Wisconsin Football vs. Alabama: Position-by-Position Matchups

Alex Erickson hauls in a long throw from Joel Stave, falling into the endzone for a touchdown. Jim Oxley photograph

Wide Receivers

Both team’s wide receiver groups have a lot of unproven guys looking to take a big leap. Wisconsin is hoping that Tanner McEvoy, the dangerously quick 6 foot 6 quarterback convert, can make plays at receiver for them. Rob Wheelwright and Jordan Fredrick also have a lot of hype surrounding them and are hoping to have breakout seasons.

Alabama lost their top three receivers, including Heisman finalist Amari Cooper. Their leading returning receiver is Chris Black, who has only 267 career receiving yards. Another candidate to step up is Robert Foster, a former 5 star recruit (like everyone on Bama’s roster). Their are high hopes for both of them, but they are just as unproven as Wisconsin’s aforementioned trio.

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Betsided

In fact, the only proven playmaker on either team is Wisconsin’s Alex Erickson, who had 64 catches for 899 yards last season. For that reason, Wisconsin gets the edge. But it all really depends on which team’s unproven players can step up.

Edge: Wisconsin (Wisconsin 2-0)

Tight-End

Wisconsin’s Austin Traylor and Troy Fumagalli are going to be phenomenal run blockers. However, it remains to be seen whether either can make a difference in the passing game. Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst does love to use tight ends, so I wouldn’t bet against them.

Alabama has a former 5-star recruit (surprise, surprise) O.J Howard. He’s long, athletic, and looks like he is in store for a big season. This position match-up comes down to three unproven players. Unfortunately, one of those unproven players has the potential to be one of the best tight ends in college football.

Edge: Alabama (Wisconsin 2-1)

Next: Offensive Line/Defensive Line