Wisconsin Football: Key matchups to watch vs. Northwestern

Jake Ferguson vs. Northwestern Secondary

It is no secret that Alex Hornibrook loves throwing the ball to Jake Ferguson.  Since the first game of the season, Hornibrook has always been looking to get his redshirt freshman tight end involved.  The two have a connection that is pretty impressive given it is Ferguson’s first year playing.  Hornibrook targeting Ferguson has been a recipe for success so far this season, and there appear to be no signs of that slowing down anytime soon.

Ferguson has exceeded expectations in his very first year of college football.  Many expected that he would get opportunities in the offense this year but few believed he would provide this much production.  His receiving abilities were the talk of spring and fall camp and it is easy to see why.  After seven games, Ferguson is first in receptions, tied for first in receiving touchdowns and second in receiving yards on the team. It is not like Ferguson is only being used in the short and intermediate passing game either, he is averaging 15.3 yards per reception.

Hornibrook looks to throw it to Ferguson so often that I think defenses are starting to game-plan against it.  This past weekend it appeared that the Illinois defense was dedicating multiple players in covering the routes Ferguson likes to run.  Illinois primarily played a zone defense on obvious passing downs but it was clear that they were leaning towards limiting Ferguson’s receptions.  When Ferguson was facing man coverage, he made Illinois pay for it.  I expect Northwestern’s safeties and linebackers to be keying on Ferguson when Hornibrook drops back to pass.  This strategy could open up things for Danny Davis, A.J. Taylor, and Kendric Pryor to make plays downfield.

Northwestern’s passing defense ranks right about in the middle compared to the rest of the nation, allowing 229.7 yards per game through the air.  Opposing quarterbacks are completing about 63% of their passes, ranking them 102nd in the nation.  These stats are painting the picture that Hornibrook will have the opportunity to find receivers.  Northwestern does not give up a lot of yards but they do allow quarterbacks to make completions and potentially find a rhythm in the passing game.  Jake Ferguson is the perfect player to catch those short throws that the Wildcat defense will give an offense.

Behind Jonathan Taylor, I believe Ferguson is the second most important player on offense going into this game. Aside from his incredible catching ability and route running, he could be the ultimate decoy against Northwestern.  The wide receivers on the outside could see a lot of man coverage matchups that are very favorable for the Badgers.