The forecast in Boca Raton does not look good for the weekend, but the Owls may get blown away in Madison as well. But in all seriousness, best wishes to all Florida residents in the face of Hurricane Irma.
Wisconsin had shaky start to the first quarter of week one. Yet Wisconsin football team still blew away Utah State with 59 unanswered points in the home opener.
So what’s the forecast for week two against the visiting Owls?
This week they face an FAU squad, and new head coach Lane Kiffin. The Owls lost to Navy, 42-19. The victorious Midshipmen ran for 426 yards and had five rushing scores.
Wisconsin Badgers Football
The Cardinal and White come into the game a bit banged up. Defensive Chikwe Obasih was ruled out earlier in the week and Bradrick Shaw is listed as questionable.
Fortunately for the Badgers, as I mentioned last week, the easier first week opponents will allow newer guys to get snaps. For example, Jonathan Taylor, ran for 87 yards and a score against Utah State.
Meanwhile, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Obasih’s likely replacement, should get more first-team reps. This will help him develop before the games start to matter. Loudermilk did rack up three tackles and a sack in the win.
I would like to think that UW has a more balanced offense than Navy. But considering the Midshipmen ran for over 400 yards against FAU, this one could get ugly fast.
On the flip-side, as Noah mentioned, the 11 a.m. kickoff could be a bit of a letdown after last week’s home-opener under the lights. Student attendance will most likely be lower and Camp Randall may not have its normal “juice”.
We saw this last year as the Badgers barely got by Georgia State.
All in all, this game should not be a problem for Wisconsin, who comes into the game favored by 33 points. Fumagalli and and Taylor should lead the way again for the offense and although FAU quarterback Daniel Parr threw for 286 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against Navy, I don’t expect an early-game scare like there was last week.
Prediction: Wisconsin 45, Florida Atlantic 10
Next: Florida Atlantic Preview
One game to keep an eye on would be BYU-Utah. The Cougars (1-1) struggled tremendously against LSU last week, rushing for -5 yards with the offense never crossing midfield. The Utes (1-0) handled North Dakota 37-16 in their opener. That game kicks off at 9:15 p.m. CT.