You say this years line is significantly larger than last years and we average 1/2" and 7 pounds more per man. Their line is 1" and 10 pounds more than our significantly larger line, yet it is "comparable". 

 

Zips LT 6'7" 315 vs 6'6" 305

Zips LG 6'5" 300 vs 6'3" 334 (SO)

Zips C   6'1" 290 vs 6'6" 325 (SO)

Zips RG: 6'3" 300 vs 6'6" 321

Zips RT: 6'5" 345  vs 6'6" 313

 

We are way outsized at center. RG, but we outsize them at the tackles and LG. I would say that is comparable. I am slightly less impressed with weight than I am height. Weight can be fat, too. I have seen more than a fair share of fat OL.

[UA1987]

Darius Copeland (NT) will get tested early and often in this game. ISO right ISO left... boom, kabang! Then over the top once the Zips move up to support the run. We are the American Revolutionary Army in this contest and the Badgers are the British. Somehow we need to guess right on a lot of alignments and create doubt by keeping it close.Then we might be able to see a path for some late game heroics.    

[zipsoutsider]

36 minutes ago, UA1987 said:

Darius Copeland (NT) will get tested early and often in this game. ISO right ISO left... boom, kabang! Then over the top once the Zips move up to support the run. We are the American Revolutionary Army in this contest and the Badgers are the British. Somehow we need to guess right on a lot of alignments and create doubt by keeping it close.Then we might be able to see a path for some late game heroics.    

In our favor:

• It's a young, inexperienced OL, very similar to our line
• They have had a QB competition going on
• Pre-season All-American Center is gone
• Paul Chryst is their coach
• Their WR have been lackluster
• UA has multiple big play threats
• TB & Chuck Amato
• Experienced secondary

 

In their favor:

• A decent defense with a strong linebacker corps
• New defensive coordinator
• Starting RB is good, but was out a lot last year with a hernia
• Our young LB's
• Our you DL
• Our inexperienced OL

 

I think special teams will be a question mark for both teams. We lost our kicker and punter and they lost their punter and their kicker struggled with consistency. They do start different PKs for field goal and kick offs, so they should have the specialty edge, there.

 

[akron4ever]

32 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

I think special teams will be a question mark for both teams. We lost our kicker and punter and they lost their punter and their kicker struggled with consistency. They do start different PKs for field goal and kick offs, so they should have the specialty edge, there.

 

As much as I don't want it to be true, I have a bad feeling kicking/punting is going to be an issue all season. We should be better at returns with Natson and Kwad Smith, but I just really hope that we don't lose games because of ST woes.

[zipsoutsider]

7 minutes ago, akron4ever said:

 

As much as I don't want it to be true, I have a bad feeling kicking/punting is going to be an issue all season. We should be better at returns with Natson and Kwad Smith, but I just really hope that we don't lose games because of ST woes.

We had our share of issues last year. Stein came through when it counted and I was glad to see him end his career on such a positive note. I also, share your concerns. Who knows, though, they have a lot of kids on the roster and they could be great.

[kreed5120]

Containing the run is going to be key. If the Zips can't do that, this game can get ugly pretty fast. If they can make Wisconsin RBs work for their yards, they should be in a position to pull off a potential upset.

[zipsoutsider]

16 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Containing the run is going to be key. If the Zips can't do that, this game can get ugly pretty fast. If they can make Wisconsin RBs work for their yards, they should be in a position to pull off a potential upset.

100% agree.

[ZippyRulz]

We want Wisconsin to beat LSU, right? So when we beat the Badgers we will also be better than LSU 

[Dr Z]

Corey Clement is licking his chops this season. by Jesse Temple ESPN Staff Writer

[K92]

30 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

Corey Clement is licking his chops this season. by Jesse Temple ESPN Staff Writer

After the Zips game he gonna be lickin' his wounds.

[Dr Z]

It’s Camp Randall – the home of Badger football, and the heartbeat of Wisconsin. | VINCE BIEGEL / WISCONSIN BADGERS

 

 

[zipsoutsider]

This Wisconsin preview has us losing 34-3.

[ZippyRulz]

This Wisconsin preview has us losing 34-3.

 

I would love to make a proposition bet with Mr. Flood regarding the Zips point production in this game.

 

Edited September 3, 2016 by ZippyRulz

[zipsoutsider]

After VMI, I think it's apparent that we can't win without putting up a lot points. But, we can put up a lot points. We might need to balance the drives with shorter passes and runs to help keep the defense off of the field. 

 

I haven't had the chance to look at the Wisconsin-LSU game yet, but still believe we have a shot in Madison.

 

 

[LZIp]

11 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

After VMI, I think it's apparent that we can't win without putting up a lot points. But, we can put up a lot points. We might need to balance the drives with shorter passes and runs to help keep the defense off of the field. 

 

I haven't had the chance to look at the Wisconsin-LSU game yet, but still believe we have a shot in Madison.

 

 

ahh..good idea. I think I'll take a look at the Wisconsin game this morning. The beauty of WatchESPN..

