Badger of Honor
Fansided

Keys to the Game: Wisconsin Florida Atlantic

ByNoah Seligman|
BOCA RATON, FL - SEPTEMBER 1: The Florida Atlantic Owls take the field before their game against the Navy Midshipmen on September 1, 2017 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
BOCA RATON, FL - SEPTEMBER 1: The Florida Atlantic Owls take the field before their game against the Navy Midshipmen on September 1, 2017 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

The highly ranked Wisconsin Badgers host the Florida Atlantic Owls in week two of college football action.  The keys to this one are pretty simple

Last week Badger of Honor the keys for Wisconsin meant playing  a clean game against Utah State.  That didn’t happen as the Badgers stumbled out of the blocks.

Only a fortuitous turnover helped Wisconsin even draw level by halftime with the underdog visitors.  Yet, a strong second half erased some of the feeble first half.

Suffice to say, it won’t take much for Wisconsin to improve on its start over last week.  The most important thing for the Badgers is to look slightly more competent in the first quarter.

Wisconsin Badgers Football
Wisconsin Badgers Football

Wisconsin Badgers Football

There will be weeks in the Wisconsin season especially in Big Ten play where the prescription is more detailed.  But this simply isn’t one of those week.  Not when the opponent has a glaring weakness like Florida Atlantic’s run defense.

The only real key to this one is the Wisconsin rushing attack.  Florida Atlantic gave up 416 rushing yards to Navy in its season opening loss.  In 2016, Florida Atlantic ranked last in the Conference USA in rushing defense allowing 245.4 yards per game.

So an already tried-and-true formula of a ball control offense built on the running game is what matters.  The only key to this game is Wisconsin’s ability to grind out drives and pile up first downs and yards behind its mammoth offensive line.

Florida Atlantic’s biggest defensive player is a redshirt junior listed at 6-feet-3-inches tall and 295 pounds.  For comparison, here is how the Wisconsin offensive line starters measure up.

  • Left Tackle Michael Deiter, 6-feet-6-inches, 328 pounds
  • Left Guard Jon Dietzen, 6-feet-6-inches, 336 pounds
  • Center Tyler Biadasz, 6-feet-3-inches, 316 pounds
  • Right Guard Beau Benzschawel, 6-feet-6-inches, 317 pounds
  • Right Tackle David Edwards, 6-feet-7-inches, 315 pounds

That averages out to 6-feet-5.6-inches and 322.4 pounds.  So advantage Wisconsin there.  That means leaning on the undersized opposing defensive line and wearing them down.

On Saturday, look for Wisconsin to get multiple RBs over the century mark and shorten the game with long drives powered by the rushing game.