Wisconsin Football: Seven team strengths in 2018

Dominant rushing attack

If Wisconsin isn’t known for anything else, it’ll be best known for having a dominant rushing offense. The Badgers return a great offensive line, as mentioned previously, and a Heisman Trophy favorite to run behind it. Is there anything as imminent as Wisconsin running the ball down the opposition’s throat for hundreds of yards a week?

When push comes to shove Wisconsin fans can take solace in knowing the Badgers have one of the game’s most reliable sources of yardage in their back pocket. Running the football is tried and true, and even if it’s slowly being phased out of today’s game for a more flashy and attractive method of picking up yards, the Badgers still practice the technique as well as anyone.

Need to wear out the defense? Run the ball. Need to drain the clock and suffocate the other team’s chance to get the ball back and win? Run the ball. Weather isn’t great and throwing the ball isn’t ideal? Run the ball. So many questions can be answered by just running the ball effectively. Some teams have opted to stray away from that and garner more attention with big plays and gaudy stats. Wisconsin just continues to develop big lineman and put up numbers the old-fashioned way.

Running the ball is more reliable and less capable of breaking down on any given weekend, which means the Badgers are less likely to not “show up” and get upset on any given weekend. Also, opposing defenses aren’t as well equipped to stop the run game like they used to be. The Badger offense, with as great as it is at running the ball, is becoming more of a matchup problem every year.

Don’t forget to check out what we think are some potential weaknesses to keep an eye on this year.