[skip-zip]

2 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

After VMI, I think it's apparent that we can't win without putting up a lot points. But, we can put up a lot points. We might need to balance the drives with shorter passes and runs to help keep the defense off of the field. 

 

I haven't had the chance to look at the Wisconsin-LSU game yet, but still believe we have a shot in Madison.

 

 

 

I commented about this game in another thread, and I will repeat this here. 

 

If we are to have a chance up there, we'll need to rely on some good one-on-one matchups in the deep passing game, similar to the way we attacked Michigan on the road two years ago.  We have guys who can do that.  

 

I don't believe we need to score a lot.  Wisconsin doesn't appear to be an offensive juggernaut, and that's the best news we could get coming out of their Week 1 performance.  

[LZIp]

Just watched their game. Clement will be the key guy to stop obviously. QB is a senior who made his first start since high school in 2011. Seemed fine, but limited him mostly to PA short-mid passes. Starting ILB Chris Orr and starting OL Micah Kapoi left the game injured. Hard to tell what their status will be, but I could see Wisconsin maybe sitting them out. After us they have Georgia State. But after that...they couldn't ask for a tougher gauntlet of MSU, UM, OSU, and Iowa all right after the other. JJ Watt's little brother is a start at OLB for them. He always seemed around the ball. Wheelright is their best WR, IMO.

 

I think their playing style on offense and our perceived strength on defense (last night, run D was on par with what it was last year) means that it at least shouldn't be a blow out. Chryst is the HC and he calls the plays. We should be familiar with his system. The Badgers should be ranked...

 

Also, that cheap shot at the end of the game by the LSU OL was dirty as hell.

Edited September 4, 2016 by LZIp

[wadszip]

After watching both Wisconsin-LSU and Akron's game against VMI, nothing really has changed for me since a couple of weeks ago, outside of my point No. 4 (Wisconsin defense maybe taking a step back with the loss of Arnada and some losses in the back 7). Wisconsin's defense looked every bit as good as the No. 1 defense in the nation last year.

 

With that being said, LSU, despite having a stud RB in Fournette and a bunch of 4 and 5 star talent, is hardly an offensive juggernaut (and really hasn't had a great offense in the past 4-5 years, if not longer). Plus, the Zips' offense will give the Badgers a very different look than what LSU gave them a week ago. So, I'm not ready to quite say that Wisconsin's defense is once again, a marquee unit ... though basically shutting out LSU is very impressive (LSU's TDs came on a pick-6 and a short field after a Wisconsin turnover on the following possession).

 

My overall tune for the game has changed a bit. Two weeks ago, I thought Akron had a very good shot at pulling the upset. Now, I'm going to tone that down a bit to "a shot". I still think there will be some sort of emotional let-down on Wisconsin's part, especially since they did pull off the win in Lambeau for what is probably the biggest non-conference win in school history. I still think Wisconsin's offensive strength plays into the hands of Akron's defensive strength (stopping the run). Akron won't shut down Wisconsin's running game by any means, but as I mentioned before, 200 is the magic number.  ... LSU held them to 134 and hence, Wisconsin only scored 16 points. Give the Badgers another 65 or so and another TD and it's still 23 or so points, that's kind of what I figured they were always going to get in this game.

 

Question is, can the Zips score more than that? I think they have a shot. The passing game looked good (albeit the competition). It was more than just looking at the stats, but more looking at the throws Woodson was making and the plays guys like Lane, Natson and Wolf were making. IMO, very encouraging. The offensive line's pass protection was great, and that's still something we don't know about heading into this game against a much bigger and better Wisconsin front. If the Oline can protect even 70 percent as well as it did last week, I think the Zips can make some plays vertically. 

 

I'm a bit more worried about the running game. I thought the run blocking was poor, though Ball was impressive. It's mind boggling how much talent Ohio State has that this guy had to be kept off the field. He looked like a legit NFL RB last night. Not too many guys his size that have feet that good. The jump cuts and spin moves were impressive, and when he gets N-S, he's a load to bring down. He had some problems, since he isn't a burner, when VMI got him going E-W, but that's not his game. The line has to open up some holes in the middle and let get up the field. Obviously, that will be a huge challenge.

 

Overall, while the secondary didn't play great against VMI, I'm not worried there (since Wisconsin doesn't have a great passing attack). The LBers showed they were inexperienced, but I loved the speed and aggressiveness. The key will be Amato reeling that in a bit to keep them in their assignments, without losing their "want" to get to the ball. ... there was at least 8-10 plays where they got burned by VMI due to being way too aggressive and trying to go for the kill shot. The DL played well, I thought, Marcus and Pittman were constantly getting pressure. ... Though I'll echo some others in saying "where's Jelani Hamilton?" Hopefully, saving him for the Wisconsin game (may be wishful thinking). He's a guy, with his size and pedigree can really help inside.

 

I'm still confident. 

 

Akron 27, Wisconsin 23

 

The 27 will be due to a missed extra point, which looks like a HUGE concern, and one I may not be taking into account as much as I should.

Edited September 4, 2016 by wadszip